lake name	Caspian Sea
image lake	Caspian Sea from orbit.jpg
caption lake	As captured by the MODIS on the orbiting Terra satellite
caption bathymetry	l
coords
type	Endorheic, Saline, Permanent, Natural
inflow	Volga River, Ural River, Kura River, Terek River
outflow	Evaporation
catchment
basin countries	Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan
length
width
area
depth
max-depth
volume
residence time	250 years
shore
elevation
islands	26+ (''see Island below'')
islands category	Islands of the Caspian Sea
cities	Baku (Azerbaijan), Rasht (Iran), Aktau (Kazakhstan), Makhachkala (Russia), Türkmenbaşy (Turkmenistan) (''see article'')
reference	}}

The Caspian Sea (, , , , , ) is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of (not including Garabogazköl Aylagy) and a volume of . It is in an endorheic basin (it has no outflows) and is bounded to the north by Russia, to the south by Iran, western Azerbaijan, and eastern Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.

The ancient inhabitants of its littoral perceived the Caspian Sea as an ocean, probably because of its saltiness and seeming boundlessness. It has a salinity of approximately 1.2%, about a third the salinity of most seawater. The Caspian Sea has been called Gilan (گیلان or دریای گیلان) on ancient maps. In Iran, it is referred to as ''Daryâ-ye Mazandaran'' (دریای مازندران), meaning "the Sea of Mazandaran" in Persian, and sometimes also as Daryâ-ye Khazar.

Geological history

Like the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea is a remnant of the ancient Paratethys Sea. The Caspian Sea became landlocked about 5.5 million years ago due to tectonic uplift and a fall in sea level. During warm and dry climatic periods, the landlocked sea has all but dried up, depositing evaporitic sediments like halite that have become covered by wind-blown deposits and were sealed off as an evaporite sink when cool, wet climates refilled the basin. Due to the current inflow of fresh water, the Caspian Sea is a freshwater lake in its northern portions. It is more saline on the Iranian shore, where the catchment basin contributes little flow. Currently, the mean salinity of the Caspian is one third that of the Earth's oceans. The Garabogazköl embayment, which dried up when water flow from the main body of the Caspian was blocked in the 1980s but has since been restored, routinely exceeds oceanic salinity by a factor of 10.

Geography

The Caspian Sea is the largest inland body of water in the world and accounts for 40 to 44 percent of the total lacustrine waters of the world. The coastlines of the Caspian are shared by Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan. The Caspian is divided into three distinct physical regions: the Northern, Middle, and Southern Caspian. The North-Middle boundary is the Mangyshlak Threshold, which runs through Chechen Island and Cape Tiub-Karagan. The Middle-South boundary is the Apsheron Threshold, a sill of tectonic origin between the Eurasian continent and an oceanic remnant, that runs through Zhiloi Island and Cape Kuuli. The Garabogazköl bay is the saline eastern inlet of the Caspian, which is part of Turkmenistan and at times has been a lake in its own right due to the isthmus which cuts it off from the Caspian.

Divisions between the three regions are dramatic. The Northern Caspian only includes the Caspian shelf, and is very shallow; it accounts for less than one percent of the total water volume with an average depth of only . The sea noticeably drops off towards the Middle Caspian, where the average depth is . The Southern Caspian is the deepest, with oceanic depths of over . The Middle and Southern Caspian account for 33 percent and 66 percent of the total water volume, respectively. The northern portion of the Caspian Sea typically freezes in the winter, and in the coldest winters, ice will form in the south.

Over 130 rivers provide inflow to the Caspian, with the Volga River being the largest. A second affluent, the Ural River, flows in from the north, and the Kura River flows into the sea from the west. In the past, the Amu Darya (Oxus) of Central Asia in the east often changed course to empty into the Caspian through a now-desiccated riverbed called the Uzboy River, as did the Syr Darya farther north. The Caspian also has several small islands; they are primarily located in the North and have a collective land area of roughly . Adjacent to the North Caspian is the Caspian Depression, a low-lying region below sea level. The Central Asian steppes stretch across the northeast coast, while the Caucasus mountains hug the Western shore. The biomes to both the north and east are characterized by cold, continental deserts. Conversely, the climate to the southwest and south are generally warm with uneven elevation due to a mix of highlands and mountain ranges; the drastic changes in climate alongside the Caspian have led to a great deal of biodiversity in the region.

Fauna

The Caspian Sea holds great numbers of sturgeon, which yield eggs that are processed into caviar. Overfishing has depleted a number of the historic fisheries including the economic exhaustion of the tuna fishery. In recent years overfishing has threatened the sturgeon population to the point that environmentalists advocate banning sturgeon fishing completely until the population recovers. However, the high price of sturgeon caviar allows fisherman to afford bribes to ensure the authorities look the other way, making regulations in many locations ineffective. Caviar harvesting further endangers the fish stocks, since it targets reproductive females. The Caspian Sea along with the Black Sea is also home to the native Zebra mussel, which has been accidentally introduced and become an invasive species in many countries. The native range of the Common Carp extends to the Caspian Sea as well as the Black Sea and Aral Sea. Like the Zebra mussel it also has become an invasive species where it has been introduced.

The Caspian seal (''Phoca caspica'', ''Pusa caspica'' in some sources), which is endemic to the Caspian Sea, is one of very few seal species that live in inland waters (see also Baikal seal, Saimaa Ringed Seal). The area has given its name to several species of birds, including the Caspian gull and the Caspian tern. There are several species and subspecies of fish endemic to the Caspian Sea, including the kutum (also known as Caspian white fish), Caspian Marine Shad, Caspian roach, Caspian bream (some report that the Bream occurring in the Aral Sea is the same subspecies), and a Caspian "salmon" (a subspecies of trout, ''Salmo trutta caspiensis''). The "Caspian salmon" is critically endangered.

Environmental issues

The Volga River, the largest in Europe, drains 20% of the European land area and is the source of 80% of the Caspian’s freshwater inflow. Its lower reaches are heavily developed with numerous unregulated releases of chemical and biological pollutants. Although existing data are sparse and of questionable quality, there is ample evidence to suggest that the Volga is one of the principal sources of transboundary contaminants into the Caspian. The magnitude of fossil fuel extraction and transport activity constitute risks to water quality. Underwater oil and gas pipelines have been constructed or proposed, increasing potential environmental threats.

Hydrological characteristics

The Caspian has characteristics common to both seas and lakes. It is often listed as the world's largest lake, although it is not a freshwater lake. The Caspian became landlocked about 5.5 million years ago due to plate tectonics. The Volga River (about 80% of the inflow) and the Ural River discharge into the Caspian Sea, but it has no natural outflow other than by evaporation. Thus the Caspian ecosystem is a closed basin, with its own sea level history that is independent of the eustatic level of the world's oceans. The level of the Caspian has fallen and risen, often rapidly, many times over the centuries. Some Russian historians claim that a medieval rising of the Caspian, perhaps caused by the Amu Darya changing its inflow to the Caspian from the 13th century to the 16th century, caused the coastal towns of Khazaria, such as Atil, to flood. In 2004, the water level was -28 metres, or 28 metres (92 ft) below sea level.

Over the centuries, Caspian Sea levels have changed in synchronicity with the estimated discharge of the Volga, which in turn depends on rainfall levels in its vast catchment basin. Precipitation is related to variations in the amount of North Atlantic depressions that reach the interior, and they in turn are affected by cycles of the North Atlantic Oscillation. Thus levels in the Caspian sea relate to atmospheric conditions in the North Atlantic thousands of miles to the north and west. These factors make the Caspian Sea a valuable place to study the causes and effects of global climate change.

The last short-term sea-level cycle started with a sea-level fall of from 1929 to 1977, followed by a rise of from 1977 until 1995. Since then smaller oscillations have taken place.

Human history

The earliest human remains around Caspian are from Dmanisi dating back to around 1.8 ma and yielded a number of skeletal remains of Homo erectus or ergaster. More later evidence for human occupation of the region come from a number of caves in Georgia and Azerbaijan such as Kudaro and Azykh Caves. There new evidence for Lower Paleolithic human occupation at south of Caspian from western Alburz. These are Ganj Par and Darband Cave sites. Neanderthal remains also have discovered at a cave site in Georgia. Discoveries in the Huto cave and the adjacent Kamarband cave, near the town of Behshahr, Mazandaran south of the Caspian in Iran, suggest human habitation of the area as early as 11,000 years ago.

Etymology

The word Caspian is derived from the name of the Caspi (), an ancient people that lived to the south west of the sea in Transcaucasia. Strabo wrote that "to the country of the Albanians belongs also the territory called Caspiane, which was named after the Caspian tribe, as was also the sea; but the tribe has now disappeared". Moreover, the Caspian Gates, which is the name of a region in Tehran province of Iran, is another possible piece of evidence that they migrated to the south of the sea. The Iranian city Qazvin shares the root of its name with that of the sea. In fact, the traditional Islamic name for the sea itself is, Bahr al-Qazwin (Sea of Qazvin).

According to Indian Hindu belief, the name 'Caspian' is supposed to have been derived from the Sanskrit word 'Kashyapa' the name of an ancient Indian Sage.

In classical antiquity among Greeks and Persians it was called the ''Hyrcanian Ocean''. In Persian antiquity, as well as in modern Iran, it is known as the ''mazandaran sea'' (). Among Indians it was called ''Kashyap Sagar''. In Turkic speaking countries it is known as the ''Khazar Sea''. Old Russian sources call it the ''Khvalyn (Khvalynian) Sea'' (Хвалынское море /Хвалисское море) after the Khvalis, inhabitants of Khwarezmia. Ancient Arabic sources refer to as ''Baḥr Gilan'' ( - the ''Caspian/Gilan Sea'').

Turkic languages use a consistent nomenclature that is different from the Indo-European languages above. For instance, in Turkmen, the name is ''Hazar deňzi'', in Azeri, it's ''Xəzər dənizi'', and in modern Turkish, it's ''Hazar denizi''. In all these cases, the second word simply means "sea", and the first word refers to the historical Khazars who had a large empire based to the North of the Caspian Sea between the 7th and 10th centuries.

Cities near the Caspian Sea

Historic cities by the sea include

Hyrcania, ancient state in the north of Iran

Tamisheh, Mazandaran province of Iran

Anzali, Gilan province of Iran

Astara, Gilan province of Iran

Atil, Khazaria

Khazaran

Baku, Azerbaijan

Derbent, Dagestan, Russia

Modern cities

Major cities by the Caspian Sea:

Azerbaijan

* Astara

* Baku

* Gobustan

* Khudat

* Khachmaz

* Lankaran

* Nabran

* Neftchala

* Shabran

* Siyazan

* Oil Rocks

* Sumqayit

Iran

* Ali Abad

* Amol

* Astaneh-ye Ashrafiyeh

* Astara

* Babol

Babolsar

* Bandar Anzali

* Bandar-e-gaz

* Bandar Torkaman

* Behshahr

* Chaloos

* Fenderesk

* Ghaem Shahr

* Gonbad-e Kavus

* Gorgan

* Jooybar

* Kordkuy

* Lahijan

* Langrud

* Mahmood Abad

* Neka

* Nowshahr

* Nur

* Ramsar

* Rasht

* Rudbar

* Rudsar

* Sari

* Tonekabon

Kazakhstan

* Atyrau (formerly Guriev)

* Aqtau (formerly Shevchenko)

Russia

* Astrakhan

* Derbent

* Makhachkala

Turkmenistan

* Türkmenbaşy (formerly Krasnovodsk)

* Hazar (formerly Çeleken)

* Esenguly

* Garabogaz (formerly Bekdaş)

Islands

The Caspian Sea has numerous islands throughout, all of them near the coasts. There are none in deeper parts of the Sea. Ogurja Ada is the largest island. The island is 37 km long, with gazelles roaming freely in it.

In the North Caspian, the majority of the islands are small and uninhabited, like the Tyuleniy Archipelago, an Important Bird Area (IBA), although some of them do have human settlers.

Many of the islands nearby the Azerbaijan coast hold significant geopolitical and economic importance due to their oil reserves. Bulla Island is off the coast of Azerbaijan, and holds tremendous oil reserves. Pirallahı Island, off the Azerbaijani coast as well, also possesses oil reserves; it was one of the first places in Azerbaijan found to have oil, and was the first place in the Caspian Sea to have sectional drilling done. Nargin was used as a former Soviet base and is the largest island in the Baku bay. Ashuradeh is situated on the easternmost end of Miankaleh peninsula to the north east of Gorgan Bay, near the Iranian coast. It was separated from the peninsula after islanders created a channel.

Various islands, particularly around Azerbaijan, have suffered extensive environmental damage due to oil production. Vulf, for example, suffered severe ecological damage from oil production in the neighboring islands, although Caspian seals and various species of marine birds continue to be found.

Hydrocarbon resources

Historical development

The Caspian area is rich in energy resources. Wells were being dug in the region as early as the 10th century. By the 16th century, Europeans were aware of the rich oil and gas deposits around the area. English traders Thomas Bannister and Jeffrey Duckett described the area around Baku as “a strange thing to behold, for there issueth out of the ground a marvelous quantity of oil, which serveth all the country to burn in their houses. This oil is black and is called nefte. There is also by the town of Baku, another kind of oil which is white and very precious (i.e., petroleum)."

The world’s first offshore wells and machine-drilled wells were made in Bibi-Heybat Bay, near Baku, Azerbaijan. In 1873, exploration and development of oil began in some of the largest fields known to exist in the world at that time on the Absheron peninsula near the villages of Balakhanli, Sabunchi, Ramana and Bibi Heybat. Total recoverable reserves were more than 500 million tons. By 1900, Baku had more than 3,000 oil wells, 2,000 of which were producing at industrial levels. By the end of the 19th century, Baku became known as the "black gold capital", and many skilled workers and specialists flocked to the city.

By the turn of the 20th century, Baku was the center of international oil industry. In 1920, when the Bolsheviks captured Azerbaijan, all private property - including oil wells and factories - was confiscated. Afterwards, the republic's entire oil industry came under the control of the Soviet Union. By 1941, Azerbaijan was producing a record 23.5 million tons of oil, and the Baku region supplied nearly 72% of all oil extracted in the entire USSR.

In 1994, the "Contract of the Century" was signed, signaling the start of major international development of the Baku oil fields. The Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline, a major pipeline allowing Azerbaijan oil to flow straight to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, opened in 2006.

Current concerns

The oil in the Caspian basin is estimated to be worth over US $12 trillion. The sudden collapse of the USSR and subsequent opening of the region has led to an intense investment and development scramble by international oil companies. In 1998 Dick Cheney commented that "I can't think of a time when we've had a region emerge as suddenly to become as strategically significant as the Caspian."

A key problem to further development in the region is the status of the Caspian Sea and the establishment of the water boundaries among the five littoral states (see below). The current disputes along Azerbaijan's maritime borders with Turkmenistan and Iran could potentially affect future development plans.

Much controversy currently exists over the proposed Trans-Caspian oil and gas pipelines. These projects would allow western markets easier access to Kazakh oil, and potentially Uzbek and Turkmen gas as well. The United States has given its support for the pipelines. Russia officially opposes the project on environmental grounds. Analysts note that the pipelines would bypass Russia completely, thereby denying the country valuable transit fees, as well as destroying its current monopoly on westward-bound hydrocarbon exports from the region. Recently both Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan have expressed their support for the Trans-Caspian Pipeline.

Existing and proposed canals

Although the Caspian Sea is endorheic, its main tributary, Volga, is connected by important shipping canals with the Don River (and thus the Black Sea) and with the Baltic Sea, with branch canals to Northern Dvina and to the White Sea.

Another Caspian tributary, the Kuma River, is connected by an irrigation canal with the Don basin as well.

Canals proposed in the past

The Main Turkmen Canal, construction of which was started in 1950, would run from Nukus on the Amu-Darya to Krasnovodsk on the Caspian Sea. It would be used not only for irrigation, but also for shipping, connecting the Amu-Darya and the Aral Sea with the Caspian. The project was abandoned soon after the death of Joseph Stalin, in favor of the Qaraqum Canal, which runs on a more southerly route and does not reach the Caspian.

Since the 1930s through the 1980s, the projects for a Pechora-Kama Canal were widely discussed, and some construction experiments using nuclear explosions were conducted in 1971. For this project, shipping was a secondary consideration; the main goal was to redirect some of the water of the Pechora River (which flows into the Arctic Ocean) via the Kama into the Volga. The goals were both irrigation and stabilizing the water level in the Caspian, which was thought to be falling dangerously fast at the time.

Eurasia Canal

In June 2007, in order to boost his oil-rich country's access to markets, Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbaev proposed a 700 km link between the Caspian and Black seas. It is hoped that the "Eurasia Canal" (Manych Ship Canal) ) would transform the landlocked Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries into maritime states, enabling them to significantly increase trade volume. While the canal would traverse Russian territory, it would benefit Kazakhstan through its Caspian Sea ports. The most likely route for the canal, the officials at the Committee on Water Resources at Kazakhstan's Agriculture Ministry say, would follow the Kuma-Manych Depression, where currently a chain of rivers and lakes is already connected by an irrigation canal (Kuma-Manych Canal). Upgrading the Volga–Don Canal would be another option.

International disputes

Negotiations related to the demarcation of the Caspian Sea have been going on for nearly a decade among the states bordering the Caspian - Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran.

The status of the Caspian Sea is the key problem. There are three major considerations affected by the Caspian Sea status: access to mineral resources (oil and natural gas), access for fishing and access to international waters (through Russia's Volga river and the canals connecting it to the Black Sea and Baltic Sea). Access to the Volga River is particularly important for the landlocked states of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. This matter is of course sensitive to Russia, because this potential traffic will move through its territory (albeit onto the inland waterways). If a body of water is labeled as Sea then there would be some precedents and international treaties obliging the granting of access permits to foreign vessels. If a body of water is labeled merely as lake then there are no such obligations. Environmental issues are also somewhat connected to the status and borders issue.

It should be mentioned that Russia got the bulk of the former Soviet Caspian military fleet (and also currently has the most powerful military presence in the Caspian Sea). Some assets were assigned to Azerbaijan. Kazakhstan and especially Turkmenistan got a very small share because they lack major port cities.

According to a treaty signed between Iran (Persia) and the Soviet Union, the Caspian Sea is technically a lake and it is to be divided into two sectors (Persian and Soviet), but the resources (then mainly fish) would be commonly shared. The line between the two sectors was to be seen as an international border in a common lake, like Lake Albert. Also the Soviet sector was sub-divided into administrative sectors of the four littoral republics.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union not all of the newly independent states assumed continuation of the old treaty. At first Russia and Iran announced that they would continue to adhere to the old treaty.

After the old Soviet Union split into fifteen nations, including Caspian Sea neighbors Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, Iran has called for an equal division of the Caspian Sea among the five countries: Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Russia. If this division does not come to pass, then Iran intends to recognize only its old treaty (between Iran and Russia) and will challenge Russia to divide its 50% share among the three littoral states - Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan - over a more friendly position toward the West and the U.S, such as opening of U.S interest section in Tehran.

Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan announced that they do not consider themselves parties to this treaty.

Later followed some proposals for common agreement between all littoral states about the status of the sea:

Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan insisted that the sectors should be based on the median line, thus giving each state a share proportional to its Caspian coastline length. Also the sectors would form part of the sovereign territory of the particular state (thus making them international borders and also allowing each state to deal with all resources within its sector as it wishes unilaterally).

Iran insisted that the sectors should be such that each state gets a 1/5 share of the whole Caspian Sea. This was advantageous to Iran, because it has a proportionally smaller coastline.

Russia proposed a somewhat compromising solution: the seabed (and thus mineral resources) to be divided along sectoral lines (along the two above-described variants), the surface (and thus fishing rights) to be shared between all states (with the following variations: the whole surface to be commonly shared; each state to receive an exclusive zone and one single common zone in the center to be shared. The second variant is deemed not practical, because of the small size of the whole sea).

Current situation

Russia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have agreed to a solution about their sectors. There are no problems between Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, but the latter is not actively participating, so there is no agreement either. Azerbaijan is at odds with Iran over some oil fields that the both states claim. There have been occasions where Iranian patrol boats have opened fire at vessels sent by Azerbaijan for exploration into the disputed region. There are similar tensions between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan (the latter claims that the former has pumped more oil than agreed from a field, recognized by both parties as shared). Less acute are the issues between Turkmenistan and Iran. Regardless, the southern part of the sea remains disputed.

Russia and Kazakhstan signed a treaty, according to which, they divide the northern part of the Caspian Sea between them into two sectors along the median line. Each sector is an exclusive zone of its state. Thus all resources, seabed and surface are exclusive to the particular state.

Russia and Azerbaijan signed a similar treaty regarding their common border.

Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan signed a similar treaty regarding their common border.

Iran does not recognize the bilateral agreements between the other littoral states. Iran continues to insist on a single multilateral agreement between all five littoral states (as the only way to achieve 1/5-th share).

The position of Turkmenistan is unclear.

After Russia adopted the median line sectoral division and the three treaties already signed between some littoral states this is looking like the realistic method for regulating the Caspian borders. The Russian sector is fully defined. The Kazakhstan sector is not fully defined, but is not disputed either. Azerbaijan's, Turkmenistan's and Iran's sectors are not fully defined. It is not clear if the issue of Volga-access to vessels from Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan is covered by their agreements with Russia and also what the conditions are for Volga-access for vessels from Turkmenistan and Iran.

The Caspian littoral States meeting in 2007 signed an agreement that bars any ship not flying the national flag of a littoral state from entering Caspian waters.

Transport

Several scheduled ferry services (including train ferries) operate on the Caspian Sea, including:

a line between Türkmenbaşy, Turkmenistan (formerly Krasnovodsk) and Baku.

a line between Baku and Aktau.

several lines between cities in Iran and Russia.

See also

Baku Oil Fields

Caspian people

Ekranoplan, a plane dubbed the "Caspian Sea Monster"

Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea

Shah Deniz gas field

Tengiz Field

Notes

References

Gurbanov, Turab. ''Le pétrole de la Caspienne et la politique extérieure de l'Azerbaïdjan: tome 1- Questions économiques et juridiques'', l’Harmattan, 2007, 304 pages.

Gurbanov, Turab. ''Le pétrole de la Caspienne et la politique extérieure de l'Azerbaïdjan: tome 2- Questions géopolitiques'', l’Harmattan, 2007, 297 pages.

Author=Shiryayev, Boris|Title=Großmaechte auf dem Weg zur neuen Konfrontation?. Das „Great Game“ am Kaspischen Meer: eine Untersuchung der neuen Konfliktlage am Beispiel Kasachstan|Publisher=Verlag Dr. Kovac|Place=Hamburg|Year=2008

External links

Crude Accountability

Caspian Sea Region

Caspian Environment Programme

* Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea (2003)

Target: Caspian Sea Oil John Robb, 2004

Dating Caspian sea level changes

Caspian Sea Is Dying

* Category:Lowest points Category:Azerbaijan–Iran border Category:Iran–Turkmenistan border Category:Kazakhstan–Turkmenistan border Category:Kazakhstan–Russia border Category:Azerbaijan–Russia border Category:Iran – Soviet Union relations Category:International lakes of Asia Category:International lakes of Europe Category:Disputed territories in Asia Category:Border tripoints

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Name	Graham Coxon
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Graham Leslie Coxon
Born	March 12, 1969 Rinteln, West Germany
Origin	Spondon, Derby, Colchester, England
Instrument	Guitar, Vocals, Bass guitar, drums and percussion, Clarinet, Saxophone, Piano, Damon Albarn
Notable instruments	Fender 52' TelecasterGibson SGGibson Les PaulFender MustangFender Telecaster Deluxe
Genre	Alternative rock, indie rock, britpop, punk rock, folk rock
Occupation	Musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist
Years active	1988–present
Associated acts	BlurPaul WellerPete DohertyDamon Albarn
Website	GrahamCoxon.co.uk }}

Graham Leslie Coxon (born 12 March 1969) is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and painter. He came to prominence as the lead guitarist, backing vocalist and occasional lead vocalist of rock band Blur, and is also a critically acclaimed solo artist, having recorded seven solo albums. His artistic and musical contribution is featured on all seven of Blur's studio albums, from 1991's ''Leisure'' to 2003's ''Think Tank''. Although credited as a songwriter on most Blur tracks, his most significant lyrical contributions appeared on the hit singles "Tender" and "Coffee & TV"; a number of tracks in the band's catalogue were also penned mainly by Coxon. The cover of 1999's ''13'' was designed by Coxon.

In 2002, he left Blur, following a bitter dispute with the other members, notably Damon Albarn. As a result, he played guitar and was credited as a songwriter on only the final track for the following year's ''Think Tank''. In September 2007, Graham Coxon rejoined the band and in late 2008 Damon Albarn announced that the band would reunite 2009 for a number of shows.

Of Coxon's seven solo albums, four of them were recorded while a member of the band. Coxon is capable of playing several other instruments, besides guitar, and is famous for recording his albums single-handedly, without much help from session musicians. An innovative lead guitarist, other notable British guitarists such as Jonny Greenwood and Noel Gallagher have lauded Coxon's musicality and talent, with the latter calling him "the most gifted guitarist of his generation." He was voted the 15th greatest guitarist of the last 30 years in a national 2010 BBC poll.

Early life

Coxon was born in Rinteln, West Germany. As a child, he moved first to Spondon, near Derby, a period during which he became a fan of Derby County. He then moved to Colchester, Essex, in South East England, where he grew up and met fellow Blur member Damon Albarn. He appeared on the popular BBC children's show ''Blue Peter'' twice.

Music career

Blur (1989-2002; 2009-present)

Graham Coxon studied Fine Arts at Goldsmiths College, London, for two years, where early on he met bassist Alex James, until he quit due to the increasing success of his band at the time, Seymour, who later changed its name to Blur because the recording company, Food Recording, thought 'Seymour' was too studentish and presented a list to the band of preferres names. these included "the shining path" and "blur". As well as providing all guitars backing vocals and occasional drums, Graham's lo-fi and alternative musical style and tastes highly influenced the band's less commercial music in the late 90's. He also sang lead vocals on "You're So Great", "Coffee & TV" as well as a section of the chorus of "Tender".

During the 1995 period of the media-dubbed 'Battle of Britpop', Coxon became increasingly weary and suspicious of the music industry. some of his behaviour would appear awkward such as refusing to appear in the video for the Blur song "Country House" unless he could dress as a milkman and take no part in any action he felt uncomfortable with.

In november 2001 coxon was admitted to the priory hospital for 28 days to be treated for alcoholism. During this time blur began the recording sessions that would produce the material for their next album, "think tank". in february 2002, Graham rejoined the band in the studio for the rest of the recording of "think tank" but after only 5 days was asked by then manager chris morrison not to go back into the studio as the other members of the band had reported that the session wasn't going too well with him present. Coxon took this as a sign and left the band.. As he stated in an interview in 2006; “I had a breakthrough, I think my life just became calmer, I gave up drinking. My priorities changed as I had a young daughter. The group didn’t want me to record for the ''Think Tank'' album, so I took it as a sign to leave". His last contribution to Blur was a song called "Battery in Your Leg", the closing song on Blur's 2003 album ''Think Tank'', before leaving the line-up. Damon Albarn revealed that the song "Sweet Song" was written after he had been looking at a photograph of Graham.

Damon Albarn has frequently said that the door is always open for Coxon to rejoin the band. In 2004 it was rumoured that he was rejoining Blur, but both sides denied this. Coxon stated that although a reunion meeting was a good one, he would not be rejoining Blur and remained firm on his decision. It seems they patched-up some differences and continued their friendship, despite the turmoil surrounding Coxon's departure. However, at the time Coxon seemed adamant and refused to rejoin the band.

After Damon Albarn's revealing that he and Coxon have rebuilt their relationship, on 9 December 2008, Blur announced that the whole band will reunite for a show at Hyde Park on 3 July 2009. More dates have been announced and the band will play festival dates at Glastonbury, T in the Park and Oxegen 2009 as well as headlining shows in Manchester, Newcastle, Wolverhampton, Goldsmiths College and the East Anglian Railway Museum in Colchester. Blur also played one show in Lyon, France.

On 17 April 2010, the band released their first single since 2003, "Fool's Day" for the Record Store Day event as a 7" limited to 1000 copies. The band released the single as a free download on their official website the next day. More recently Blur announced via the NME website that they would reunite every so often and record more singles, preferably on 7 inch. However Damon also stated that an album was not on its way as they were all too busy with their own individual projects.

Solo work (1998-present)

Coxon had already released three solo albums while as a member of Blur before his 2002 departure. His first, released on his own Transcopic label was ''The Sky is Too High'' in 1998, a ramshackle mixture of English folk music and 1960s-style garage rock, influenced by Billy Childish. This was followed by the more extreme ''The Golden D'' in 2000 and the thoughtful Dylan-Drakesque ''Crow Sit on Blood Tree'' (2001). After going solo full time, he released ''The Kiss of Morning'' in 2002. The album proved to be his most accessible to date and was promoted with the single "Escape Song" which proved to be an interesting hybrid of Syd Barrett's "Octopus" and progressive rock trail-blazers The Nice. In 2004, Coxon released his fifth solo album ''Happiness in Magazines'', produced by ex-Blur and The Smiths producer Stephen Street. This proved to be his most successful album to date, and he received the NME Award for 'Best Solo Artist' in 2005.

In March 2006 he released his sixth solo album, called ''Love Travels at Illegal Speeds'', again produced by Stephen Street. It marks Coxon's first album away from his now-defunct indie label 'Transcopic'. The LP was preceded by the singles "Standing On My Own Again" on 27 February and "You & I". Coxon embarked on a tour of the UK, starting at Newcastle University. He also got involved in a single supporting the England national football team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The song was a re-working of the Sham 69 hit "Hurry Up Harry", and was released as "Sham 69 and The Special Assembly" (as well as Coxon and Sham 69, Virgin Radio DJ Christian O'Connell, who had run a competition on his show to find a band to record a song in support of the team, was involved in the recording of the song). "Hurry Up England" entered the UK Singles Chart at #10.

In October 2006, Coxon released a double live album ''Burnt to Bitz: At the Astoria'' immediately after his sold-out London Astoria show. The album features 27 songs, with at least one song from each of his albums. In July 2007 Coxon released a single with Paul Weller, called "This Old Town". The single peaked at #39 in the UK Singles Chart.

Coxon's seventh 15-track studio album titled ''The Spinning Top'', produced again by Stephen Street, was released on 11 May 2009. Coxon says the LP, which is primarily acoustic, follows a narrative - the story of a man from birth to death. "The album is mainly an acoustic journey although there is, of course, some explosive electric guitar action," he explained. "There are some guests too! Robyn Hitchcock supplies some counter-attack guitar, Jas Singh plays dilruba and jori with his friends Gurjit Sembhi on taus and Jaskase Singh on esraj. Danny Thompson plays the legendary Victoria, Graham Fox gives plenty of swing on the drums and sizzle cymbals and Louis Vause tinkles the ivories." Pre-release response has been very positive, with Monday Field of Frank Booth Review dubbing the album "a staggering artistic achievement, and Coxon’s best solo release to date."

His next album is expected to be released in 2012.

Transcopic and other contributions

Graham's independent label, Transcopic, was co-managed with his good friend, and then business partner, Jamie Davis. Jamie now runs Independent label Ark Recordings. Graham's artistic influence was evident across all aspects of the record label. Graham illustrated and designed all of his own album art, and collaborated with his friend Nick Craske creating abstract digital work for the release of The Spinning Top and filmed a music video, "Sorrow's Army". Graham also continued painting a series of personal work, most of which remained unseen until 2004, when he exhibited at the ICA in London.

Coxon has also been involved in remixing other peoples tracks, including Idlewild and Lowgold both of which were released as b-sides and the latter remix was later re-released on the bands anthology release Keep Music Miserable.

In September 2006 Coxon revealed a musical soundscape, "english shoes squeek", created especially for "Verheaven" an exhibition at London's Riflemaker Gallery of the work of artist Julie Verhoeven.

Coxon appears on John McCusker's ''Under One Sky'', providing the song "All Has Gone".

In 2009, Coxon was heavily involved in the creation of the Pete Doherty solo album ''Grace/Wastelands''. But Doherty has entered a period of sobriety, during which he holed up with Coxon to work on his debut solo album, ''Grace/Wasteland'', (released 24 March 2009) a diverse collection of 12 songs that bounce between reggae and Doherty's standard post-punk. Coxon played on all but one track on the album.

Musicality and instruments

In his solo albums Coxon plays nearly all of the instruments. Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood praised Coxon's musicality and talent: "Anything that has more of Graham's guitar playing, I'm bound to like." Noel Gallagher of Oasis has described Coxon as one of the most gifted guitarists of his generation.

During his days in Blur, Graham was mostly seen using a Fender Telecaster guitar. In earlier years (such as the ''Leisure'' era) he was better known for using a Gibson Les Paul Custom, which he would also use for later songs such as "Trimm Trabb" (although he used different guitars for songs such as "Sing" or "Oily Water" which he would originally have used a Les Paul for). He also made considerable use of effects pedals such as distortion (most notably "Song 2") and delay (a significant example being "Essex Dogs"). Graham himself has admitted that he got a bit greedy with Telecasters. These days, Graham often uses more than one guitar whilst performing his solo work, Gibson SGs being one of them, and a Burns London Sonic.

In 2011 Fender honoured Graham with a signature guitar. The Fender Graham Coxon Telecaster was made available from August 2011 and differs from standard telecasters with its neck humbucker (a Seymour Duncan SH-1), 375k pots and tortioseshell pickguard. The guitar is made in Mexico, with a rosewood fingerboard, blonde body and vintage bridge. The headstock features a 1970s Fender Telecaster decal on the front and a Graham Coxon signature decal on the reverse.

Other artistic endeavours

Apart from being a musician, Coxon is also a visual artist, and he designs all of his album sleeves. He has also designed album sleeves for other artists. He studied fine art at Goldsmiths College for around a year in 1988, leaving to pursue his musical career with Blur. In his time there he mixed with upcoming talents such as Damien Hirst, Michael Landy, Sam Taylor-Wood, and Abigail Lane, some of the future leading lights of the Britart movement.

In July 2006, Graham Coxon wrote and had published a foreword for a new edition of Herman Hesse's novel, ''Narcissus and Goldmund''. His work also featured on the cover of English folk singer Kate Rusby's album 'The Girl Who Couldn't Fly'.

Personal life

In 2000, his ex girlfriend, Anna Norlander, gave birth to their daughter, Pepper Bäk Troy Coxon. He is a fan of Derby County.

Discography

''The Sky Is Too High'' (1998)

''The Golden D'' (2000)

''Crow Sit on Blood Tree'' (2001)

''The Kiss of Morning'' (2002)

''Happiness in Magazines'' (2004)

''Love Travels at Illegal Speeds'' (2006)

''The Spinning Top'' (2009)

References

External links

Official Flickr Photo Stream

Official Graham Twitter Stream

Art Website

Category:1969 births Category:Living people Category:People from Rinteln Category:Lead guitarists Category:English male singers Category:English multi-instrumentalists Category:English painters Category:English rock guitarists Category:English songwriters Category:English drummers Category:Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London Category:Blur (band) members

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