Artist Biography: Radclyffe Hall
"Our hopes, dreams, and aspirations are under arrest. Resist."
Radclyffe Hall believes in the power of pop music to move hearts, minds, and bodies. On their debut EP, Extended Play due out this September, the dark-pop quartet wrestles with fear and loss before arriving at a rousing sense of empowerment. Boasting tracks as introspective as they are anthemic, Radclyffe Hall's bold debut makes the case that real inspiration is borne out of real adversity.
With their moniker both a literary reference and an affectionate nod to Beantown academic culture, Radclyffe Hall began in Boston as an experiment in analog and digital production. Steeped in rock 'n' roll, funk, and R&B, founding member Dhy Berry started developing groove-heavy demos before developing them into fully fledged pop songs. The band -- with Berry on keys and voice, Jacqui Powell on vocals and keys, and Carl Harkness and Sean Camargo both on drums - coalesced around these compositions, adorning Berry's rigorous song-craft with radio-ready dance-pop aesthetics. In both their recordings and live shows, the group has solidified an indelible sonic signature of pulsating live and programmed beats, ethereal vocals, and fuzzy bass lines.They count Meshell Ndegeocello, Santigold, and Metric as enduring influences.
Radclyffe Hall is cultivating a burgeoning fan-base with a robust web presence and a batch of shows in the Northeast to promote Extended Play. Their visually stunning live act has a strong symmetrical motif with a setup of parallel keyboards and parallel drums that capture the band's dualities: digital vs. analog; light vs. dark; classic vs. innovative. The dynamic group's multi-faceted artistic interests also extend to their music videos, which includes "OMG" - an intimate and kinetic travelogue of Berry confronting the darkness of the cityscape on her motor-bike. Videos for Extended Play cuts, "Stars" and "Dare to Dream" are forthcoming.
Turning fear into agency and loss into catharsis, Radclyffe Hall makes moody anthems for the bedroom and the dance floor alike. Lyrically and musically, they are as individualistic as they are decidedly for the masses. In their ethos of finding the light by embracing the dark, Radclyffe Hall is - above all - a band that dares you to dream.