DETERMINED: The singer, born Ashley Frangipane, is making waves.

By Geoffery Rowlands


Few artists enjoy such a dramatic start to their career as New Jersey native Halsey. Despite apparently being relatively unknown outside America, the 21-year-old singer / songwriter has experienced enormous international success. After peaking at number two on the Billboard 200, her debut album, Badlands, has hit the top ten in numerous countries including a number nine spot in Britain.
“I guess I have the Internet to thank for my overseas following,” smiled the girl born Ashley Frangipane. “In fact, I really have the Internet to thank for my career.
“I posted some of my songs on SoundCloud and the people at Astralwerks, my record label, heard them. They were particularly taken with Ghost, which became my debut single. But they basically listened to Ghost, plus a few of my in progress demos, and offered me my record deal the very next day.”
Halsey opted for a career in music almost by accident.
“I hoped to attend university as a fine art major but found I couldn’t afford the tuition fees. I felt really bitter about this so I signed up for community college as a songwriting major.
“I’d always loved many kinds of music. My father is black so he listened to artists like Tupac, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony and The Notorious B.I.G. My mother is white so she listened to stuff by The Cranberries, Alanis Morissette and Nirvana. I also played various instruments such as the violin, cello and guitar.”
There was one significant drawback to the possibility of Halsey having a career in music.
“I wasn’t much of a singer. I’m still not. But I think my songs are about the emotion in my voice rather than the quality of my singing. I’m not alone in this. Look at people like Bob Dylan, Patti Smith and Janis Joplin. These are pretty poor singers but wonderful artistes.
“I realised my lack of vocal quality so thought I would just be a songwriter. But I got sick of sending people stuff I’d written and then have them just scan it and make some half-hearted comment. I wanted them to really pay attention to what I was saying so I started making demos actually singing my songs.”
Halsey’s reaction to what she perceived as insufficient interest in her work was perhaps the result of her suffering from bipolar disorder.
“My mother also has bipolar disorder so I’ve probably inherited it from her. I’ve never wanted to keep it a secret. I feel being open and honest about my mental issues might help any of my fans who have similar problems.
“It’s difficult to deal with at times. Even my excessively happy periods can be awkward for others because I can become hyperactive. I’m not easy to be with during my depressed times. Things can get pretty weird.”
She is often asked about her stage name.
“There is a stop on the New York subway called Halsey. Most people think my name comes from that. But it’s actually an anagram of my real name which was inspired by Halsey Street in New York.
“A friend of mine lived on Halsey Street and I spent a lot of time there when I was growing up. My character was cultivated there on weekends during my adolescence so it’s a way of acknowledging what was the most important period of development in my life.”
Halsey wrote or co-wrote every track on Badlands.
“I feel it’s important for me to write my own songs. But I do enjoy working with other songwriters. My first release was a five-song EP, Room 93. It was an indulgence covering my obsession with the isolated feeling of being in an hotel room. I seemed to be doing everything out of hotel rooms, having relationships, business meetings and calling friends.
“I extended this dystopian reality in the songs on my album. It’s set in a kind of wasteland, hence the title, where the songs look in on someone else’s life. I’ve also tried to be androgynous in the lyrics seeing things from a female and male point of view. But I think the overall effect has resulted in an angry female record.”
She is already working on the songs for her second album.
“I never really stop writing. I have this obsession about observing people so I’ll often see things or overhear snippets of conversation which give me ideas for songs.”

IN BRIEF
Ten Commandos

Members of Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Queens of the Stone Age and OFF! have formed a grunge metal supergroup named Ten Commandos.
Their debut album is expected to be released before the end of next month. But the genesis of the Seattle-based band dates back to 2008 after a memorial concert for Eleven keyboard player/ vocalist Natasha Shneider.
Her husband and bandmate, Alain Johannes, had the idea to write and record songs with drummer Matt Cameron and bassist Ben Shepherd. They spoke following Natasha’s memorial and agreed to get together in late-2008 when the bulk of their songs were written within a week.
Despite this rapid production of material, it wasn’t until last year that all three musicians had the free time available which allowed them to finish the album. They were joined in this session by guitarist Dimitri Coats.
These four artistes are the core members of Ten Commandos. They have also been augmented by guest vocalists and musicians. One guest, Mark Lanegan, provides vocals on the band’s debut single, Staring Down The Dust. The track is available now and can be heard at www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuCMkBOFwvI.

Waylayers

The deep house music of London trio Waylayers has been attracting critical acclaim since they issued their debut EP, Fault Lines, in the summer of 2013.
Bassist Dave Norman, guitarist Joe Anderson and vocalist / synth player Harry Lee are back again now with their latest single, Closer. The new song can be heard at (no www.) soundcloud.com/waylayers. Also posted here are all five tracks from their Re: Verse EP.
More of their music is available on YouTube. Videos for Magnets and S.O.S. are posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW640hQ-pTE and www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5sSCvxmQw8 respectively. Additional audio tracks, interviews and live performances can also be found on the website.

PJ Harvey

PJ Harvey recorded her ninth album at Somerset House in London earlier this year. The whole process was open to public viewing with fans paying to watch from behind one-way glass.
Polly’s parallel project is The Hollow Of The Hand, a newly published book of poetry and photographs. The book was created in collaboration with photographer / film-maker Seamus Murphy as they travelled through Washington, D.C., Afghanistan and Kosovo between 2011 and 2014.
Songs on the album have evolved from Polly’s poems. She showcased both the book and some of her new tracks in a recent performance at London’s Royal Festival Hall.
Fan-filmed videos of two songs can be seen online. Ministry of Social Affairs is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkzEl0yKtdc while the URL for Chain of Keys is www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep89J3-tEGM. The sound quality isn’t great but fan comments have been hugely positive. There is no word as yet on when the album might be released.

The 1975

English rock quartet The 1975 begin a UK concert tour next month. The band will be promoting their sophomore album, I Like It When You Sleep For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It. Surprisingly though, the album is not scheduled for release until February, 2016.
The band have at least just issued their new single, Love Me. The David Bowie meets Prince via Peter Gabriel circa 1980s track was premiered on Annie Mac’s BBC Radio One show. Annie’s interview with the band, plus two plays of the song, can be heard at www.josepvinaixa.com/blog/the-1975-love-me/