Holy Other

Holy Other is a British electronic musician and producer originally from Stockport, Greater Manchester, England.^[1][2][3] He is best known for his critically acclaimed debut album Held.

Music career

Holy Other made his debut in 2010 with the release of a 7" single, We Over, on Transparent Records.^[1][4] Shortly after he signed to Tri Angle (record label) and released his debut EP, With U, in 2011.^[1] With U was highly acclaimed by music critics, many applauding its unique blend of R&B, UK Garage, and House Music.^[5] Paul Lester, writing for The Guardian, remarked in reference to the EP “remember those stories about Prince being a Cocteau Twins fan? Well, this is what might have resulted had he worked with Robin Guthrie or Kevin Shields”, while Marc Hogan, in his review for Spin Magazine wrote that the EP "blasts through not only genres, but the divide between the otherworldly and the physical”.^[6][7] Despite the early hype Holy Other immediately developed a reputation for being a particularly elusive and private artist, rarely divulging personal details about himself and preferring not to be photographed or filmed during interviews. In an interview with Stereogum he explained the mystery surrounding him as a by-product of intense stage fright and an initial desire to keep the project as faceless as possible for as long as possible.^[8]

In 2012 Holy Other released his debut album, Held, again, on Tri Angle Records.^[9] The album garnered very positive reviews and was featured on numerous Best Of lists that year.^[10] Ruth Saxelby, in her eight-out-of-ten review for Pitchfork stated "his music is of the wholly sensual, painfully physical kind, and with Held he triumphantly translates his bruised intimacy to full-length format without losing any of its skin-prickling power”.^[11] In a nine-out-of ten review Mixmag assessed that the album acted "as the perfect catalyst for moments of intense intimacy” and in another nine-out-of-ten review FACT Magazine concluded that “in both musical and studio accomplishment Holy Other has come into his own as a strong, individual, musical voice”.^[12] Around this time Holy Other was widely recognised as being one of the more important artists in the then fledgling Alternative R&B scene, although Holy Other himself has never stated any affiliation with the genre.^[13] In support of Held Holy Other performed at numerous music festivals around the world and also toured with artists including Beach House, Amon Tobin, and Lucky Dragon.

Since the release of his debut album Holy Other has maintained a relatively low profile. In 2014 he performed a Nico Muhly composition with a 40 piece choir as part of Stargaze Present in Berlin, and also took part in a collaborative project with Damon Albarn and Brian Eno in Mali.^[14][15] In 2015 details of a forthcoming album began to emerge. FACT Magazine speculated that drummer Jack Bevan of Foals (band) and composer Andre DeRidder had been contributing to sessions.^[16] In an interview with Boiler Room Tri Angle Records’ founder Robin Carolan confirmed he had been writing and producing on the new album and that The Haxan Cloak had also been working on the project.^[17] To date nothing has been announced.

Discography

Studio albums

• Held (2012)

EPs/Singles

• We Over (2010)
• With U (2011)

References