Neil Halstead
{{Short description|English musician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2013}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Neil Halstead
| image = 2014 WGT 287 Slowdive.jpg
| caption = Halstead performing with Slowdive in 2014
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1970|10|7|df=y}}
| birth_place = Reading, Berkshire, England
| genre = {{flatlist|
| instrument = {{flatlist|
- Vocals
- guitar}}
| occupation = {{flatlist|
- Musician
- singer
- songwriter
- record producer}}
| current_member_of = Slowdive
| past_member_of = Mojave 3
}}
Neil Halstead (born 7 October 1970) is an English musician known as the singer, primary songwriter, producer and guitarist of shoegaze band Slowdive. He has been hailed by AllMusic as "one of Britain's most respected songwriters",{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/neil-halstead-mn0000329602/biography|title=Neil Halstead – Biography & History – AllMusic|website=AllMusic|access-date=17 October 2018}} and Time Out as "one of Britain's greatest songwriters".{{cite web|url=http://wutc.org/post/richard-winham-interviews-neil-halstead#stream/0|title=Richard Winham Interviews Neil Halstead|website=Wutc.org|access-date=17 October 2018}}
Career
Halstead was born in Reading, Berkshire, England. He is a singer/guitarist and served as frontman and primary songwriter for the shoegaze band Slowdive, formed in 1989 out of his first band, the Pumpkin Fairies. Slowdive released the albums Just for a Day (1991), Souvlaki (1993), Pygmalion (1995), Slowdive (2017) and Everything Is Alive (2023).
Halstead also recorded with a side project called Zurich with members of Seefeel and Knives ov Resistance; the trio's sole album was released in 2014.{{cite web|url=https://www.tinymixtapes.com/news/important-records-announces-upcoming-lps-by-ashley-paul-zurich-aidan-baker-and-mugstar-damo-suz|title=Important Records announces upcoming LPs by Ashley Paul, Zurich, Aidan Baker, and Mugstar + Damo Suzuki|website=Tinymixtapes.com|access-date=17 October 2018}}
After their 1995 breakup, Slowdive morphed into the Halstead-helmed Mojave 3 and released a string of highly celebrated records that merged jangly alt-country with dusky psychedelic dream pop.
In 2006, Mojave 3 went on an indefinite hiatus, prompting Halstead to embark on an acoustic-driven solo career marked by an emphasis on British folk-inspired melody and a love of surfing. An occasional drift into more whimsical territory prompted NME to describe Halstead as "like Syd Barrett if he’d ever set foot on a surf board". Halstead's first solo album, Sleeping on Roads, was released in 2001,[http://www.allmusic.com/album/sleeping-on-roads-mw0000213652 Sleeping on Roads – Neil Halstead], AllMusic. "Release Date: January 28, 2002; Duration: 48:20"[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000SFSRFC/ Neil Halstead: Sleeping on Roads], Amazon.com. "Release Date: January 28, 2002; Label: 4AD; Copyright: 2002 4AD Ltd; Length: 48:19"
[https://music.apple.com/album/sleeping-on-roads/498304901 iTunes – Music – Sleeping on Roads by Neil Halstead]. "Released: Jul 01, 2001; ℗ 2001 4AD; Length: 48:19" followed by Oh! Mighty Engine (2008), released on friend and fellow surfer Jack Johnson's Brushfire Records label. Halstead's third solo album, Palindrome Hunches, was released in 2012; it was described as "an exquisite set of dark folk music" by The Times,{{cite web|url=https://www.roughtrade.com/music/palindrome-hunches-12010cad-82bc-4358-89e7-3f227eaac367|title=Neil Halstead – Palindrome Hunches|website=Rough Trade|access-date=17 October 2018}} while God Is In The TV called it "undoubtedly one of the finest British records released this year".{{cite web|url=http://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/2012/10/01/neil-halstead-palindrome-hunches-sonic-cathedral/|title=Neil Halstead – Palindrome Hunches (Sonic Cathedral) – God Is In The TV|date=1 October 2012|website=Godisinthetvzine.co.uk|access-date=17 October 2018}}
Halstead formed the project Black Hearted Brother in 2013,{{cite web|url=http://www.popmatters.com/review/176816-black-hearted-brother-stars-are-our-home/|title=Black Hearted Brother: Stars Are Our Home|date=16 January 2014|website=Popmatters.com|access-date=17 October 2018}} releasing one album, Stars Are Our Home.{{cite web|url=http://thequietus.com/articles/13662-black-hearted-brother-stars-are-our-home-review|title=The Quietus – Reviews – Black Hearted Brother|website=Thequietus.com|access-date=17 October 2018}}
Slowdive, including Halstead, reformed in 2014, and released their fourth, self-titled, album in 2017.{{cite web|url=http://www.slowdiveofficial.com/uncategorized/new-album-announcement/|title=New Album Announcement|website=Slowdiveofficial.com|access-date=17 October 2018}}
In 2015, Halstead served as the touring guitarist for Sun Kil Moon on select European dates, including their appearance at the Primavera Sound festival.{{Cite web |last=Weiss |first=Dan |date=May 14, 2015 |title=Stream Another New (Ten-Minute!) Track From Sun Kil Moon's Upcoming Album |url=https://www.spin.com/2015/05/stream-sun-kill-moon-exclusive-universal-themes-new-song/ |website=Spin}}
Halstead produced Mary Lattimore's 2020 album Silver Ladders.{{Cite web |last=Interviews |first=Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & |last2=Murray |first2=Robin |date=2020-07-15 |title=Mary Lattimore Teams With Slowdive's Neil Halstead On New Album |url=https://www.clashmusic.com/news/mary-lattimore-teams-with-slowdives-neil-halstead-on-new-album/ |access-date=2023-10-17 |website=Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews |language=en-GB}}
Solo discography
=Studio albums=
- Sleeping on Roads (2001, 4AD)
- Oh! Mighty Engine (2008, Brushfire)
- Palindrome Hunches (2012, Brushfire)
=Guest appearances=
- "Has Your Mind Got Away?" – Friends and Lovers by Bernard Butler (1999, Creation Records)
- "Away" – Shelter by Alcest (2014, Prophecy Productions)
- "Lonely Heart Reverb", "Cloudy Heart" and "Lover" – Cross the Verge by Joana Serrat (2016, Loose)
References
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Commons category}}
{{Reflist}}
{{Mojave 3}}
{{Slowdive}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Halstead, Neil}}
Category:Brushfire Records artists
Category:British shoegaze musicians
Category:British alternative rock guitarists
Category:English male guitarists
Category:Musicians from Reading, Berkshire