HYD

Hayden Dunham performs under the artistic alias Hyd as an art pop vocalist, composer, performance artist, and disc jockey. Initial public recognition arrived through the short-lived collaborative project QT, assembled with A.G. Cook and SOPHIE. Dunham resumed musical activity as Hyd in 2020, appearing on Cook’s solo releases before issuing the self-titled EP through PC Music the following year. The debut full-length Clearing followed in 2022, incorporating contributions from Caroline Polachek and Sigur Rós’ Jónsi.

Raised in Austin, Dunham attended NYU and established a practice in design and visual art. Meetings with SOPHIE led to connections with A.G. Cook of PC Music, after which the three originated the virtual character QT together with the energy drink DrinkQT. The project’s sole single, “Hey QT,” featured vocalist Harriet Pittard and appeared on XL in 2014. It received immediate critical attention, followed by a Diplo remix the next year. While QT returned sporadically for DJ sets and a short film, Dunham largely withdrew from music for several years to concentrate on art projects and exhibitions, among them the 2019 performance piece 7 Sisters at New York’s MoMA.

Hyd resurfaced in 2020 with appearances on A.G. Cook’s albums 7G and Apple. A sequence of singles preceded the 2021 PC Music release of the debut EP Hyd. In contrast to QT’s fizzy, buoyant dance-pop, the EP adopted a more somber, personal, and introspective character. A version of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ “Into My Arms,” produced by PC Music’s easyFun, surfaced in early 2022. November brought Clearing, Hyd’s first album-length project, featuring songwriting and production from Caroline Polachek, Jónsi, SOPHIE, and Danny L Harle.