Biography
Chairlift first surfaced in 2008 through the synth-laden avant-pop of Does You Inspire You, whose whimsical arrangements showcased the richly ethereal, elastic vocals of Caroline Polachek. The band broadened its palette for the major-label release Something in 2012, which entered the Billboard 200. While Polachek and the band’s sole other steady member, producer Patrick Wimberly, pursued outside projects and session work with artists such as Beyoncé and Solange, Chairlift formally ended its run one year after issuing its third and most pop-oriented album, Moth, in 2016.
University of Colorado students Caroline Polachek and Aaron Pfenning launched Chairlift in 2005 to score haunted-house attractions. Once the material proved suitable for wider listening, the pair relocated eastward, established themselves in Brooklyn, and recruited Patrick Wimberly as the third member. They soon performed alongside contemporaries including MGMT and Yeasayer and secured a deal with the independent imprint Kanine.
The label’s initial Chairlift offering, the single “Evident Utensil,” included a remix by MGMT and preceded the full-length debut. Does You Inspire You arrived in 2008 and gained further exposure when “Bruises” soundtracked a prominent technology advertisement. Major-label interest followed by early 2009; Columbia signed the group and reissued Does You Inspire You that April. After Pfenning’s exit, Polachek and Wimberly recorded the follow-up Something with additional production from Dan Carey and Alan Moulder. Released in early 2012, the album expanded the band’s kaleidoscopic pop and reached number 184 on the Billboard 200 while appearing on numerous year-end lists. Beyoncé, an admirer, enlisted the duo for her self-titled 2013 project; Polachek co-wrote “No Angel” with Beyoncé and James Fauntleroy.
Polachek issued her solo debut Arcadia on Terrible Records under the name Ramona Lisa in early 2014, followed later that year by the EP Dominic and the three-track set Piano Versions in 2015. Wimberly, meanwhile, handled mixing duties for tUnE-yArDs, Fort Lean, and Ramona Lisa. Self-produced by the remaining duo and featuring instrumental contributions from Quadron’s Robin Hannibal, Moth emerged on Columbia in early 2016 as Chairlift’s sleekest, poppiest statement to date.
Throughout 2016, Wimberly supplied production and performances for Solange’s number-one album A Seat at the Table, Blood Orange’s Freetown Sound, and Wet’s Don’t You, while Polachek co-wrote a track for Travis Scott’s Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight. In January 2017 she released her first instrumental album, Drawing the Target Around the Arrow, credited to CEP. She also contributed songwriting to projects by Solange, Beach Fossils, Charli XCX, and others issued before year’s end. Chairlift concluded its activities in April 2017 after a series of farewell performances, the last held at Brooklyn Steel.
University of Colorado students Caroline Polachek and Aaron Pfenning launched Chairlift in 2005 to score haunted-house attractions. Once the material proved suitable for wider listening, the pair relocated eastward, established themselves in Brooklyn, and recruited Patrick Wimberly as the third member. They soon performed alongside contemporaries including MGMT and Yeasayer and secured a deal with the independent imprint Kanine.
The label’s initial Chairlift offering, the single “Evident Utensil,” included a remix by MGMT and preceded the full-length debut. Does You Inspire You arrived in 2008 and gained further exposure when “Bruises” soundtracked a prominent technology advertisement. Major-label interest followed by early 2009; Columbia signed the group and reissued Does You Inspire You that April. After Pfenning’s exit, Polachek and Wimberly recorded the follow-up Something with additional production from Dan Carey and Alan Moulder. Released in early 2012, the album expanded the band’s kaleidoscopic pop and reached number 184 on the Billboard 200 while appearing on numerous year-end lists. Beyoncé, an admirer, enlisted the duo for her self-titled 2013 project; Polachek co-wrote “No Angel” with Beyoncé and James Fauntleroy.
Polachek issued her solo debut Arcadia on Terrible Records under the name Ramona Lisa in early 2014, followed later that year by the EP Dominic and the three-track set Piano Versions in 2015. Wimberly, meanwhile, handled mixing duties for tUnE-yArDs, Fort Lean, and Ramona Lisa. Self-produced by the remaining duo and featuring instrumental contributions from Quadron’s Robin Hannibal, Moth emerged on Columbia in early 2016 as Chairlift’s sleekest, poppiest statement to date.
Throughout 2016, Wimberly supplied production and performances for Solange’s number-one album A Seat at the Table, Blood Orange’s Freetown Sound, and Wet’s Don’t You, while Polachek co-wrote a track for Travis Scott’s Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight. In January 2017 she released her first instrumental album, Drawing the Target Around the Arrow, credited to CEP. She also contributed songwriting to projects by Solange, Beach Fossils, Charli XCX, and others issued before year’s end. Chairlift concluded its activities in April 2017 after a series of farewell performances, the last held at Brooklyn Steel.
Albums
Singles
