Nailah Hunter

About

Los Angeles-based harpist, composer, and singer Nailah Hunter makes poetic, nature-inspired fantasy music blending new age, folk, and art-pop. Her earliest releases, such as the acclaimed 2020 EP Spells, were more ambient and textural, focusing on her enchanting vocals and ethereal harp playing. A series of additional efforts and collaborations, including participation in the supergroup <a href="spotify:artist:1DZHAnQ0cxXnnj246MlewC">Galdre Visions</a>, preceded Lovegaze, Hunter's 2024 debut album, which sounded closer to trip-hop and R&B than her earlier work. Nailah Hunter grew up singing in a church choir and playing guitar and drums. She studied vocal performance at CalArts, and began playing harp, soon devoting several hours a day to practicing the instrument. She released her first song, "April, Maple, Willow" in 2019, and signed with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Leaving+Records%22">Leaving Records</a>, which released her first EP, Spells, in 2020. Hunter also formed the group <a href="spotify:artist:1DZHAnQ0cxXnnj246MlewC">Galdre Visions</a> with labelmates Olive Ardizoni (<a href="spotify:artist:0M6QGBKWICr8dxhh3UJW45">Green-House</a>), <a href="spotify:artist:1DAqw4sYHPmgHQ6gzOVDig">Ami Dang</a>, and Diva Dompé (Yialmelic Frequencies), and their self-titled EP was released the same year. She also collaborated with <a href="spotify:artist:7FQiZr787umw7P5dO3zqld">John Carroll Kirby</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:7MSoMSIgrEtwDJ0iUCJwSD">Eddie Chacon</a> for the single "High," and released two additional solo pieces, "Black Valhalla" and "Bassin Bleu." Hunter's second EP, Quietude, included covers of songs by <a href="spotify:artist:6vLlQYujOujIrm7zAKzEdG">Donovan</a> ("Guinevere") and <a href="spotify:artist:4Z8W4fKeB5YxbusRsdQVPb">Radiohead</a> ("Talk Show Host"), and was released in 2021. She also created Sleeping Sea in collaboration with generative soundscape app <a href="spotify:artist:3JNr31WfX56vgwBuIcdOt4">Endel</a>. In 2022, Hunter released the jazzy, trip-hop-influenced "Forest Dark" as well as "Forest Dwelling," a 32-minute ambient piece for Longform Editions. She wrote her first album in England with producer Cicely Goulder, as well as collaborator <a href="spotify:artist:0lYoJnsYMVaAitj1pZVqER">Ben Lukas Boysen</a>. Lovegaze, featuring more intricate compositions and more confident vocal performances than Hunter's previous work, was released by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Fat+Possum+Records%22">Fat Possum Records</a> in 2024. ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi

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