New Music
New Music
New Music: Haley Heynderickx
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Emerging from Portland’s underground, singer-songwriter Haley Heynderickx delivers a delicate dose of timeless folk. Classic folk and sounds from the beatnik underground of the ’60s and ’70s combine with Haley’s understated lyrical wit and wisdom. Heynderickx has recorded a number of covers that offer a peep into her influences taking on standards from the likes of Bob Dylan, Nico & Jackson C Frank, but it’s her own work that’s driving the agenda now.
Heynderickx grew up in a religious household in Oregon, closely identifying with her Filipino roots, but also straddling multiple cultural identities. In an interview with Rolling Stone Heynderickx explained how she sang in a church choir from an early age but that it wasn’t necessarily a skill that came naturally.
“My parents bought me an American Idol ‘how to sing’ DVD package my freshman year of high school,” she explains. “I never used it. They couldn’t stand me howling at night, trying to sing. I’m still very offended they did that.”
Haley went on to work as a music teacher, releasing her debut EP Fish Eyes in 2016, but her efforts to record a follow up suffered several set-backs. Thankfully these obstacle and challenges have provided fertile ground for an 8-track album that explores self-doubt as skillfully as any in the last 10 years. I Need to Start a Garden was released on Mama Bird Recording Co. earlier this year.
Her debut full-length channels her individual stage presence, balancing between the notably humble, beautifully delicate, and quirkily humorous. In fact, during a stripped back solo performance at this year’s The Great Escape Festival, it was this humour that ultimately captivated her audience, sitting on pews in one of Brighton’s many churches. Her songs are in part introspective, while handcrafting a mythical world. Her live atmosphere effortlessly follows the same trajectory.
Essential Tracks
The whimsically titled Oom Sha La La showcases her retrospective influences and her distinctive vocal power.
The epic eight minute beauty of Worth It transports to another world.
Not quite an essential track, here’s Haley in action performing for NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series.
Check back on Ticketmaster.co.uk for Haley Heynderickx live dates.