Kelsey Lu

Last updated
Kelsey Lu
Kelsey Lu.jpg
Background information
Birth nameKelsey Elizabeth McJunkins
Born (1991-05-12) May 12, 1991 (age 34)
Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
Origin Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Genres Avant pop, [1] baroque pop [2]
Occupations
  • Singer
  • cellist
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • cello
Years active2016–present
Labels
Website www.kelsey.lu

Kelsey Elizabeth McJunkins (born May 12, 1991), known professionally as Kelsey Lu, is an American singer and cellist based in Los Angeles, California. [3]

Contents

Early life and education

Kelsey Lu was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, and had a strict Jehovah's Witness upbringing. [4] Both of Lu's parents are musicians: their father is a percussionist, their mother a pianist. [5] Their father's family hails from Nigeria. [6] Lu began studying classical composition at age 6, learning piano, violin, and cello. [4] At age 18, Lu left their family home to attend the University of North Carolina School of the Arts on a scholarship. [5] A year later, they dropped out of the school. [7]

Career

Kelsey Lu recorded their debut EP, Church, in a church in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. [8] During this time, they toured with the band Wet as their opening act. [4] They released Church in 2016. [9] They released their debut album, Blood, in 2019. [10] In that year, they also released Blood Transfusion, a collection of remixes of tracks from Blood. [11] Lu uses they/them pronouns. [12]

Discography

Studio albums

TitleDetails
Blood
  • Released: April 19, 2019
  • Label: Columbia Records
  • Format: Digital download, streaming

Soundtrack albums

TitleDetails
Daughters
  • Released: November 13, 2024
  • Label: Netflix Music
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
Earth Mama
  • Released: December 16, 2024
  • Label: A24 Music
  • Format: Digital download, streaming

Extended plays

TitleDetails
Church
  • Released: July 8, 2016
  • Label: True Panther
  • Format: LP, digital download, streaming

Remix albums

TitleDetails
Blood Transfusion
  • Released: November 15, 2019
  • Label: Columbia Records
  • Format: Digital download, streaming

Singles

TitleYearAlbum
"Shades of Blue" [13] 2018Non-album single
"Due West" [14] Blood
"Morning Dew" [15] 2020Non-album single
"let all the poisons that lurk in the mud seep out"
(with Yves Tumor featuring Kelly Moran and Moses Boyd) [16]
"Ride or Die"
(with Boys Noize featuring Chilly Gonzales) [17] 		2021

Guest appearances

TitleYearArtistAlbum
"Picture This"2011 The Away Team Scars & Stripes
"Lost Souls"2011 L'Orange Old Soul
"Where or When" [18] 2020Onyx CollectiveManhattan Special
"Manchild"2022 Neneh Cherry The Versions

References

  1. ↑ url=https://www.anothermag.com/fashion-beauty/12238/kelsey-lu-musician-interview-profile-2020-grounded-blood-transfusion
  2. ↑ url=https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/music/kelsey-lu-review-a-beautiful-bewildering-piece-of-performance-art-a4197106.html
  3. ↑ Easter, Makeda (August 20, 2019). "Solange. Blood Orange. Kelsey Lu. There's a new wave of genre-bending black artists". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 Gore, Sydney (February 15, 2016). "Cellist Kelsey Lu Will Have You Under Her Spell". Nylon . Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  5. 1 2 Hager, Emma (July 15, 2016). "Kelsey Lu Doesn't Sound Like Anyone Else". Elle . Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  6. ↑ Maitland, Hayley (March 24, 2019). "Front Row Regular Kelsey Lu On Her Jehovah's Witness Upbringing And Stunning Debut Album". Vogue . Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  7. ↑ Frank, Alex (August 12, 2016). "Kelsey Lu's Dreams Are Better Than Yours". Pitchfork . Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  8. ↑ Nikas, Joanna (August 25, 2016). "Kelsey Lu McJunkins, Hitting the Stages of Afropunk and Barclays Center". The New York Times . Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  9. ↑ Lobenfeld, Claire (November 10, 2016). "Kelsey Lu is the maverick cellist whose loop experiments have wooed Blood Orange and Solange". Fact . Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  10. ↑ Mokoena, Tshepo (April 24, 2019). "Kelsey Lu Had to Manifest Hopeful Pop from Pain". Vice . Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  11. ↑ Bruce-Jones, Henry (November 15, 2019). "Kelsey Lu enlists Lafawndah, Omar S and Skrillex for Blood Transfusion remix EP". Fact . Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  12. ↑ Joshi, Tara (5 September 2020). "Kelsey Lu: 'The white, cis, male hetero-patriarchy, it's all being deconstructed'". The Guardian.
  13. ↑ "Shades of Blue - Single by Kelsey Lu on Apple Music". Apple Music . Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Due West - Single by Kelsey Lu on Apple Music". Apple Music . Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Morning Dew - Single by Kelsey Lu on Apple Music". Apple Music . Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  16. ↑ "let all the poisons that lurk in the mud seep out - Single by Kelsey Lu, Yves Tumor, Kelly Moran and Moses Boyd on Apple Music". Apple Music . Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Ride or Die - Single by Kelsey Lu, Boys Noize and Chilly Gonzales on Apple Music". Apple Music . Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  18. ↑ "When or When - Single by Kelsey Lu and Onyx Collective on Apple Music". Apple Music . Retrieved June 16, 2021.
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