Neil Halstead (born 7 October 1970) is an English musician, widely known as singer, primary lyricist, and guitarist of

shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with "dream pop") is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volu ...

band

Slowdive Slowdive is a British rock band that formed in Reading, Berkshire, in 1989. The band consists of Rachel Goswell on vocals and guitar, Neil Halstead on vocals and guitar, Christian Savill on guitar, Nick Chaplin on bass and Simon Scott on drum ...

. He has been hailed by

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

as "one of Britain's most respected songwriters", and '' Time Out'' as "one of Britain's greatest songwriters".

Career

Halstead was born in

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, Southeast England, southeast England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers River Thames, Thames and River Kennet, Kennet, the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 mot ...

, England. He is a singer/guitarist and served as frontman and primary songwriter for the shoegazing band Slowdive, formed in 1989 out of his first band, the Pumpkin Fairies. Slowdive released the albums ''

Just for a Day ''Just for a Day'' is the debut studio album by English rock band Slowdive. It was released on 2 September 1991 by Creation Records. Recording ''Just for a Day'' was recorded at Courtyard Studios, formerly known as Georgetown Studios, in Abingd ...

'' (1991), ''

Souvlaki Souvlaki ( el, σουβλάκι, , ; plural: , ), is a popular Greek fast food consisting of small pieces of meat and sometimes vegetables grilled on a skewer. It is usually eaten straight off the skewer while still hot. It can be served with ...

'' (1993), ''

Pygmalion Pygmalion or Pigmalion may refer to: Mythology * Pygmalion (mythology), a sculptor who fell in love with his statue Stage * ''Pigmalion'' (opera), a 1745 opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau * ''Pygmalion'' (Rousseau), a 1762 melodrama by Jean-Jacques ...

'' (1995) and ''

'' (2017). Halstead also recorded with a side project called Zurich with members of

Seefeel Seefeel are a British electronic and post-rock band formed in the early 1990s by Mark Clifford (guitar, programming), Daren Seymour (bass), Justin Fletcher (drums, programming), and Sarah Peacock (vocals, guitar). Their work became known for fu ...

and Knives ov Resistance; the trio's sole album was released in 2009. After their 1995 breakup, Slowdive morphed into the Halstead-helmed

Mojave 3 Mojave 3 were a British rock band consisting of former Slowdive members Neil Halstead (vocals, guitar), Rachel Goswell (vocals, guitar) and Ian McCutcheon (drums) alongside keyboardist Alan Forrester and former Chapterhouse guitarist Simon Rowe ...

and released a string of highly celebrated records that merged jangly

alt-country Alternative country, or alternative country rock (sometimes alt-country, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative), is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that differ significantly in style f ...

with dusky psychedelic

dream pop Dream pop (also typeset as dreampop) is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such as ...

. In 2006, Mojave 3 went on indefinite hiatus, prompting Halstead to embark on an acoustic-driven solo career marked by an emphasis on British

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

-inspired melody and a love of

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...

. An occasional drift into more whimsical territory prompted ''

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 ...

'' 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,Sleeping on Roads – Neil Halstead

. "Release Date: January 28, 2002; Duration: 48:20"Neil Halstead: Sleeping on Roads

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...

. "Release Date: January 28, 2002; Label: 4AD; Copyright: 2002 4AD Ltd; Length: 48:19" 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 Brushfire Records is a record label owned by singer-songwriter Jack Johnson (musician), Jack Johnson. Formerly known as ''The Moonshine Conspiracy Records'', the label was founded to release soundtracks for Woodshed Films, a company owned by Johns ...

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 ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', while God Is In The TV called it "undoubtedly one of the finest British records released this year". Halstead formed the project Black Hearted Brother in 2013, releasing one album, ''Stars Are Our Home''. Slowdive, including Halstead, reformed in 2014, and released their fourth self-titled album in 2017. In 2015, Halstead served as the touring guitarist for

Sun Kil Moon Sun Kil Moon is an American folk rock act from San Francisco, California, founded in 2002. Initially a continuation of the defunct indie rock band Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon is now the primary recording moniker of vocalist and guitarist M ...

on select European dates, including their appearance at the

Primavera Sound Primavera Sound (commonly referred to as simply Primavera) is an annual music festival held in Parc del Fòrum in Barcelona, Spain that takes place between the end of May and beginning of June. The first edition took place in 2001 in Poble Espany ...

festival.

Solo discography

Studio albums

* ''Sleeping on Roads'' (2001, 4AD) *#Seasons – 05:23 *#Two Stones in My Pocket – 04:27 *#Driving With Bert – 06:17 *#Hi-Lo and Inbetween – 04:47 *#See You on Rooftops – 06:34 *#Martha's Mantra (For the Pain) – 05:11 *#Sleeping on Roads – 04:17 *#Dreamed I Saw Soldiers – 06:20 *#High Hopes – 05:04 * ''Oh! Mighty Engine'' (2008, Brushfire) * ''Palindrome Hunches'' (2012, Brushfire)

Guest appearances

* "Has Your Mind Got Away?" – '' Friends and Lovers'' by

Bernard Butler Bernard Joseph Butler (born 1 May 1970) is an English musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the first guitarist with Suede, until his departure in 1994. He has been hailed by some critics as the greatest guitarist of his ...

(1999,

Creation Records Creation Records Ltd. was a British independent record label founded in 1983 by Alan McGee, Dick Green, and Joe Foster. Its name came from the 1960s band The Creation, whom McGee greatly admired. The label ceased operations in 1999, although ...

) * "Away" – ''

Shelter Shelter is a small building giving temporary protection from bad weather or danger. Shelter may also refer to: Places * Port Shelter, Hong Kong * Shelter Bay (disambiguation), various locations * Shelter Cove (disambiguation), various locatio ...

'' by

Alcest Alcest is a French post-black metal band from Bagnols-sur-Cèze, founded and led by Neige (Stéphane Paut). It began in 2000 as a black metal solo project by Neige, soon a trio, but following the release of their first demo in 2001, band membe ...

(2014,

Prophecy Productions Prophecy Productions is an international record label, founded in Germany by Martin Koller in 1996. It proclaims promoting "transcendental ..captivating music".

) * "Lonely Heart Reverb", "Cloudy Heart" and "Lover" – ''Cross the Verge'' by Joana Serrat (2016,

Loose Loose may refer to: Places *Loose, Germany *Loose, Kent, a parish and village in southeast England People * Loose (surname) Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Loose'' (B'z album), a 1995 album by B'z * ''Loose'' (Crazy Horse album), ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halstead, Neil 4AD artists Brushfire Records artists Living people 1970 births Shoegaze musicians Alternative rock guitarists British rock guitarists British male guitarists People from Reading, Berkshire 21st-century British guitarists 21st-century British male musicians