Lauren Auder (born 1998) is a
British-French singer-songwriter and record producer. Born in
Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne.
Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...
and raised in the French town of
Albi
Albi (; oc, Albi ) is a commune in southern France. It is the prefecture of the Tarn department, on the river Tarn, 85 km northeast of Toulouse. Its inhabitants are called ''Albigensians'' (french: Albigeois, Albigeoise(s), oc, albigĂ ...
, she began her career producing for
underground
Underground most commonly refers to:
* Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth
Underground may also refer to:
Places
* The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston
* The Underground (S ...
French and English rap artists. Auder signed to
True Panther Sounds
True Panther Sounds (TPS) is a New York City-based independent record label founded by Dean Bein, previously owned by Matador Records and distributed by Beggars Group. The label began in 2004 in San Francisco to release a tour-only 7" by founders ...
and made her solo debut in 2018 with the EP ''Who Carryâs You,'' which was followed by the EP ''Two Caves In'' in 2020.
Life and career
2015â2016: Early years and career beginnings
Auder was born in
Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne.
Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...
, near London, where she lived until the age of seven when she moved with her
music journalist parents to
Albi
Albi (; oc, Albi ) is a commune in southern France. It is the prefecture of the Tarn department, on the river Tarn, 85 km northeast of Toulouse. Its inhabitants are called ''Albigensians'' (french: Albigeois, Albigeoise(s), oc, albigĂ ...
, France to avoid the "hectic and expensive lifestyle" of London.
At the time of their migration, her mother worked at ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'', while her father worked at ''
Kerrang!
''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...
''.
She revealed in 2015, at the age of seventeen, that she was doing literary studies in Albi.
In 2015, Auder began working with artists in the London underground hip hop scene such as Lord Pusswhip, Jeshi and
Slowthai
Tyron Kaymone Frampton (born 18 December 1994), better known by his stage name Slowthai (stylised in lowercase), is a British rapper. Raised in Northampton, he rose to popularity in 2019 for his gritty and rough instrumentals and raw, politica ...
,
while also self-publishing content onto
SoundCloud
SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...
on the side. During this period of her early career, Daisy Jones of ''
Dazed'' wrote, "With
erwoozy, far-away vocals and dreamy, half-baked beats, the 17-year-old French-English producer sounds like
King Krule if
hegot heavily into hip hop and pushed
ermusic through a coedine-coated seive."
After graduating from high school in September 2016, she returned to London shortly after signing to independent record label
True Panther Sounds
True Panther Sounds (TPS) is a New York City-based independent record label founded by Dean Bein, previously owned by Matador Records and distributed by Beggars Group. The label began in 2004 in San Francisco to release a tour-only 7" by founders ...
.
2017â2018: ''Who Carry's You''
In December 2017, Auder made her professional solo debut under True Panther Sounds with the single "The Baptist" which was inspired by
Maurice Duruflé and received acclaim from ''
Pitchfork''. This was followed by her second single "These Broken Limbs Again Into One Body" in February 2018. Both singles would feature on her debut EP ''Who Carryâs You'', which was released in March 2018.
In October 2018, she accompanied
Christine and the Queens on their tour of Europe supporting the album ''
Chris'' (2018).
2019â2020: ''Two Caves In''
Supported by the singles "June 14th" and "Meek",
Auder's second EP ''Two Caves In'' was released in March 2020.
In September 2020, Auder and Boston-based producer Mmph provided American band
Haim a remix version of the song "
Summer Girl
''Summer Girl'' is the sixth studio album by American rock band Smash Mouth, released on September 19, 2006 through Beautiful Bomb Records. This is the last album featuring original guitarist and songwriter Greg Camp.
The album was released wi ...
" by for
their titular remix EP. In December 2020, Auder and American singer-songwriter
Caroline Polachek released a
cover version
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
of the song "
Some Small Hope" by
Virginia Astley
Virginia Astley (born 26 September 1959) is an English singer-songwriter most active during the 1980s and 1990s. Her songwriting career started in 1980. Her classical training influenced her as did a desire to be experimental with her music. Alt ...
.
2021âpresent: ''5 Songs for the Dysphoric''
Auder released her third EP, ''5 Songs for the Dysphoric'', in February 2021.
Artistry
Auder is a
baritone
A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...
vocalist.
Daisy Jones of
Noisey
''Vice'' (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian-American magazine focused on lifestyle, arts, culture, and news/politics. Founded in 1994 in Montreal as an alternative punk magazine, the founders later launched the youth media company Vice Media, ...
described her musical style as
orchestral pop.
Steve Janes of WithGuitars.com wrote that she "adopt
the ethos of classic era
baroque pop
Baroque pop (sometimes called baroque rock) is a fusion genre that combines rock music with particular elements of classical music. It emerged in the mid 1960s as artists pursued a majestic, orchestral sound and is identifiable for its appropria ...
to fuse elements of
post-rock
Post-rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by a focus on exploring textures and timbre over traditional rock song structures, chords, or riffs. Post-rock artists are often instrumental, typically combining rock instrumentation with ...
and
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sÄwol, sÄwel''. The earliest attes ...
with
modern classical
In music, modernism is an aesthetic stance underlying the period of change and development in musical language that occurred around the turn of the 20th century, a period of diverse reactions in challenging and reinterpreting older categories o ...
,
ambient
Ambient or Ambiance or Ambience may refer to:
Music and sound
* Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgrounds
* Ambient music, a genre of music that puts an emphasis on tone and atmosphere
* ''Ambient'' (album), by Moby
* ...
and
experimental electronics." Auder cites French composer
Maurice Duruflé and California rap duo
Main Attrakionz as some of her biggest musical influences, while also being inspired by romantic poets such as
William Blake
William Blake (28 November 1757 â 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...
.
Personal life
In September 2019, Auder came out as
transgender
A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...
.
She used
they pronouns up until August 2020 when she began publicly identifying as a woman.
She told ''
i-D
''i-D'' is a British bimonthly magazine published by Vice Media, dedicated to fashion, music, art and youth culture. ''i-D'' was founded by designer and former ''Vogue (magazine), Vogue'' art director Terry Jones (i-D), Terry Jones in 1980. The ...
'': "In a lot of ways Iâve known forever, and in other ways Iâve known since I was 12, and in other ways Iâm only just figuring it out, but Iâm way more in touch with myself and how I feel and who I want to be
..I think itâs made me more confident and aware of myself. That transition in my life, and becoming an adult, has gone hand in hand with the way I present my work.â
As of October 2020, Auder resides in
Bermondsey in England.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Auder, Lauren
Living people
1999 births
British emigrants to France
Transgender women musicians
Art pop musicians
Baroque pop musicians
English record producers
French record producers
English women singer-songwriters
People from Albi
LGBT singers from France
LGBT singers from the United Kingdom
LGBT songwriters
LGBT record producers
21st-century English women singers
21st-century English singers