Laurel Halo
- Electronic[1]
- avant-pop[2]
- ambient[3]
- experimental[4]
- techno[5]
- composer
- producer
- musician
- DJ
- piano
- guitar
- violin
- synthesizer
- sampler
- drum machine
- Latency
- Hyperdub
- Honest Jon's
- Livity Sound
- !K7
- The Vinyl Factory
- Hippos in Tanks
Laurel Anne Chartow[6] (born June 3, 1985), known professionally as Laurel Halo,[7] is an American electronic musician currently based in Los Angeles, California. She released her debut album Quarantine on Hyperdub in 2012 to critical acclaim; it was named album of the year by The Wire.
Biography
Laurel Anne Chartow was born on June 3, 1985, in Ann Arbor, Michigan,[8][3] where she also grew up and learned to play the piano, guitar and violin. She draws influences from the music of Detroit, London and Berlin, as well as from her time in free jazz ensembles and as a college radio DJ. She moved to New York City in 2009, to Berlin in 2013, and to Los Angeles in 2023.[1]
Career
Halo's debut album, Quarantine, was released on the London-based label Hyperdub in June 2012. The album was named Album of the Year in 2012 by The Wire. Halo also released the Behind the Green Door EP,[9] as well her second album, Chance of Rain, on Hyperdub in 2013.[10]
In 2015, Halo released In Situ, a double-EP for the London-based label Honest Jon's.[11] Also that year she worked alongside Rashad Becker, Julia Holter and NH'Koxyen on the collaborative, 'telepathic' Terepa EP, in addition to recording a cover of a previously lost Karen Dalton song for the Tompkins Square compilation, Remembering Mountains.[12][13] 2015 also saw Halo collaborate with John Cale and Lisa Gerrard for a performance of Cale's music at the Arts Centre Melbourne.[14]
In 2016, Halo composed the soundtrack for Still Be Here, a collaborative piece featuring the Japanese virtual pop star Hatsune Miku jointly commissioned by CTM/Transmediale. It premiered at HKW in Berlin, Germany.[15]
In June 2017, Halo released her third album Dust on Hyperdub, featuring contributions from Eli Keszler, Julia Holter, Michael Salu, Max D, Klein, and Lafawndah among others.[16] The album received critical praise from numerous publications.[17]
In January 2018, it was announced that Halo wrote a score for the documentary film Possessed by Dutch design studio Metahaven and Rob Schröder.[18] Later that year in July, she released a mini-album on Parisian label Latency Recordings entitled Raw Silk Uncut Wood, which she stated was inspired by her contribution to the film. The mini-album consists of six instrumental ambient tracks, and features contributions from cellist Oliver Coates, whom she also worked with on the Possessed score, and percussionist Eli Keszler.[19] Halo also teamed up with Bristol-based musician Hodge on the collaborative EP Tru / Opal / The Light Within You, which was released on November 30, 2018, by Livity Sound Recordings.[20][21]
In February 2019, Halo provided the soundtrack for Eckhaus Latta's Fall 2019 runway at New York Fashion Week.[22] March 2019 Halo released the 68th edition of the DJ-Kicks mix series on !K7, followed by an extensive world DJ tour.[23] In fall 2019 Halo curated the programming for London multidisciplinary event series MODE, featuring artists such as Julia Holter, Kali Malone, GAS and Éliane Radigue.[24]
In April 2020, Halo's original score for Possessed was released by The Vinyl Factory.[25] In October 2020, Halo walked for Chloé's Spring 2021 runway show at Paris Fashion Week.[26]
January 2021 saw her announce the label Awe as an outlet for her solo and collaborative work.[27] Since January 2021 Halo has held a monthly NTS residency under the same name, featuring guests such as Kode9, Mica Levi, TTB and Aya.[28] In August 2021, the Moritz von Oswald Trio released an album, Dissent, which alongside von Oswald featured Halo and jazz percussionist Heinrich Köbberling.[29]
In March 2022, Halo composed the score to Cecilie Bahnsen's Fall/Winter 2022 runway show at Paris Fashion Week, which featured a poem by Tove Ditlevsen recited by artist Puce Mary.[30] In April 2022, Halo premiered a new multichannel work for piano and electronics, entitled Octavia, commissioned by Ina-GRM and presented at the Maison de la Radio in Paris.[31] In October 2022 Smalltown Supersound released Norwegian free jazz pianist Anja Lauvdal's debut solo album, From a Story Now Lost, which featured Halo as main producer.[32]
In January 2023, Halo joined the Composition and Experimental Sound Practices faculty of The Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts.[33] In September 2023, Halo released her fifth album, Atlas [1] on her record label, Awe. The album featured contributions from Bendik Giske, Lucy Railton, Coby Sey and James Underwood. The album was critically successful, rated an 8.1 by Pitchfork and named 2023 Album of the Year by Boomkat.[34]
Discography
Studio albums
Title | Album details |
---|---|
Quarantine |
|
Chance of Rain |
|
Dust |
|
Raw Silk Uncut Wood |
|
Atlas |
|
Soundtrack releases
Title | Album details |
---|---|
Possessed (Soundtrack to the Film by Metahaven & Rob Schröder) |
|
EPs
Title | EP details |
---|---|
King Felix |
|
Hour Logic |
|
Antenna |
|
Behind the Green Door |
|
In Situ |
|
Tru / Opal / The Light Within You (with Hodge) |
|
Singles
Title | Year | Album |
---|---|---|
"Sunlight on the Faded"[40] | 2012 | Non-album single |
"Jelly" (feat. Lafawndah and Klein)[41] | 2017 | Dust |
"Belleville" (feat. Coby Sey)[41] | 2023 | Atlas |
Remixes
Title | Year | Artist |
---|---|---|
"Casual Diamond"[42] | 2011 | Sleep ∞ Over |
"Work, Live & Sleep in Collapsing Space"[43] | 2012 | Kuedo |
"Living With You"[44] | 2013 | John Cale |
"Blue Scene"[45] | 2018 | Helm |
"Throw"[46] | Forest Swords | |
"Die 4 You"[47] | Perfume Genius | |
"Niagara" (Laurel Halo "Lilith" Mix)[48] | 2019 | Tashi Wada |
"Lon Lon Night Vision"[49] | Wilted Woman | |
"Young Lover"[50] | St. Vincent | |
"Sleeve"[51] | LYZZA | |
"Another Thing"[52] | Homeshake | |
"Phantoms of Dreamland"[53] | 2020 | Michal Turtle |
"Opening"[54] | 2021 | Bruce Brubaker & Max Cooper |
"Steel"[55] | Swim Mountain | |
"You, At The End"[56] | Lafawndah | |
"Cruising"[57] | Bendik Giske | |
"Deadlock"[58] | Scalping | |
"Kerlann"[59] | 2022 | Yann Tiersen |
Guest appearances
Title | Year | Artist(s) | Album |
---|---|---|---|
"Strawberry Skies" (featuring Laurel Halo) | 2010 | Games | That We Can Play |
"Mist of Time" (featuring Laurel Halo) | 2012 | Teengirl Fantasy | Tracer |
"Blue Notion" | 2015 | — | Remembering Mountains: Unheard Songs by Karen Dalton[60] |
"Workaround Two" | 2020 | Beatrice Dillon | Workaround |
"Mercy" | 2023 | John Cale | Mercy[61] |
Collaborations
- FRKWYS Vol. 7 LP (as Borden, Ferraro, Godin, Halo and Lopatin) (RVNG Intl., 2011)[62]
- Terepa EP (as Terepa) (Other People, 2015)[63]
- Dissent LP (as Moritz von Oswald Trio) (Modern Recordings, 2021)[29]
As producer
- Anja Lauvdal - From A Story Now Lost LP (Smalltown Supersound, 2022)[32]
References
- ^ a b Phares, Heather. "Laurel Halo | Biography & History". Allmusic. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
- ^ Kujundzic, Petar. "Laurel Halo - Light + Space". Hypebeast. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
- ^ a b Lester, Paul. "New Band of the Day: No. 1,028 Laurel Halo". The Guardian. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
- ^ "The Calculated Chaos of Laurel Halo". The Stranger. November 30, 2017. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
- ^ Pinckney, Jim (August 22, 2013). "An interview with musician Laurel Halo". Noted. Archived from the original on July 30, 2018. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
- ^ Iadarola, Alexander. "Hear Laurel Halo's Wonderfully Eclectic New Mix for Berlin Community Radio". Vice. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
- ^ "Laurel Halo: deep cover". September 6, 2010. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
Laurel Halo is a stage name – My real name is Ina Cube
- ^ @LaurelHalo (June 3, 2009). "happy birthday to me" (Tweet). Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Behind The Green Door, by Laurel Halo". Hyperdub. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
- ^ Pelly, Jenn (August 20, 2013). "Laurel Halo Announces New Album, Chance of Rain". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on August 25, 2013. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
- ^ "Laurel Halo - In Situ : Honest Jon's Records". honestjons.com. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
- ^ "Terepa EP". Juno Records. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
- ^ "Sharon Van Etten, Julia Holter, Marissa Nadler, Laurel Halo on Comp of Unreleased Karen Dalton Songs - News - Pitchfork". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
- ^ Arts Centre Melbourne. "SUPERSENSE - John Cale - Arts Centre Melbourne". Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
- ^ CTM Festival. "Still Be Here". Archived from the original on March 24, 2016. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Arcand, Rob. "Laurel Halo Announces New Album Dust, Releases "Jelly"". SPIN Magazine. Retrieved June 11, 2017.
- ^ "Laurel Halo - Dust Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
- ^ Coultate, Aaron (January 10, 2018). "Laurel Halo writes score for new Metahaven documentary, Possessed". Resident Advisor. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
- ^ Kolada, Brian (January 10, 2018). "Laurel Halo connects with Latency for new mini-album, Raw Silk Uncut Wood". Resident Advisor. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
- ^ a b "Tru / Opal / The Light Within You". Bandcamp. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
- ^ "Laurel Halo & Hodge - Tru by Livity Sound". SoundCloud. November 30, 2018. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
- ^ "Meet the Producer Behind New York Fashion Week's Coolest Soundtrack". Vogue. 2019-02-13. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
- ^ Records, !K7, Laurel Halo - DJ-Kicks: Laurel Halo. !K7 Records., retrieved 2023-01-16
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "MODE". mode.exchange. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
- ^ Laurel Halo - Possessed (Soundtrack To The Film By Metahaven & Rob Schröder), retrieved 2023-01-16
- ^ "Chloé Spring 2021 Ready-to-Wear Fashion Show". Vogue. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
- ^ Middleton, Ryan. "Laurel Halo Launching Record Label Awe For Solo & Collaborative Music". Magnetic Magazine. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
- ^ Radio, N. T. S. "Awe w/ Laurel Halo". NTS Radio. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
- ^ a b "Dissent". Modern Recordings (in German). Retrieved 2023-01-16.
- ^ Team, Dunes (2022-03-07). "Cecilie Bahnsen Presents FW22 "Night Wandering"". Dunes. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
- ^ "Concert : "Présences Électronique" partie 2 - avec Robert Cahen, Laurel Halo, Richard Chartier ..." France Musique (in French). 2022-05-15. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
- ^ a b "From a Story Now Lost, by Anja Lauvdal". Anja Lauvdal. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
- ^ "Laurel Halo". CalArts School of Music. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
- ^ Laurel Halo. "Atlas". Retrieved January 2, 2024.
- ^ "Laurel Halo's score for Metahaven film Possessed is getting a vinyl release". Resident Advisor. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
- ^ "New Release: Laurel Halo: King Felix EP". Pitchfork. October 29, 2010. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
- ^ "New Release: Laurel Halo: Hour Logic EP". Pitchfork. October 29, 2010. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
- ^ "Laurel Halo". NNA Tapes. November 5, 2011. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
- ^ "Laurel Halo Returns With Honest Jon's EP". Self-Titled. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
- ^ "New Laurel Halo: "Sunlight on the Faded"". Pitchfork. December 3, 2012. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
- ^ a b "Laurel Halo Is Having More Fun". The Fader. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
- ^ "Casual Diamond - Single by Sleep ∞ Over on iTunes". iTunes. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
- ^ "Work, Live & Sleep In Collapsing Space (Laurel Halo Remix) | Kuedo". Bandcamp. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
- ^ "Living With You - Single by John Cale on iTunes". iTunes. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
- ^ "Word in Action (Remixed) - EP by Helm on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
- ^ "DJ-Kicks (Mixed Tracks) by Forest Swords on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
- ^ "Reshaped - EP by Perfume Genius on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
- ^ "Niagara (Laurel Halo "Lilith" Mix), by Tashi Wada". Tashi Wada. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
- ^ "Lon Lon Night Vision (w/ Laurel Halo Remix), by Wilted Woman". Wilted Woman. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
- ^ Young Lover - Laurel Halo Remix, 2019-04-12, retrieved 2023-01-16
- ^ "Sleeve (LH Mix), by LYZZA". LYZZA. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
- ^ "Helium Remixes, by homeshake". homeshake. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
- ^ "Phantoms Of Dreamland (LH Mix), by Laurel Halo, Michal Turtle". Michal Turtle. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
- ^ "Opening (Laurel Halo Version), by Bruce Brubaker & Max Cooper". Bruce Brubaker. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
- ^ Steel (Laurel Halo Remix), retrieved 2023-01-16
- ^ "You, at the End (Laurel Halo Version), by Lafawndah". Lafawndah. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
- ^ "Cruising (Laurel Halo Remixes), by Bendik Giske". Bendik Giske. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
- ^ "Deadlock (Laurel Halo Remix), by SCALPING". SCALPING. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
- ^ "Kerlann (Laurel Halo Remix), by Yann Tiersen". Yann Tiersen. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
- ^ "Remembering Mountains: Unheard Songs By Karen Dalton by Various Artists on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
- ^ Ruiz, Matthew Ismael (19 October 2022). "John Cale Announces Album, Shares Video for New Song With Weyes Blood: Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
- ^ "New Release: Borden, Ferraro, Godin, Halo & Lopatin: FRKWYS Vol. 7". Pitchfork. June 22, 2011. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
- ^ "Terepa - Terepa EP on Other People". Resident Advisor. August 6, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
External links
- Official website
- Laurel Halo discography at Discogs