| Ladyhawke | |
|---|---|
Ladyhawke performing at the Evolution Festival in Newcastle upon Tyne, England on 25 May 2009 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Phillipa Brown |
| Also known as | Pip Brown |
| Born | July 1979 (age 32) Masterton, Wellington, New Zealand |
| Genres | New Wave, indie rock, electropop, synthpop |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist |
| Instruments | Vocals, bass guitar, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, drums, keyboards, synthesizer |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Labels | Modular, Island |
| Associated acts | Two Lane Blacktop, Teenager, Pnau |
| Website | www.ladyhawkemusic.com |
Phillipa "Pip" Brown (born 13[1][2] or 14 July 1979),[3][4] better known by her stage name Ladyhawke, is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She was formerly a part of the Wellington-based band Two Lane Blacktop, named for the 1971 road film of the same name.[5] Before assuming the name Ladyhawke, she formed the band Teenager with Nick Littlemore of Pnau and Empire of the Sun. Ladyhawke took her stage name from Richard Donner's 1985 film of the same name.[6] She is best known for her hit singles "Paris Is Burning" and "My Delirium". Her self-titled debut album was released on 22 September 2008 on Modular Recordings and topped the RIANZ Albums Chart. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2009, Ladyhawke won Breakthrough Artist in both album and single categories.
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Brown was born in Masterton, a town in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. She came from a musical family, with her mother being a singer–guitarist and her stepfather, a jazz drummer. During her childhood, various illnesses and allergies kept her in and out of hospital. At age ten she contracted erysipeloid, a disease that is common in seagulls but had not been seen in humans in New Zealand for twenty years. Her allergies to antibiotics, penicillin and antihistamines greatly complicated treatment efforts and almost put her into a coma, and she came close to dying.[7]
Brown has been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. She believes that the large amount of her childhood she spent absorbed in music, be it listening to the radio or to her mother's Beatles and Pretenders albums, was attributable to this syndrome.[7]
While attending Chanel College, she played in several grunge bands. After high school, Brown moved from Masterton to Wellington.
In Wellington, Brown formed the band Two Lane Blacktop with some friends, playing lead guitar. She describes Two Lane Blacktop as being "like Iggy and The Stooges meets The Clash".[8] She cites her experience playing the notorious New York City club CBGB with Two Lane Blacktop as being a defining moment.[8] Two Lane Blacktop parted ways when their lead singer and drummer quit the band two days prior to a scheduled tour of Australia with Modey Lemon, after which they had planned to play at SXSW in Austin, Texas.[8] Brown then made the impulsive decision to take her flight to Australia anyway, and she relocated to Melbourne.[8]
Some time after her move to Melbourne, Sydney-based musician Nick Littlemore (of Empire of the Sun and Pnau) heard of Brown's move to Australia and asked her if she was interested in joining a band he had started called Teenager. Brown liked Littlemore's music and decided to join. Brown and Littlemore played together for two years, with Brown relocating to Sydney to be closer to the band, as well as to other people she enjoyed playing and writing music with. Teenager's song "Pony" is featured in the 2008 video game Grand Theft Auto IV.
Still close with Littlemore, Brown decided to leave Teenager to focus on a personal project she had been developing for some time, a persona she had dubbed Ladyhawke. She named herself so after a character played by Michelle Pfeiffer in the 1985 film of the same name because she sees herself as "a sort of pop superwoman creating radio-friendly songs with a single bound".[7] Brown says she started Ladyhawke out of a desire to do her own project where she could completely express herself in any way she wanted. She says: "I wanted to make music that could put a smile on peoples faces and give them a feeling of nostalgia even though they may be hearing my songs for the first time. I love how music evokes memories of a certain time, I wanted to see if I could find a method of songwriting that would evoke those feelings from me on writing the song and then on the individual when listening to it for the first time."[8]
Ladyhawke's eponymous debut album Ladyhawke was released on 22 September 2008 by Modular Recordings. The album topped the albums chart in New Zealand one year after its release, in October 2009,[9] and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand for sales in excess of 15,000 copies.[10] In both Australia and the United Kingdom, it reached number sixteen,[11][12] and was certified gold.[13][14] Its biggest hit single was "My Delirium", which charted inside the top ten in both New Zealand and Australia.[9][11]
Ladyhawke appeared for the first time in a Triple J Hottest 100 with two entries in the 2008 countdown; "My Delirium" at number eleven and "Paris Is Burning" at number twenty-six. Pnau's song "Embrace", which features Ladyhawke, was voted in at number twelve. Brown was nominated for an NME Award for Best Solo Artist.[15]
Ladyhawke is noted as being influenced by 1980s music.[16][17][18] Peaches, to whom Ladyhawke's music has been compared, remixed the single "Paris Is Burning",[17] and the two have performed together, with Peaches taking DJ duties.[19] Ladyhawke's music has also been likened to that of Cyndi Lauper,[16] Pat Benatar, Kim Wilde, Annie and New Young Pony Club.[17]
She often claims her largest influence is Electric Light Orchestra, and has stated that their album Time is one of her favourite albums of all time. Brown also draws inspiration from music of the '90s. "Listening to Nirvana takes me back to being fourteen at the school disco. Bands from the nineties have that effect on me."[20] She has been linked to a wave of 1980s-influenced, individualistic, androgynous female musicians in their twenties who emerged in the late 2000s.[21]
A limited 7-inch version of "Back of the Van"—each one hand painted by Sarah Larnach—was sold on eBay. All proceeds were given to the Parkinsons Society of New Zealand.[22]
In August 2009 it was announced that she would co-headline a North American tour with Ida Maria, starting 10 September in Atlanta and concluding 3 October in Los Angeles.[23] The tour was sponsored by celebrity blogger Perez Hilton.[23]
In April 2011, Ladyhawke stated that she was preparing to release new material in the following months.[24] Her second album was initially scheduled for an October 2011 release,[25] but in September, a spokesperson stated that it was not due to be released until 2012.[26] It has since been announced that the album is due for release in March 2012,[27][28] and that it will be titled Anxiety.[29]
In a interview with Digital Spy, she said "I've made an album I'm really proud of, so I just can't wait to start playing with the band again, and touring and having some fun. I can't wait to get back into it."[30]
Ladyhawke collaborated with Pnau on "Embrace" from the duo's 2007 self-titled album, one of their best-known songs.[31]
The Charlatans' Tim Burgess revealed in September 2010 that he is collaborating with Ladyhawke and members of The Horrors and Klaxons on his second solo album. "I've been working with Josh [Hayward], the guitarist from The Horrors and Stefan [Halperin], the drummer from the Klaxons and right now we can only do stuff when our other bands aren't doing things. But when we do get together, it's really explosive and it'll be well worth waiting for. I've also got Ladyhawke singing on it."[32][33]
In 2011, Ladyhawke collaborated with New Zealand singer Nik Brinkman, better known as Junica, on the single "Living in My House".[34] That same year, she remixed American singer Alex Winston's song "Sister Wife".[35]
Ladyhawke appeared as herself in the third episode of the British ITV2 sitcom FM, originally aired 11 March 2009.[36] Also in 2009, Ladyhawke designed Music Inspired Art labels for limited edition bottles of Beck's. Labels were illustrated by Sydney-based artist Sarah Larnach, who lived with Ladyhawke back when she was first getting started on her music career.[37][38]
Brown dresses in men's and boys' clothing. She likes wearing hoodies, tight jeans and big boots. Her jeans are slung low enough to reveal boys' underwear. She said, "I don't wear women's clothes because I'd feel like a fraud. It's not just that the cut is all wrong on me, I feel much more of an individual in menswear." She feels that "I don't lose any aspect of my femininity by wearing boys' clothes".[39]
Brown is a fan of video games, describing herself as "a big, big gamer".[40]
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009[41] | Ladyhawke | Album of the Year | Won |
| Best Dance/Electronica Album | Won | ||
| "My Delirium" | Single of the Year | Won | |
| Herself | Best Female Solo Artist | Won | |
| Breakthrough Artist of the Year | Won | ||
| International Achievement Award | Won | ||
| People's Choice Award | Nominated |
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009[42] | Ladyhawke | Breakthrough Artist – Album | Won |
| Best Pop Release | Nominated | ||
| Best Cover Art | Nominated | ||
| "My Delirium" | Single of the Year | Nominated | |
| Breakthrough Artist – Single | Won | ||
| Herself | Best Female Solo Artist | Nominated |
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010[43] | Herself | International Female Solo Artist | Nominated |
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009[44] | Herself | Best Solo Artist | Nominated |
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009[45] | Herself | Best Kiwi | Nominated |
| Independent Spirit | Nominated |
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