Hayden Thorpe

Born in Kendal, Cumbria, Hayden Thorpe first made his mark with Wild Beasts, a group formed in the early 2000s with Ben Little before becoming an active quartet until 2018. In this frame, Thorpe developed a writing style bridging indie rock, art pop and chamber pop, propelled by a countertenor voice instantly identifiable and compositions where rhythmic tension sits beside more sophisticated arrangements. After Wild Beasts’ end, Thorpe pursued a solo career with a leaner, more introspective approach, centered on piano, keyboards and an atmospheric pop with folk- and ambient-flavored touches. His first album Diviner appeared in 2019, followed by the EP Aerial Songs in 2020, then Moondust for My Diamond in 2021, which broadened his spectrum toward a more cosmic and synthetic pop. In 2024, Hayden Thorpe released Ness, a project conceived as a musical setting of Robert Macfarlane's book around the site of Orford Ness, in Suffolk. Based in London, Thorpe moves between British singer-songwriter storytelling, discreet pop experiments and more contemplative live forms, in circuits blending independent venues, festivals and cultural programming related to contemporary music.