Anton Barbeau

Anton Barbeau is an American singer-songwriter from Sacramento, California. He is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, playing guitar, keyboards, bass guitar, drums and many others including, most recently, the mbira.

Barbeau is known for combining surreal lyrics with pop melodies and is often described as being in the songwriting tradition of Robyn Hitchcock, Syd Barrett, and The Beatles. He has shared stages with artists like Hitchcock, The Bevis Frond, Weezer, Mono, and even a reformed Bay City Rollers.

Since he appeared on the music scene in the late 1980s, Barbeau has made a name for himself in the Sacramento area, winning a number of SAMMIE (Sacramento Area Music) Awards. His first CD, The Horse's Tongue, collected songs that had appeared on a number of self-released cassettes. Since then he has released nine albums, plus two anthologies of miscellaneous tracks, as well as a limited-edition live CD, a collection of demos, and a bonus CD included with the In the Village of the Apple Sun CD.

Since the turn of the millennium, Barbeau has had his sights set firmly on the UK - his album King of Missouri was recorded in Bromley with Nick Saloman of legendary neo-psychedelic band The Bevis Frond, with the following album Guladong's launch gig taking place at the famous Cavern Club in Liverpool.

2006 saw the release of Barbeau's collaboration with The Loud Family singer/guitarist Scott Miller, the album What if it Works?. Indeed, 2006 was a busy year which also saw the release of the albums Drug Free and In the Village of the Apple Sun, the latter being described as "an instant lost psychedelic classic".

Since then, Barbeau has resided mainly in the UK, where he has released three albums. Automatic Door was released in the UK on Oxford's Shifty Disco label in 2007 and in France on Volvox in 2008. Recent releases include Plastic Guitar (2009) and Psychedelic Mynde of Moses (2010). His music has continued to develop a decidedly psychedelic streak, though without losing the strong pop aesthetic that has always informed it.

Barbeau has also written and produced an album with Sacramento singer Allyson Seconds, wife of 7 Seconds' singer Kevin Seconds. The album was entitled Bag of Kittens, and was released in fall of 2009.

Barbeau currently plays with Andy Metcalfe and Morris Windsor – erstwhile members of Robyn Hitchcock-led The Soft Boys/Egyptians. The trio have been playing around the UK as Three Minute Tease, including support slots for legendary New Zealand songwriter Don McGlashan. The new album, Three Minute Tease, was released this year and features guest appearances from Stornoway and Nick Saloman of The Bevis Frond.

Barbeau has recorded and performed with Stornoway, Michael Urbano, xrfarflight, Robbie McIntosh, Kimberley Rew, and members of Cake. He is currently based in Berlin, Germany.

Anton is a cousin of the actress Adrienne Barbeau.