You might not think you know Ultra Records recording artist Haley, but you do.
The singer/songwriter is already loved by millions of dancers worldwide as the ethereal voice of the latest hits from Kaskade and Deadmau5. They’re also some of the most memorable dance tracks of the past year, including UK chart topper I Remember and global phenomenon Move For Me. Her first effort under her own name entitled This Is How It Goes debuted on Kaskade’s latest compilation The Grand.
Haley’s crystal-clear pipes immediately conjure comparisons to some of electronic music’s most enduring voices such as Kirsty Hawkshaw, Rachel Foster and Jes. But this 29-year-old’s roots are not in dance. She has been singing her entire life in local competitions, at school assemblies, at sporting events and she sang the National Anthem at a Utah Jazz game when she was 14.
The song-writing bug first bit in high school. “I started plucking things out on the piano. I play by ear, so I’m not fabulous, but I wanted to play songs that I liked; I wanted to be able to sing them. So I just figured them out on the piano, and that led me to writing my own music.”
With influences like Tori Amos and Jewel – artists who themselves combine disparate genres – Haley struggled to find a style of her own. She played with a full band, formed a duo with a violin-playing friend, and even moved to Nashville for a brief stint as a songwriter. “I realized that I wasn’t country,” she says. “Country music is kind of like a blatant story, more of a literal kind of writing. Electronic music is more abstract, more to the interpretation of the listener.”
Haley was first introduced to electronic music by Kaskade and she immediately found her niche. ”It fits my voice really well; better than all the other things I tried,” she says. “I was trying to figure out what my style is. What feels the most comfortable for me to sing? And with electronic [music] I immediately felt like, this is me!”
Haley debut album, produced by Kaskade, was released in 2010 on Ultra Records and is called All This Love; it showcases songs such as Letting You In, Physical and the hit I Remember. In 2011 she released remixes of the track Physical with the likes of Ming and Hardwell.
With such a fabulous start to her career, she can only progress further in 2012 and is expected to boom the year with some exceptional bangers.
