DEAD LETTERS

Product Information

Collaborating with all kinds of artists - including Lianne La Havas, Bat For Lashes, Mika, Tom Chaplin, Jason Mraz, For King and Country and countless others – Hales’ hectic yet immensely rewarding schedule resulted in huge acclaim, including both an Ivor Novello and a Grammy. No wonder, then, that aside from occasionally briefly resurfacing, Aqualung remained in hibernation. Collaborating with all kinds of artists - including Lianne La Havas, Bat For Lashes, Mika, Tom Chaplin, Jason Mraz, For King & Country and countless others – Hales’ hectic yet immensely rewarding schedule resulted in huge acclaim, including both an Ivor Novello and a Grammy. No wonder, then, that aside from occasionally briefly resurfacing, Aqualung remained in hibernation. At Aqualung’s recent ‘one night only UK tour’ (his first performance in the UK for 12 years at Bush Hall, London) Matt Hales let his devoted audience know just how clued up he is on streaming trends:

Hales' work has earned him various awards and nominations, including two Grammy and three Ivor Novello nominations. Columbia, Records (8 December 2004). "Strange And Beautiful, Eagerly-Anticipated Aqualung Album, Ready for Stateside Release". UBM plc . Retrieved 21 February 2013. One of the great things about streaming is that the system tells you what the best songs are that you’ve ever written. It ranks them, so you can also see all the songs you’ve written that aren’t very good as well. Accordingly this next song is…absolutely worthless!”. Ashari, Nazirah (26 March 2010). "First Impressions: Aqualung, "Magnetic North" ". Filter . Retrieved 29 May 2013.Vaziri, Aidin (9 November 2012). "Lianne La Havas' dreams are coming true". Hearst Corporation . Retrieved 22 February 2013. Hales grew up in Southampton, where his parents ran an independent record shop. [10] He aspired to be a musician from an early age, writing songs using the family piano when he was just 4 years old. When he was 16, Hales was awarded a scholarship to study music composition at Winchester College. Within a year, he wrote his first symphony titled "Life Cycle", [11] and formed his first band, which carried several different names during its lifespan. In the spring of 1990, the band (known at the time as Mecano Pig) [12] produced their debut self-titled album, but broke up soon afterwards. That same year, Hales moved to London to study music at City University, [13] and in 1992 formed a new band with his brother Ben called Gravel Monsters. [14] RUTH / the 45s [ edit ] percent of number one hits between 1958 and 1990 were in multiple keys,” he noted. “What’s odd is that after 1990, key changes are employed much less frequently, if at all, in number one hits.”

Bonacich, Drago. "Aqualung – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". AllMusic . Retrieved 21 February 2013. Matt Hales' official Aqualung Facebook post on 40th birthday – 17 January 2012". Facebook. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022 . Retrieved 8 March 2013.

It’s funny, but some musicians who have long careers are often apologetic about their most recent work. While this might have a touch more humility than the usual brazen fib “this is my best work ever”, they needn’t be. I wonder, has streaming got something to do with this? When an artist’s new work is so transparently ranked against their biggest hits, it must send a disconcerting message. Brownlee, Bill (2 April 2008). "Review: Hotel Cafe Tour". The Kansas City Star . Retrieved 21 February 2013. Aqualung first came to attention in 2002 when the debut single ‘Strange and Beautiful (I’ll Put A Spell On You)’ became a surprise UK Top 10 after being discovered via a Volkswagen Beetle advert. While that song created a magnetic allure, the strength and versatility of Hales’ songwriting further enamoured audiences. The debut self-titled Aqualung album reached Gold status in recognition of over 100,000 domestic sales, while the brighter symphonic scope of his second album, Still Life, led to another chart hit with ‘Brighter Than Sunshine’. By the time Aqualung’s third album, Memory Man emerged, glowing comparisons had been made with everyone from Bacharach to Radiohead via The Beach Boys, while his music has featured in ‘Twilight’, ‘Gossip Girl’ and ‘Grey’s Anatomy’. Silverstein, Rebecca (21 February 2007). "Getting To Know Matt Hales From Aqualung". The Fader . Retrieved 21 February 2013.

THE 7th album FROM AQUALUNG, Dead Letters, is a homecoming record that thumbs its nose up to streaming conventions. it works beautifully. Long, Joe (25 July 2005). "Aqualung: Breathing Underwater". Glidemagazine.com . Retrieved 21 February 2013. Maynard, Trent (17 December 2012). "news: Lianne La Havas' year in review". Box Television. Archived from the original on 5 February 2013 . Retrieved 22 February 2013. Ganz, Caryn (10 March 2010). "Sara Bareilles Turns Panic into Rebirth on Uptempo Summer Disc". Wenner Media LLC . Retrieved 21 February 2013.BRIGHTER THAN SUNSHINE: "2003 10 09 Official Scottish Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. officialcharts.com/. Aqualung first came to attention in 2002 when the debut single ‘Strange & Beautiful (I’ll Put A Spell On You)’ became a surprise UK Top 10 after being discovered via a Volkswagen Beetle advert. While that song created a magnetic allure, the strength and versatility of Hales’ songwriting further enamoured audiences. The debut self-titled Aqualung album reached Gold status in recognition of over 100,000 domestic sales, while the brighter symphonic scope of his second album, ‘Still Life’, led to another chart hit with ‘Brighter Than Sunshine’. By the time Aqualung’s third album, ‘Memory Man’ emerged, glowing comparisons had been made with everyone from Bacharach to Radiohead via The Beach Boys, while his music has featured in ‘Twilight’, ‘Gossip Girl’ and ‘Grey’s Anatomy’. As early as 2004, Hales began collaborating with other artists as a songwriter and producer. He co-wrote " UR" by Tiësto which featured his lead vocal, and was released as a single and featured on the album Just Be. [37] He worked with Leona Lewis on her album Echo in 2009, [ citation needed] and in 2010 he co-wrote songs appearing on albums by Brooke Fraser, [38] Christophe Willem, and Boyzone. [39] Hodgkinson, Will (23 April 2003). "Wired for sound". Guardian Media Group . Retrieved 21 February 2013. I’m sort of thumbing my nose at the world of streaming” he told me recently on The Art of Longevity podcast. Well it’s paid off. Dead Letters is less strange, more beautiful, and the best work Matt Hales has made so far as Aqualung.

A dead letter is one that is undeliverable and unreturned by the post office. A message that sits in purgatory. A dead letter drop is a place where messages and other material can be left and collected in secret, without the sender and the recipient meeting. All of which feels like the perfect metaphor for the songs that Hales had written.

Pearson, Beth (20 November 2002). "Music Aqualung, St Andrews in the Square, Glasgow". Newsquest. Archived from the original on 12 May 2014 . Retrieved 21 February 2013. RUTHsongs". Vanity Press. 27 June 2012. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013 . Retrieved 21 February 2013. Matthew Nicholas Hales (born 17 January 1972) [1] is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer who has been performing professionally under the name Aqualung since the early 2000s. [2] Aqualung is best known in the UK for his song " Strange and Beautiful", which was featured on a television advertisement for the new Volkswagen Beetle during the summer of 2002 [3] and went on to become a top 10 hit on the UK Singles Chart later that year. [4] In the United States, Aqualung is also known for the song " Brighter Than Sunshine", which had considerable airplay and was used in the film A Lot Like Love [5] and various television spots. Hales has released seven albums as Aqualung. The most recent, Dead Letters, appeared in 2022. Dead Letters side one ends with the first ‘single’, the gentle and melodic ‘ Imperfect Cadence’, which comes with a rather radio friendly chorus that proves beyond doubt Hale’s hit-making credentials are in fact well intact. It comes complete with a piano flourish at the end that is a nod to Hales’ classical training. The song is yet another parallel universe radio smash.