Biography
Kiwi singer-songwriter Hannah Harding, who records under the name Aldous Harding, first attracted notice with the brooding gothic folk and raw emotional depth of her self-titled 2015 debut, which drew parallels to both Kate Bush and Scott Walker. Subsequent releases—Party in 2017, Designer in 2019, and Warm Chris in 2022—shifted toward a quirkier indie-pop palette that recalled the sensibilities of Cate Le Bon and Nico.
Raised in Lyttelton near Christchurch, New Zealand, by parents who both worked in music, Harding heard her earliest recordings on her mother Lorina Harding’s Tui Farm Folk Festival-winning album Clean Break, where the thirteen-year-old contributed vocals. Despite this introduction, she initially dismissed any thought of a musical vocation, viewing it as too uncertain, and instead considered training as a veterinarian. That plan faded once she began writing and performing songs with her friend and fellow musician Nadia Reid. By 2008 she was supplying backing vocals for the touring string band the Eastern, and an impromptu street performance caught the ear of Anika Moa, who immediately asked the young singer to open her show that evening.
In 2012 Harding adopted the first name Aldous and recruited Marlon Williams and Ben Edwards as co-producers for what became her debut album. The self-titled record earned widespread critical praise, prompting extensive touring. For the follow-up she joined the roster of the British independent label 4AD and worked again with John Parish—known for his work with Sparklehorse and PJ Harvey—as co-producer. The resulting album Party appeared in 2017 and received a nomination for Album of the Year at the New Zealand Music Awards. Following a one-hundred-date tour in support of the record, Harding returned to the studio with Parish to shape her third full-length, Designer, which surfaced in April 2019 and featured the APRA Music Award-winning single “The Barrel.”
Two years afterward she issued the buoyant track “Old Peel,” then offered “Lawn” and “Fever” as early singles from her fourth album, Warm Chris, which arrived in March 2022. The record incorporated performances by H. Hawkline, Seb Rochford, Gavin Fitzjohn, John and Hopey Parish, and Jason Williamson of Sleaford Mods.
Raised in Lyttelton near Christchurch, New Zealand, by parents who both worked in music, Harding heard her earliest recordings on her mother Lorina Harding’s Tui Farm Folk Festival-winning album Clean Break, where the thirteen-year-old contributed vocals. Despite this introduction, she initially dismissed any thought of a musical vocation, viewing it as too uncertain, and instead considered training as a veterinarian. That plan faded once she began writing and performing songs with her friend and fellow musician Nadia Reid. By 2008 she was supplying backing vocals for the touring string band the Eastern, and an impromptu street performance caught the ear of Anika Moa, who immediately asked the young singer to open her show that evening.
In 2012 Harding adopted the first name Aldous and recruited Marlon Williams and Ben Edwards as co-producers for what became her debut album. The self-titled record earned widespread critical praise, prompting extensive touring. For the follow-up she joined the roster of the British independent label 4AD and worked again with John Parish—known for his work with Sparklehorse and PJ Harvey—as co-producer. The resulting album Party appeared in 2017 and received a nomination for Album of the Year at the New Zealand Music Awards. Following a one-hundred-date tour in support of the record, Harding returned to the studio with Parish to shape her third full-length, Designer, which surfaced in April 2019 and featured the APRA Music Award-winning single “The Barrel.”
Two years afterward she issued the buoyant track “Old Peel,” then offered “Lawn” and “Fever” as early singles from her fourth album, Warm Chris, which arrived in March 2022. The record incorporated performances by H. Hawkline, Seb Rochford, Gavin Fitzjohn, John and Hopey Parish, and Jason Williamson of Sleaford Mods.
Albums
Singles
