''Half-Light'' is the debut solo studio album by American musician Rostam, released on September 15, 2017. The album peaked at #6 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Heatseekers Infrared homing is a passive weapon guidance system which uses the infrared (IR) light emission from a target to track and follow it seamlessly. Missiles which use infrared seeking are often referred to as "heat-seekers" since infrared is radi ...

chart, and received generally favorable reviews.

Background

''Half-Light'' was released a year after his departure from his acclaimed

indie-pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and su ...

band, Vampire Weekend, and his successful collaboration with the former The Walkmen singer, Hamilton Leithauser, ''

I Had a Dream That You Were Mine ''I Had a Dream That You Were Mine'' is a collaborative studio album by Hamilton Leithauser, the former frontman of The Walkmen, and Rostam, the multi-instrumentalist and former producer of Vampire Weekend. It was released on September 23, 2016 on ...

''. The album contains several tracks that were written many years before the release of ''Half-Light'', with one song being written ten years prior to the album's release.

Track listing

All tracks written and produced by

Rostam Batmanglij Rostam Batmanglij ( fa, رستم باتمانقلیچ, ; born November 28, 1983), known mononymously as Rostam, is an American record producer, musician, singer, songwriter, and composer. He was a founding member of the band Vampire Weekend, whos ...

, except where noted. ;Notes * signifies a lyricist. ;Sample credits * "Sumer" contains samples from " Sumer Is Icumen In" performed by The Revels Chorus. * "Never Going To Catch Me" contains an interpolation of "Ndini Baba" by

Dumisani Maraire Abraham Dumisani Maraire (27 December 1944 – 25 November 1999), known to friends as "Dumi", was a master performer of the ''mbira'', a traditional instrument of the Shona ethnic group of Zimbabwe. He specialized in the form of ''mbira'' called ...

. * "Don't Let It Get To You" contains a sample from "

The Obvious Child "The Obvious Child" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was the lead single from his eighth studio album, ''The Rhythm of the Saints'' (1990), released by Warner Bros. Records. Written by Simon, its lyrics explore morta ...

" as performed by

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...

. * "When" contains excerpts from "You Are All I See" by Active Child.

Personnel

;Musicians *

– vocals , drum programming , piano , synth , sampler , drums , acoustic guitar , string arrangement , electric guitar , bass , harpsichord , glasser , shaker , 12-string guitar , hand drums , double bass , harmonizer , horn arrangement , slide guitar *

Cameron Mesirow Cameron Mesirow (born 1983 or 1984), known professionally as Glasser, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer signed to True Panther Sounds. She released her debut EP, ''Apply'', on May 26, 2009, followed by debut studio album ''R ...

– backup vocals * Garrett Ray – drums * Hamilton Berry – cello * Tony Flynt – double bass * Kelly Zutrau – vocals * Nick Rowe – hand claps , lap slaps * Jonathan Chu – violin * Max Wang – double bass * Andrew Bulbrook – violin *

Angel Deradoorian Angel Deradoorian (born July 18, 1986), also known mononymously as Deradoorian, is a musician based in Los Angeles, California. She is best known for her work with Dirty Projectors as full-time member from 2007 to 2012. She left to pursue a solo ...

– vocals , choir vocals * Abhiman Kaushal – tabla * Binki Shaprio – background vocals * Adam Schatz – saxophone * Joe Santa Maria – saxophone ;Production * Rostam Batmanglij – production, mixing , engineering ; design and layout, front cover Polaroid digital pixelation * Ariel Rechtshaid – additional production , engineering *

Francis Farewell Starlite Francis Farewell Starlite (born Abe Morre Katz-Milder; 14 June 1981) is an American musician, record producer, singer, songwriter, and dancer. He is best known as the founder and lead vocalist of the pop band Francis and the Lights. He is prim ...

– additional production * Dave Fridmann – mixing * Rob Orton – mixing * Emily Lazar – mastering * Chris Allgood – mastering assistance * Nick Rowe – engineering * Shane Stoneback – engineering * Chris Rakestraw – engineering * Justin Gerrish – engineering * Michael Harris – engineering * John DeBold – engineering * Chris Kasych – engineering * Logan Patrick – engineering * Dave Schiffman – engineering * Ben Tousley – design and layout * Ezra Koenig – front cover Polaroid *

Jake Longstreth John Pullman "Jake" Longstreth, Jr. (born February 3, 1977), is an American painter, musician, and internet radio personality. He is currently the co-host of the Apple Music 1 show, ''Time Crisis with Ezra Koenig'' and member of a Grateful Dead co ...

– back cover painting

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2017 albums Rostam Batmanglij albums Nonesuch Records albums