Aqualung

Matthew Nicholas Hales, known professionally as Aqualung, was born on January 17, 1972, in Southampton, Hampshire, England. His early exposure to music came from his parents’ record store in Southampton. Hales began writing songs on the family piano at the age of four. At 16, he earned a scholarship to Winchester College, where he studied music composition and wrote a symphonic piece titled “Life Cycle.” Concurrently, he explored popular music, playing in a Police cover band. He later joined the Brit-pop group Ruth, which released an album on ARC Records in 1999. After Ruth disbanded, he formed The 45s, releasing two singles on Universal before the band dissolved.

The Aqualung project began in 2002. His debut single, “Strange and Beautiful (I’ll Put a Spell on You),” gained prominence after being featured in a UK Volkswagen Beetle commercial in 2002, reaching the Top Ten on the UK Singles Chart. The self-titled debut album followed, achieving gold status. In 2003, his second album, “Still Life,” produced the hit single “Brighter Than Sunshine,” which was subsequently used in movies and TV shows, including “A Lot Like Love.” This exposure led to a worldwide recording contract with Columbia Records in 2005 and the release of “Strange and Beautiful” in the US, which sold over 250,000 copies and reached number one on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart. Hales released “Memory Man” in 2007, “Words & Music” in 2008, and “Magnetic North” in 2010.

Since 2004, Hales has also established himself as a songwriter and record producer, collaborating with numerous artists. In 2012, he co-wrote and produced Lianne La Havas’s Mercury Prize-nominated single “Is Your Love Big Enough?” He also worked with Jason Mraz and Paloma Faith that year. Hales moved to Los Angeles in 2011, continuing his production and songwriting work. In 2020, he received a Grammy for his work on the album “Burn The Ships” by For King & Country. In 2021, he earned an Ivor Novello Award for Best Album for his contributions to Lianne La Havas’s self-titled third album. He returned to the UK and released a new Aqualung album, “Dead Letters,” in 2022. He also formed a new musical venture, Søren Lorensen, with Italian violinist Davide Rossi, releasing their debut album “Lake Constance” in 2020.