Laurel Arnell-Cullen,[1] better known as Laurel, is a British indie musician based in London. Laurel received critical acclaim for writing, recording and producing all her music in her bedroom studio in London.
Laurel | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Laurel Mae Arnell-Cullen |
| Born | 7 May 1994 Southampton, England |
| Genres | Chamber pop, indie pop, synthpop, synthwave |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, producer, singer |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar, piano, synthesizer, bass, drums |
| Years active | 2013–present |
| Labels | Next Time Records, Theia, Counter Records, Ninja Tune |
| Website | classiclaurel |
Career
editLaurel first caught interest from music bloggers in 2013 when she posted a demo for her song "Next time". Laurel released "Fire Breather" as her first official single, via her SoundCloud the same year.[2] Laurel released her debut EP, To The Hills, in 2014 via her own record label, Next Time Records.[3][4][5][6][7] In July 2015, Laurel released a finished version of her song "Blue Blood" which, in demo form had gained much attention with online blogs.[8][9]
In March 2016, Laurel released "Life Worth Living" which would be the first track of her debut album released 3 years later. Unlike her previous work, it featured a strong indie rock influence with a leading electric guitar. In May 2016, she then dropped a second single titled "San Francisco". This single earned her the place of Apple Music's first Artist of the Week. In August 2016, Laurel announced she had signed to Counter Records, a division of Ninja Tune Records and that she would be going on her first headline UK tour in November, in support of her EP, Park. "Hurricane" was released as the first single from Park in September 2016 and gained a lot of buzz from music bloggers and indie radio stations.[10]
In August of 2020, Laurel released “Scream Drive Faster” from her EP entitled “Petrol Bloom.” This represented a significant change in her musical style towards that of synthpop and synthwave, with more of a retro synth-based sound on her tracks, often similar to that of the 80s. She followed this up with “Best I Ever Had” in October of 2020 and “Appetite” in December of 2020, which is currently her most-viewed video on YouTube.
In spring of 2021, Laurel released another EP entitled “Limbo Cherry” from which she released the singles “You’re the One”, “Let Go” and “Wild Side”
Discography
editStudio albums
edit| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Dogviolet |
|
| Palpitations |
|
Extended plays
edit| Title | Details | Track listing |
|---|---|---|
| To the Hills |
|
|
| Holy Water |
|
|
| Park |
|
|
| Petrol Bloom |
|
|
| Limbo Cherry |
|
|
Mixtapes
edit| Title | Details | Track listing |
|---|---|---|
| Allelopathy |
|
|
Singles
edit| Title[14] | Details | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Fire Breather" |
|
— |
| "To the Hills" |
|
To the Hills EP |
| "Shells" |
|
To the Hills EP |
| "Memorials" |
|
Holy Water EP |
| "Blue Blood" |
|
— |
| "Life Worth Living" |
|
Dogviolet |
| "San Francisco" |
|
— |
| "Hurricane" |
|
Park EP |
| "Maybe Baby" |
|
Park EP |
| "Too Far" |
|
Park EP |
| "Lovesick" |
|
Dogviolet |
| "Same Mistakes" |
|
Dogviolet |
| "Crave" |
|
Dogviolet |
| "Adored" |
|
Dogviolet |
| "Scream Drive Faster" |
|
Petrol Bloom EP |
| "Best I Ever Had" |
|
Petrol Bloom EP |
| "Let Go" |
|
Limbo Cherry EP |
| "Wild Side" |
|
Limbo Cherry EP |
| Change |
|
Palpitations |
| Wild Things |
|
Palpitations |
References
edit- ^ Johnson, Gabriella. "Meet Laurel, the New Face of British Alt Pop". Vogue. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
- ^ Cragg, Michael. "Laurel – Fire Breather: New music". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
- ^ Leorne, Ana. "Laurel announces debut EP To The Hills, shares video for title-track". The Four Oh Five. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
- ^ "Watch Laurel perform Blue Blood and To the Hills". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
- ^ Unterberger, Andrew. "Stream Laurel's Ethereal 'Holy Water' EP". Spin. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
- ^ Trott, Florence. "NEW NOISE: LAUREL". Wonderland Magazine. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
- ^ McDermott, Emily. "DISCOVERY: LAUREL". Interview Magazine. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
- ^ Bennett, Kim. "LISTEN TO LAUREL'S MAJESTIC NEW TUNE "BLUE BLOOD"". Vice. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
- ^ Murray, Robin. "Listen: Laurel – 'Blue Blood'". Clash. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
- ^ Wass, Mike. "Laurel Announces 'Park' EP, Drops New Single "Hurricane"'". Idolator. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- ^ a b "Listen to two brand new tracks from chamber pop artist Laurel ahead of her debut album release". The Independent. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
- ^ "Laurel – To The Hills'". Amazon. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
- ^ Oke, Tobi. "Premiere: Laurel's 'Allelopathy' Mixtape Is Otherworldly'". Complex Magazine. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
- ^ "Laurel on iTunes". iTunes. Retrieved 18 November 2016.