Ladyhawke (musician)
Phillipa Margaret "Pip" Brown[1] (born 13 July 1979), better known by her stage name Ladyhawke, is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She took her stage name from Richard Donner's 1985 film Ladyhawke.
Not to be confused with the Canadian indie rock band Ladyhawk.
Ladyhawke
Phillipa Margaret Brown
Pip Brown
13 July 1979
Masterton, New Zealand
- Singer-songwriter
- multi-instrumentalist
- Vocals
- bass guitar
- guitar
- drums
- keyboards
- synthesiser
2001–present
Brown was part of the Wellington-based band Two Lane Blacktop (2001–2003), before moving to Australia where, in 2004, she formed the art rock band Teenager with Nick Littlemore of Pnau. In 2007 she moved to London, afterwards relocating to Los Angeles around 2013,[2] and then subsequently relocating back to her native New Zealand after the release of her third album, Wild Things.[3]
Brown's debut solo album, Ladyhawke, was released on 22 September 2008 through Modular Recordings, and topped the RIANZ Albums Chart. It spawned five singles of which "My Delirium" was the most successful. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2009, Ladyhawke won Breakthrough Artist in both album and single categories.
Brown's second solo album, Anxiety, was released in May 2012, and her third solo album, Wild Things, was released on 3 June 2016. Her fourth album, Time Flies, was released on 19 November 2021.
Early life[edit]
Phillipa Margaret Brown was born on 13 July 1979[4][5] in Masterton, a town in the Wairarapa region of New Zealand.[6][7][8] She came from a musical family, with her mother being a singer/guitarist and her stepfather a jazz drummer. During her childhood, various illnesses and allergies kept her in and out of the hospital. At age ten she contracted erysipeloid, a disease that is common in seagulls and sharks but had not been seen in humans in New Zealand for twenty years. Her allergies to antibiotics and antihistamines greatly complicated treatment efforts and almost put her into a coma, and she came close to dying.[9]
Brown was also diagnosed with Autism as a child, specifically the since-retired diagnosis Asperger syndrome.[10] She believes that the large amount of her childhood she spent absorbed in music, be it listening to the radio or to her mother's Beatles and Pretenders albums, was attributable to this syndrome.[9]
While attending Chanel College,[11] she played in several grunge bands. After high school, Brown moved from Masterton to Wellington.[6]
Collaborations[edit]
Ladyhawke collaborated with Pnau on "Embrace" from the duo's 2007 self-titled album.[46]
The Charlatans' Tim Burgess said in September 2010 that he is collaborating with Ladyhawke and members of The Horrors and Klaxons on his second solo album. "I've been working with Josh [Hayward], the guitarist from The Horrors and Stefan [Halperin], the drummer from the Klaxons and right now we can only do stuff when our other bands aren't doing things. But when we do get together, it's really explosive and it'll be well worth waiting for. I've also got Ladyhawke singing on it."[47][48] In December 2011, Burgess revealed that he had collaborated with Ladyhawke on a song entitled "Just One Kiss",[49] which was eventually released on his 2018 album As I Was Now.
In 2011, Ladyhawke collaborated with New Zealand singer Nik Brinkman, better known as Junica, on the single "Living in My House".[50] Also in 2011, she remixed the song "Sister Wife" by American singer Alex Winston.[51]
In 2014, Ladyhawke appeared on the Tiësto album A Town Called Paradise with a track called "Last Train"; Firebeatz also appeared on the track.
In 2019, Ladyhawke was featured on the single "Never Dance Alone", from Australian alternative dance group Crooked Colours' album Langata.[52]
In December 2020, Ladyhawke released "River", her second collaboration with Pnau.[53] Pnau vocalist Nick Littlemore spoke of their experience working together again, stating "It seems every time we’ve collaborated with her it’s been incendiary. We met a long while ago; within moments of meeting it was clear we had a deep connection."[53]
In 2021, Ladyhawke collaborated with Broods on the song 'Guilty Love", which appears on Ladyhawke's fourth album, Time Flies.[54]
Influences and comparisons[edit]
Ladyhawke is noted as being influenced by 1980s music.[55][56][57] She has been linked to a wave of 1980s-influenced, individualistic, androgynous female musicians in their twenties who emerged in the late 2000s.[58]
Brown also draws inspiration from music of the '90s, including Nirvana. "Listening to Nirvana takes me back to being fourteen at the school disco. Bands from the nineties have that effect on me."[59]
Peaches, to whom Ladyhawke's music has been compared, remixed the single "Paris Is Burning",[56] and the two have performed together, with Peaches taking DJ duties.[60] Ladyhawke's music has also been likened to that of Cyndi Lauper,[55] Pat Benatar, Kim Wilde, Annie and New Young Pony Club.[56]
Brown has stated that her five favourite albums of all time are Hunky Dory (1971) by David Bowie, Time (1981) by ELO and three Fleetwood Mac albums: Fleetwood Mac (it is unclear whether she was referring to the 1968 album or the 1975 album), Rumours (1977), and Tango in the Night (1987).[61]
She has also described video game music as an influence, particularly retro Japanese chiptune music from the 8-bit and 16-bit eras.[62]
Personal life[edit]
Brown is a lesbian.[3] On 9 January 2015, she married New Zealand actress, comedian, and filmmaker Madeleine Sami.[68] She moved from London to Los Angeles in 2013.[10][69] [70] On 20 June 2017 she announced her pregnancy.[71] After a police shooting occurred near their apartment, she returned to Auckland, NZ in 2017. Her first child, a daughter named Billie Jean,[3] was born on 20 October that year.[72] Sami and Brown announced the end of the relationship in 2023.[73]
Brown is a fan of video games, describing herself as "a big, big gamer".[74]
Brown has a contralto vocal range.[75]