# Laurel Halo

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.

## Biography

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.

## 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, 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. 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. 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.
In February 2019, Halo provided the soundtrack for Eckhaus Latta's Fall 2019 runway at New York Fashion Week. March 2019 Halo released the 68th edition of the DJ-Kicks mix series on !K7, followed by an extensive world DJ tour. 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.
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. The album was critically successful, rated an 8.1 by Pitchfork and named 2023 Album of the Year by Boomkat.

## Discography
### Studio albums

| Title | Album details |
| Quarantine | Released: May 21, 2012 Label: Hyperdub Formats: CD, LP, digital download |
| Chance of Rain | Released: October 28, 2013 Label: Hyperdub Formats: CD, LP, digital download |
| Dust | Released: June 23, 2017 Label: Hyperdub Formats: CD, LP, digital download |
| Raw Silk Uncut Wood | Released: July 13, 2018 Label: Latency Formats: LP, digital download |
| Atlas | Released: September 22, 2023 Label: Awe Formats: CD, LP, digital download |
| Octavia | Released: March 1, 2024 Label: Shelter Press / Portraits GRM Formats: LP, digital download Split with Jessica Ekomane's Manifolds |

### Soundtrack releases

| Title | Album details |
| Possessed (Soundtrack to the Film by Metahaven & Rob Schröder) | Released: April 10, 2020 Label: The Vinyl Factory Formats: LP, digital download |

### EPs

| Title | EP details |
| King Felix | Released: November 30, 2010 Label: Hippos in Tanks Formats: 12", digital download |
| Hour Logic | Released: June 21, 2011 Label: Hippos in Tanks Formats: 12", digital download |
| Antenna | Released: November 5, 2011 Label: NNA Tapes Formats: CS, digital download |
| Behind the Green Door | Released: May 20, 2013 Label: Hyperdub Formats: 12", digital download |
| In Situ | Released: September 25, 2015 Label: Honest Jon's Formats: CD, 2x12", digital download |
| Tru / Opal / The Light Within You (with Hodge) | Released: November 30, 2018 Label: Livity Sound Formats: 12", digital download |

### Singles

| Title | Year | Album |
| "Sunlight on the Faded" | 2012 | Non-album single |
| "Jelly" (feat. Lafawndah and Klein) | 2017 | Dust |
| "Belleville" (feat. Coby Sey) | 2023 | Atlas |

### Remixes

| Title | Year | Artist |
| "Casual Diamond" | 2011 | Sleep ∞ Over |
| "Work, Live & Sleep in Collapsing Space" | 2012 | Kuedo |
| "Living With You" | 2013 | John Cale |
| "Blue Scene" | 2018 | Helm |
| "Throw" | 2018 | Forest Swords |
| "Die 4 You" | 2018 | Perfume Genius |
| "Niagara" (Laurel Halo "Lilith" Mix) | 2019 | Tashi Wada |
| "Lon Lon Night Vision" | 2019 | Wilted Woman |
| "Young Lover" | 2019 | St. Vincent |
| "Sleeve" | 2019 | LYZZA |
| "Another Thing" | 2019 | Homeshake |
| "Phantoms of Dreamland" | 2020 | Michal Turtle |
| "Opening" | 2021 | Bruce Brubaker & Max Cooper |
| "Steel" | 2021 | Swim Mountain |
| "You, At The End" | 2021 | Lafawndah |
| "Cruising" | 2021 | Bendik Giske |
| "Deadlock" | 2021 | Scalping |
| "Kerlann" | 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 |
| "Workaround Two" | 2020 | Beatrice Dillon | Workaround |
| "Mercy" | 2023 | John Cale | Mercy |

### 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)