Richard Walters

British singer/songwriter Richard Walters built a reputation on anthemic yet nuanced indie pop that fuses guitar and electronic elements, a style captured in haunting form on 2016's A.M. and 2020's Golden Veins.

Walters grew up in Oxford, where he fronted multiple bands before becoming a member of the short-lived indie group Theremin in 2001. He launched his solo career with the 2004 EP Umbrella Songs, which earned widespread acclaim in both the U.K. and the U.S. Health concerns prompted a year-long hiatus, after which he resurfaced in 2007 with the single "Brittle Bones" and the Pilot Lights EP. During that period he also collaborated with the Cranberries' Noel Hogan, and the pair issued their initial Arkitekt EP the same year.

Kartel signed Walters, who then released his 2009 debut album The Animal, produced by David Kosten (Everything Everything, Bat for Lashes). The following year he began work with Suede's Bernard Butler and Hogan on his second album; Kartel put out the resulting Pacing in 2011, which shifted from his established ethereal indie-pop approach toward a denser, guitar-focused sound. After returning to London from time spent in Paris, Walters composed his third album, Regret Less, issued in 2012, and supported it with extensive touring.

A series of self-released singles preceded his partnership with singer/songwriter Patrick James Pearson under the name Liu Bei, which yielded several tracks across two years. Walters resumed solo activity in 2016 with the album A.M., whose U.K. radio support and placements on U.S. series including Magnum P.I. and Grey's Anatomy led to further songwriting work with Alison Moyet, 3LAU, and Declan J. Donovan. He previewed his fifth album via the 2019 singles "This Is Where It Ends" and "The Dawn Chorus on Tape," followed by additional tracks ahead of Golden Veins, released on Cooking Vinyl in mid-2020. At the same time Walters joined Pearson and U.K. Poet Laureate Simon Armitage in the project LYR, whose debut album Call in the Crash Team appeared around that period.