Soul Drift

I learnt of Halflight back when I was working on my “Frock You” project in 2006. The project focused on women in music, particularly in the South Wales area. They were definitely one of the best bands I came across in the area & I’m kicking myself for not going to see them (or vocalist Sarah Howells’ solo shows) live when I had the chance.

I’d sort of forgotten about them until recently, but their song, ‘Pick Me’, came on my iPod shuffle about a week ago & I got the chills listening to it again. It really is a great song & you can get it for free on their Last.FM page. You can also stream a number of tracks from older EPs. ‘Treading Water’ is another track to definitely check out, such a haunting song.

As their biography says: Halflight began at the end of 2003 after Sarah Howells’ previous band Jylt, tragically came to an end. Bassist, singer & best friend, Nia George had been diagnosed with Leukaemia and eventually died of the illness at only 21. Despite the indescribable sense of loss and despair this brought, Sarah was compelled to continue writing and performing and out of this, Halflight was born.

The band has been described as “the new jewel in the crown of Welsh music” & although this sounds incredibly cheesy, it’s hard not to believe. Although still relatively unknown, in the last 12 months they have supported acts such as James Morrison, The Gossip, Sandi Thom, Johnathan Rice & Jonah Matranga.

There is a lot going on with the band at the moment. They have just released a 7 track mini album called ‘My Disguise’, which you can buy from their official site & some good record shops in the South Wales area. You can hear new songs & view the video for their new track of the same name on their MySpace page as well.

Official Site | MySpace | Sarah Howells