Shelley Harland

Shelley Harland
Birth nameShelley Ann Harland
Also known asShelley Ann Harland-Wright
OriginNew York, New York, United States
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter, producer
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar
Years active2000–present

Shelley Ann Harland-Wright (born as Shelley Ann Harland, Caterham, Surrey) is an English singer-songwriter and producer. She started her music career in New York and performed mononymously as Harland. She then moved to Australia and released material as Shelley Harland.

Biography

Shelley Ann Harland was born in Caterham, Surrey UK.[1][2] While growing up, she did not receive any musical training; however, she developed a love and a taste for music and would make up songs with a keyboard she had at home. Harland finished her secondary education and started working as a beauty therapist.[1] Around that time she met an Australian guitarist-singer-songwriter, James Wright, and they developed a domestic partnership.[1] The couple moved to New York where initially Harland worked as a private investigator while Wright performed in his band, Stretch Princess.[3][4] She later recalled "[James] was on tour and one day I just picked up his guitar and just started playing it ... It was an immediate and natural thing. I started to play and now I can't imagine not doing it. It's like breathing – music – it's who I am. It was fate".[3]

Harland started to write songs with an acoustic guitar and a four-track record sampler. She collaborated with Andrew Wright, James' brother, a programmer and producer.[1] They created a project called Phoelar. Its music style was orientated towards electronic and trip-hop sounds. Justin Elswick of Review Digest found that Phoelar was "more experimental and somewhat darker" than Harland's later work.[5] He noted that "'Lovers Greed' is a fantastic track that captures the creamy and urban vibe of a Quarterflash or The Motels song".[5] All the tracks were co-written by Harland and Andrew.[6]

Shortly after Harland released her first two albums Sinking Shade and Salt Box Lane under the mononym Harland but after that used her full name.

By 2006, Shelley and James Wright had moved to Sydney.[4] She released her fourth album, Red Leaf, in 2009. It featured predominantly acoustic and pop sounds, in contrast with her previous electronic works. Four singles were lifted from it: "Wonder", "Friday", "Stranger" and "In the Dark". Harland recorded her fifth album, The Girl Who Cried Wolf, after launching a fundraising campaign. The song "New Things" was released as a single.

In 2013, her song "In the Dark" (from the Red Leaf album) was chosen for the advertising campaign for the new Omega Ladymatic Watch, featuring actress Nicole Kidman. Harland also performed at the launch event La nuit enchantée, which took place at the Stadpalais Liechtenstein in Vienna.

Since the start of her career, Harland has collaborated with many artists from the world of electronic music, such as Delerium, Ferry Corsten, Pole Folder, Loverush UK!, Sleepthief, Headstrong, Morgan Page, Junkie XL and Guru/Jazzmatazz. She toured with Delerium, The Fray and Elvis Costello.

Discography

Album Year
Phoelar 1999
Salt Box Lane 2003
Sinking Shade 2005
Red Leaf 2009
The Girl Who Cried Wolf 2014

Collaborations

Collaborations released as singles
Year Artist Title Label
2003 Delerium "Above the Clouds" Nettwerk
2004 Rio Klein "Fearless" Nettwerk
2007 Loverush UK! "Different World" Loverush Digital
2007 Mike Hiratzka "Only Human" Impropa Talents
2008 J-Punch "The Secret" Sundown Recordings
2008 Pole Folder "Radio 101" Proton Music
2008 Pole Folder "Love Chemical" Faith music
2008 Headstrong "Helpless" Solar Records
Collaborations not released as singles
Year Artist Title(s) Medium Label
2003 Junkie XL "Rivers" Radio JXL: A Broadcast from the Computer Hell Cabin Roadrunner Records
2003 Ferry Corsten "Holding On" Right of Way Tsunami Records
2005 Pole Folder
  • "Abrasion"
  • "Fall in Violet"
 Zero Gold Bedrock Records
2006 Sleepthief "Desire of Ages" The Dawnseeker Neurodisc Records
2007 Guru "Follow the Signs" Guru's Jazzmatazz, Vol. 4: The Hip Hop Jazz Messenger: Back to the Future 7 Grand
2012 Morgan Page "Loves Mistaken" In the Air Nettwerk
2018 Sleepthief "Bruised by a Breath" Mortal Longing Neurodisc Records

References

  1. ^ a b c d Roup, Denise (27 May 2004). "Harland". YouthQuake. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  2. ^ "'Friday' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 18 January 2014. Note: User may have to click 'Search again' and provide details at 'Enter a title:' e.g Friday; or at 'Performer:' Shelley Harland
  3. ^ a b Pattison-Levi, Cecillia (21 July 2009). "Features Shelley Harland". BMA Magazine. Canberra Streetpress. Archived from the original on 26 January 2011. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  4. ^ a b "Episode Guide – Episode Twenty One". Spicks and Specks. Australian Broadcasting Corporation ABC. 17 June 2009. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  5. ^ a b "Review of Salt Box Lane / Phoelar". Review Digest. Musical Discoveries. 9 November 2003. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  6. ^ "'Lovers Greed' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 18 January 2014. Note: User may have to click 'Search again' and provide details at 'Enter a title:' e.g Lovers Greed; or at 'Performer:' Phoelar - Harland