Caroline Polachek

City: Los Angeles
Country: USA
Genre: Dance, Pop
Styles: Art Pop, Dance Pop, Electropop, Escape Room, Hyperpop, Indie Pop, Indietronica, Pop
You can see this artist live at
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on hashbrandnew.com since July 15, 2021

The music projects of songwriter, producer, and singer Caroline Polachek have ranged from the dramatic synth pop of Chairlift to her more brooding alter ego Ramona Lisa, experimental ambient music as CEP, and off-kilter electro-pop under her own name. She cracked the Billboard 200 as a member of Chairlift with their second album, 2012's Something. Her Ramona Lisa debut, Arcadia, arrived in 2014 and Drawing the Target Around the Arrow, her first album as CEP, saw release in 2017. In 2019, she issued her first album as Caroline Polachek, Pang, which found her further exploring atmospheric electro-pop. In the meantime, her songwriting credits for other artists included tracks by Beyoncé, Solange, Travis Scott, and Charli XCX, among others.

Born in 1985 in Manhattan, Polachek spent her early years living in Tokyo, Japan with her family where she was exposed to traditional Japanese music. Around age six, she moved back to the States. Growing up in Greenwich, Connecticut, she rode horses, sang in the school choir, and began playing the keyboard. During high school, she discovered punk, emo, and indie rock, and played in several bands before heading to college.

It was in early 2006, while a student at the University of Colorado in Boulder, that Polachek formed Chairlift with Aaron Pfenning with the aim of providing music for haunted houses. After finding that their work transcended its original purpose, Pfenning and Polachek pulled up stakes and headed east, settling in Brooklyn before adding third member Patrick Wimberly. They quickly made a name for themselves, playing shows with similar up-and-comers like MGMT and Yeasayer while inking a contract with the independent label Kanine. Chairlift's first release on the label, a single titled "Evident Utensil," featured a remix by MGMT and was a precursor to the group's full-length debut. Issued in 2008, Does You Inspire You received an extra promotional boost when "Bruises" appeared in a commercial for a popular tech company.

By early 2009, major labels came calling and Chairlift signed to Columbia, which reissued Does You Inspire You that April. Sophomore album Something was recorded by the duo of Polachek and Wimberly following the departure of Pfenning. Arriving in early 2012, it elevated the band's kaleidoscopic pop to a grander scale with assistance from producers Dan Carey and Alan Moulder. The album cracked the Billboard 200 and ended up on many "Best of 2012" lists. One fan of the record turned out to be Beyoncé, who invited the duo to help collaborate on songs for Beyoncé. Making it onto the final 2013 album was "No Angel," which Polachek co-wrote with Beyoncé and James Fauntleroy.

Early the next year, Polachek made her solo debut with Arcadia (Terrible Records), releasing it under the moniker Ramona Lisa. She recorded the entire album on her laptop, using only MIDI instrumentation and no external microphones. The EP Dominic followed before the end of 2014, with the three-track Piano Versions arriving in 2015.

The following year, she reunited with Wimberly for Chairlift's third album, Moth, which found the duo adopting a slicker, more pop-oriented sound. Featuring instrumental input from Quadron's Robin Hannibal, the record was issued on Columbia in early 2016. Polachek also contributed songwriting to a track from that year's Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight by rapper Travis Scott.

In January 2017, she released her first instrumental album, Drawing the Target Around the Arrow, under her initials, CEP. An hour-long set built from sine waves, it arrived via Pannonica Records. Chairlift disbanded later in 2017, performing a set of farewell shows that April, with their final set taking place at Brooklyn Steel. By the end of 2017, Polachek had contributed writing to new releases by Beach Fossils, Charli XCX, Fischerspooner, Solange, and Pentatonix offshoot Superfruit. She appeared as a featured vocalist on 2018 recordings by Blood Orange, the Night Game, and Charli XCX.

In 2019, she returned with the electro-pop track "Door," released on Columbia Records and using her own name. Several more songs appeared online, including "Ocean of Tears," Parachute," and "So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings," all of which led up to release of the full-length, Pang. The album found Polachek working with handful of collaborators, including Danny L. Harle, A.G. Cook, Andrew Wyatt, and others. ~ Marcy Donelson & Chris True, Rovi

Releases

These are not all of artist's releases, just the ones we have had a look at

Videos

Concerts

April 14, 2023 Philadelphia, PA Franklin Music Hall
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April 15, 2023 Boston, MA Roadrunner
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April 17, 2023 Toronto, ON Queen Elizabeth Theatre
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April 18, 2023 Royal Oak, MI Royal Oak Music Theatre
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April 19, 2023 Columbus, OH Newport Music Hall
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April 21, 2023 Atlanta, GA The Eastern
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April 22, 2023 Athens, GA Georgia Theatre
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April 24, 2023 Houston, TX The Pulse Power Stage on the White Oak Lawn
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April 25, 2023 Austin, TX Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theater
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April 26, 2023 Dallas, TX The Factory in Deep Ellum
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April 28, 2023 Tempe, AZ Marquee Theatre
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April 29, 2023 Los Angeles (LA), CA Shrine Auditorium
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May 01, 2023 San Francisco, CA The Warfield
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May 02, 2023 San Francisco, CA The Warfield
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May 04, 2023 Seattle, WA Showbox SoDo
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May 05, 2023 Seattle, WA Showbox SoDo
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May 08, 2023 Vancouver, BC Orpheum Theatre
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May 09, 2023 Portland, OR McMenamins Crystal Ballroom
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May 10, 2023 Portland, OR McMenamins Crystal Ballroom
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May 12, 2023 Salt Lake City, UT Utah State Fairpark
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May 14, 2023 Denver, CO Mission Ballroom
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May 16, 2023 Chicago, IL Riviera Theatre
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May 17, 2023 Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium
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May 19, 2023 Washington, DC The Anthem
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May 20, 2023 New York (NYC), NY Radio City Music Hall
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May 25, 2023 Glasgow, UK TV Studio SWG3
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May 26, 2023 Liverpool, UK Content
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May 27, 2023 Herne Hill, UK Brockwell Park
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May 29, 2023 Bristol, UK The Marble Factory
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May 30, 2023 Manchester, UK Albert Hall
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June 01, 2023 Barcelona, Spain Parc del Fòrum
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June 08, 2023 Arganda del Rey, Spain Ciudad del Rock
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June 09, 2023 Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands Safaripark Beekse Bergen
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June 28, 2023 Gdynia, Poland Gdynia-Kosakowo Airport
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July 14, 2023 Sesimbra, Portugal Herdade do Cabeço da Flauta
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August 09, 2023 Oslo, Norway Oya Festival
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August 11, 2023 Helsinki, Finland Suvilahti
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August 12, 2023 Oslo, Norway Oya Festival
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November 02, 2023 Turin, Italy C2C Festival
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February 13, 2024 London, UK Rough Trade East
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February 14, 2024 London, UK Eventim Apollo
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February 20, 2024 Copenhagen, Denmark VEGA
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