''Clearing'' is the debut studio album of multidisciplinary artist

Hayden Dunham Hayden Frances Dunham (born June 16, 1988) is a performance artist, designer, singer, songwriter and DJ. They grew up in Austin, Texas and attended the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at NYU. They are best known for their work as QT (an ...

, under their musical alias Hyd. It was released on November 11, 2022, via

PC Music PC Music is a record label and art collective based in London and run by producer A. G. Cook. It was founded in 2013, making its music available on SoundCloud that year. Artists on its roster have included Hannah Diamond, GFOTY, Danny L Ha ...

. The album was many years in the making, with songs being premiered live as far back as 2018. Material from the album was recorded on Spanish island

Lanzarote Lanzarote (, , ) is a Spanish island, the easternmost of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. It is located approximately off the north coast of Africa and from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering , Lanzarote is the fourth-largest of the i ...

, which Hyd has stated served as strong inspiration for the album's natural and environmental themes and soundscapes. The album features contributions from the late

Sophie Sophie is a version of the female given name Sophia, meaning "wise". People with the name Born in the Middle Ages * Sophie, Countess of Bar (c. 1004 or 1018–1093), sovereign Countess of Bar and lady of Mousson * Sophie of Thuringia, Duchess of ...

, as well as

A. G. Cook Alexander Guy Cook (born 23 August 1990) is an English music producer, singer, songwriter and the head of the UK record label PC Music. Cook released his first solo singles in 2014. He has also collaborated with PC Music artists such as Hannah ...

Jónsi Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson (; born 23 April 1975) is an Icelandic musician; he is the vocalist and multi-instrumentalist for the Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós. He is known for his use of a cello bow on guitar and his "angelic" falset ...

, and

Caroline Polachek Caroline Elizabeth Polachek (born June 20, 1985) is an American singer, producer and songwriter. Raised in Connecticut, Polachek co-founded the indie pop band Chairlift while studying at the University of Colorado. The duo emerged from the late- ...

, among others. It was supported by the singles "Afar", "So Clear", "Breaking Ground" and "Fallen Angel".

Background and release

Dunham created the QT project alongside friends in 2014: PC Music founder A. G. Cook and Sophie. The project included the single "

Hey QT "Hey QT" is the only single by the one-off music project QT. The project consisted of American performance artist Hayden Dunham, English producer A. G. Cook, Scottish producer Sophie, and British singer Harriet Pittard. The song was released on ...

", and DrinkQT, a

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwide, inc ...

-esque energy drink with a design by Kim Laughton. The music and drink were intended to be two manifestations of the same product. The song has widely celebrated since its release, and is often credited for what catapulted PC Music's success. Hyd first emerged in 2020, on Cook's '' 7G'' and ''

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ances ...

'' albums. "Airhead", from the latter album, interpolates melodies from "Breaking Ground". In 2021, Hyd released "No Shadow" as the lead single to their self-titled EP, which came out later that year in November. In an interview with Caroline Polachek in December 2021, Hyd confirmed they were working on music with

Alex Somers Alex Somers (born March 7, 1984) is an American visual artist and musician from Baltimore, Maryland, who attended Berklee College of Music and Listaháskóli Íslands. Somers lives and works in Los Angeles. Previously he ran a recording studio ...

and

Hannah Diamond Hannah Amond (born 20 June 1991), known professionally as Hannah Diamond, is an English singer, songwriter, photographer, and visual artist. She has recorded on A.G. Cook's PC Music label since 2013, beginning with her debut single " Pink and ...

. The lead single "Afar" was released in July 2022, featuring production from Polachek. Hyd performed at

Pitchfork Music Festival The Pitchfork Music Festival is an annual summer music festival organized by ''Pitchfork Media'' and held in Union Park in Chicago, Illinois. Starting in 2011, the festival announced a branch staged in Paris at Grande halle de la Villette. The ...

the same month, where she shared some of the album's songs. The title track "So Clear" released later in September, alongside the album and a tour announcement. "Breaking Ground" and "Fallen Angel" were also later released as singles.

Track listing

Notes * signifies an additional producer * Thy Slaughter is a duo formed by Easyfun and A. G. Cook.

Release history

References

{{Reflist 2022 debut albums Albums produced by A. G. Cook Albums produced by Sophie (musician) Albums produced by Caroline Polachek PC Music albums