Sophia Alaska Reid (born 1996), known professionally as Alaska Reid, is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She is known for her electronic and country-tinged indie rock sound and narrative-driven lyrical content. She is also known for her collaborations with boyfriend

A. G. Cook Alexander Guy Cook (born 23 August 1990) is an English music producer, singer, songwriter and the head of the UK record label PC Music. Cook released his first solo singles in 2014. He has also collaborated with PC Music artists such as Hannah ...

. She initially began releasing music with her band Alyeska in 2015, releasing an EP titled ''Crush'' in April 2017. She began releasing solo material in 2019 with her debut single "Quake". She signed to

Terrible Records Terrible (formerly Terrible Records) is a Los Angeles-based record label and artist management company founded by Chris Taylor and Ethan Silverman in 2009. Originally based in Brooklyn, New York, the label operated as a joint venture imprint ...

in 2020, and later released an EP titled ''Big Bunny'' in December 2020''.''

Early life

Reid is one of five children. She grew up in

Park County, Montana Park County is a county in the U.S. state of Montana. At the 2020 census, the population was 17,191. Its county seat is Livingston. A small part of Yellowstone National Park is in the southern part of the county. History The Territorial Legis ...

, and went to high school in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. She took up singing lessons from age 6 until age 20. She started writing music and performing at gigs on the Sunset Strip at age 14, such as The Pig & Whistle,

House of Blues House of Blues is an American chain of live music concert halls and restaurants. It was founded by Isaac Tigrett, the co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, co-star of the 1980 film ''The Blues Brothers''. The first location opened at Ha ...

and

The Viper Room The Viper Room is a nightclub and live music venue located on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California, United States. It was established as The Viper Room in 1993 and was partly owned by actor Johnny Depp. The other part owner was Sal J ...

. She additionally appeared in the fourth episode in the eleventh season of Criminal Minds. She cites

The Breeders The Breeders are an American alternative rock band based in Dayton, Ohio, consisting of members Kim Deal (rhythm guitar, lead vocals), her twin sister Kelley Deal (lead guitar, vocals), Josephine Wiggs (bass guitar, vocals) and Jim Macpherso ...

Dinosaur Jr. Dinosaur Jr. is an American rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1984, originally simply called Dinosaur until legal issues forced a change in name. The band was founded by J Mascis (guitar, vocals, primary songwriter), Lou Barlo ...

, Joni Mitchell,

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

and

americana Americana may refer to: *Americana (music), a genre or style of American music *Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...

as early influences on her. She also cites initial feelings of frustration because of the way she was perceived as a young female singer-songwriter.

Career

Reid formed the band, Alyeska. They released their debut EP ''Crush'' in April 2017, produced by John Agnello''.'' The sound of the band has been described as raw and "punky". Alyeska additionally appeared in the film

Viena and the Fantomes ''Viena and the Fantomes'' is an American musical romantic drama film, written and directed by Gerardo Naranjo. It stars Dakota Fanning, Jeremy Allen White, Frank Dillane, Olivia Luccardi, Sarah Steele, Philip Ettinger, Ryan LeBeouf, Caleb Landry ...

. The band eventually split. Reid released her

-produced debut solo single, "Quake", in May 2019. It was noted as being "decidedly poppier" than her previous efforts with Alyeska. This was followed by "Mermaid Tears" in September 2019. Her next single, "Amber", was released in March 2020. She additionally performed vocals on

Alex Somers Alex Somers (born March 7, 1984) is an American visual artist and musician from Baltimore, Maryland, who attended Berklee College of Music and Listaháskóli Íslands. Somers lives and works in Los Angeles. Previously he ran a recording studi ...

' score for the

Apple TV+ Apple TV is a digital media player and microconsole developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is a small network appliance hardware that plays received media data such as video and audio to a television set or external display. Since its secon ...

animated special, Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth in April 2020. Reid announced her signing to indie label

in August 2020, alongside the release of her single "Boys From Town". Reid additionally appeared heavily on A. G. Cook's two 2020 albums, '' 7G'' and ''

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...

''. Reid then announced her debut EP, ''Big Bunny'', with the release of the single, "Oblivion". ''Big Bunny'' was released on 11 December 2020, preceded by the two single releases of "Big Bunny", and "Warm". In March 2021, Reid released the "Oblivion Tears" double single, reworked versions of "Mermaid Tears" and "Oblivion", produced by Cook. Reid, Cook and other frequent collaborator Waylon Rector (a.k.a. jonny gorgeous) released a cover of "

Bad Moon Rising "Bad Moon Rising" is a song written by John Fogerty and performed by Creedence Clearwater Revival. It was the lead single from their album '' Green River'' and was released in April 16, 1969 four months before the album. The song peaked at No. ...

" under the pseudonym, Minotaur Jr.. A cover of Dinosaur Jr.'s 1994 single "

Feel the Pain "Feel the Pain" is a single by alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr. from their 1994 album '' Without a Sound''. Written after Mascis came up with the riff on tour, the song features a dry arrangement. It was released as the debut single from the al ...

" was released in May 2021. "Always" was released as the lead single in October 2021, for a forthcoming project, and toured the US with indie rock outfit

Del Water Gap Samuel Holden Jaffe, known professionally as Del Water Gap, is an American musician and record producer based in Brooklyn, New York. Career Jaffe is from Sharon, Connecticut. While at boarding school in Millbrook, New York, Jaffe first record ...

until early December 2021. She spent 2022 working on her forthcoming album, and supporting

Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is an English singer and songwriter. Born in Cambridge and raised in Start Hill, Essex, she began posting songs on Myspace in 2008, which led to her discovery ...

during Crash the Live Tour, as well as Porches,

Magdalena Bay Magdalena Bay ( es, Bahía Magdalena) is a long bay in Comondú Municipality along the western coast of the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. It is protected from the Pacific Ocean by the unpopulated sandy barrier islands of Isla Magdalena ...

and

the Drums The Drums are an American indie pop band from New York City. Formation Founding members Jonathan (Jonny) Pierce and Jacob Graham became friends as children, having met at Bible camp at age 11 or 12. Some years later, they formed a short-lived ...

Personal life

Reid divides her time between Montana and Los Angeles. One of Reid's siblings is actress and artist Lilliya Scarlett Reid. She is most known for appearing in

Shawn Mendes Shawn Peter Raul Mendes (; born August 8, 1998) is a Canadian pop singer. He gained a following in 2013, when he posted song covers on the video sharing platform Vine. The following year, he caught the attention of artist manager Andrew Gert ...

' " Nervous" music video, and the 2019 Netflix series ''Chambers''. Lilliya and Alaska collaborate frequently, with Lilliya appearing in, as well as directing Alaska's music videos. Reid began a relationship with English music producer, singer and head of record label

PC Music PC Music is a record label and art collective based in London and run by producer A. G. Cook. It was founded in 2013, making its music available on SoundCloud that year. Artists on its roster have included Hannah Diamond, GFOTY, Danny L Harle ...

in 2018. Since they began dating, they have frequently collaborated with each other. He quarantined with her and her family in Montana during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. He helped produce Charli XCX's '' how i'm feeling now'' album while in Montana.

Discography

EPs

Notes * signifies an additional producer

Singles

Guest appearances

Notes * signifies a non-vocal, guitar-only appearance.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reid, Alaska American singer-songwriters Living people 1996 births