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Born in Reading, Berkshire (UK) on 7 October 1970, Neil Halstead became known as the frontman and primary songwriter for the shoegazing band Slowdive, formed in 1989. After three albums, that band broke up and became the Mojave 3 and released a string of highly celebrated records that merged jangly alt-country with dusky psychedelic dream pop.

In 2006, Mojave 3 went on indefinite hiatus, prompting Halstead to embark on an acoustic-driven solo career marked by an emphasis on British folk-inspired melody and a love of surfing. Halstead’s first solo album, ‘Sleeping On Roads’, was released in 2001, followed by ‘Oh! Mighty Engine’ (2008), released on friend and fellow surfer Jack Johnson’s Brushfire Records label. In 2010, Halstead contributed a version of Cloudbusting to the compilation album ‘Sing Me To Sleep: Indie Lullabies’. Halstead’s third solo album, ‘Palindrome Hunches’, was released in 2012.

Halstead formed the project Black Hearted Brother in 2013, releasing one album, ‘Stars Are Our Home’.

Slowdive, including Halstead, reformed in 2014, and released their fourth self-titled album in 2017.

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