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 as "one of Britain's most respected songwriters", and ''

Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an enginee ...

'' as "one of Britain's greatest songwriters".

Career

Halstead was born in Reading, Berkshire, 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'' (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 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 and released a string of highly celebrated records that merged jangly alt-country with dusky psychedelic dream pop. 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-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'' 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
AllMusic. "Release Date: January 28, 2002; Duration: 48:20"Neil Halstead: Sleeping on Roads
Amazon.com. "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'', 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 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 (1999, Creation Records) * "Away" – '' Shelter'' by Alcest (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)

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