Laurel Halo

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Wikipedia

Laurel Anne Chartow (born June 3, 1985), known professionally as Laurel Halo, 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.

Early life

Laurel Anne Chartow was born on June 3, 1985, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, 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.

2010s

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, as well her second album, Chance of Rain, on Hyperdub in 2013. In 2015, Halo released In Situ, a double-EP for the London-based label Honest Jon's. 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. 2015 also saw Halo collaborate with John Cale and Lisa Gerrard for a performance of Cale's music at the Arts Centre Melbourne. 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. 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. The album received critical praise from numerous publications. In January 2018, it was announced that Halo wrote a score for the documentary film Possessed by Dutch design studio Metahaven and Rob Schröder. 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.

2020s

In April 2020, Halo's original score for Possessed was released by The Vinyl Factory. In October 2020, Halo walked for Chloé's Spring 2021 runway show at Paris Fashion Week. January 2021 saw her announce the label Awe as an outlet for her solo and collaborative work. Since January 2021, Halo has held a monthly NTS residency under the same name, featuring guests such as Kode9, Mica Levi, TTB, and Aya. In August 2021, the Moritz von Oswald Trio released an album, Dissent, which alongside von Oswald featured Halo and jazz percussionist Heinrich Köbberling. 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. 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. Octavia was released in April 2024 on the Portraits GRM record series, as a split with Jessica Ekomane's Manifolds. 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. In January 2023, Halo joined the Composition and Experimental Sound Practices faculty of The Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts. In September 2023, Halo released her fifth album, Atlas on her record label, Awe. The album featured contributions from Bendik Giske, Lucy Railton, Coby Sey, and James Underwood.

Collaborations

FRKWYS Vol. 7 LP (as Borden, Ferraro, Godin, Halo and Lopatin) (RVNG Intl., 2011) Terepa EP (as Terepa) (Other People, 2015) Dissent LP (as Moritz von Oswald Trio) (Modern Recordings, 2021)

As producer

Anja Lauvdal - From A Story Now Lost LP (Smalltown Supersound, 2022)