Haley Bonar (photo Colin Michael Simmons)
Haley will release her new album ‘Pleasureland’ on 12th October via Memphis Industries. ‘Pleasureland’ is the follow-up to Haley’s critically acclaimed 2016 album ‘Impossible Dream’.
As a visual accompaniment to the new record, Haley has also created, with the help of collaborators, a ‘Pleasureland’ visual collection. She explains: “I wanted to convey simultaneously the power and violence that silence creates. The deconstruction of the American Dream as we know it creates room for new growth and definition. But the destructiveness in its path is real, revealing a war within the self- silence to others suffering is no longer under the surface. I created the videos in order to present a visual interpretation for the auditory concept. Happening upon footage of a pre-9/11 America while scrolling developed unmarked tapes from my dad’s basement, I found a version of our nation before everything changed – almost like a window back in time. The television selling the narrative of consumerism as success and poverty as failure is still eerily relevant. Personal family footage was used in order to echo the aforementioned sentiments of humanity which we are born to love and conditioned to forget. These videos are intentionally low budget and DIY, using gritty VHS, iphone, and manipulated found footage, almost antagonising the purpose of visual commodity in music”.
Of the fact that she chose to record and instrumental album, she says:
“It has been an amazing and interesting process, at times inspirational and other times difficult. By that I mean a lot of folks weren’t exactly thrilled with my releasing an album of music without words. The thing is, for most of my career (16 years!), I have been labelled mostly a singer. I love to sing, and people seem to like my voice. I get that. I’m also a writer, producer, guitarist, keyboard player, pianist, teacher, and mother. People are complicated, and I am no exception!
I put the same amount of heart, energy, and self-funding into the making of this album as I have with my previous releases. It is the soundtrack to my life just as much as the other songs I’ve written are- only I found myself compelled to dive deeper into my musical psyche in order to achieve something I found relevant and meaningful during a difficult and dark time not only in my own life, but in the world at large. I found the instruments to be human – just as emotional and personal as a story told with words. I felt lost, and loss- these compositions were the way I found myself- a different voice, as it were- again”
Haley, who had been known professionally as Haley Bonar for the past 15 years, changed her surname to reflect her maternal family name in 2017.
Haley 2018 UK Live Dates:
NOVEMBER 2018
Sat 3 – Stereo Cafe Bar – Glasgow
Sun 4 – St Mary’s Creative Space – Chester
Mon 5 – The Cluny – Newcastle
Tue 6 – Glee Club – Birmingham
Thu 8 -St Pancras Old Church – London
Fri 9 – Storey’s Field Centre – Cambridge
Sat 10 -St Michael’s – Manchester
Sun 11 – Rialto Theatre – Brighton
Haley: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
 shares visuals to accompany upcoming album + UK tour dates){kind=link}