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Signing Story: Half Waif

Nandi Rose Plunkett, better known by her stage name Half Waif, has been writing music since she was very young, and her new The Caretaker album is her fourth full-lengther in total, though her first for Epitaph sister label Anti- Records. She’s an occasional member of New Jersey band Pinegrove too, so she’s put in the mileage with this music game.

“My dad’s a musician, and I grew up around family gatherings where people would play folk songs, a lot of Joni Mitchell, The Band and Simon & Garfunkel,” she says. “So really early on I was making up songs, interpreting my surroundings through songwriting. It was very much a source of play for me as a kid, something fun to do. Then when I was in middle school, I started to come to songwriting as a place of soothing and healing. My parents separated when I was 14, and just the basic confusion of adolescence prompted me to view songwriting more as a vehicle for safety.”

Half Waif’s music has an extremely personal vibe, raw even, for something so fully produced. She struggles to define her sound, but eventually lands on: “Experimental electronic pop. I think of it as folk and pop songwriting structures with electronic and cinematic arrangements.”

After spending a lot of time on Brooklyn label Cascine and fulfilling her contract with 2018’s Lavender album, Half Waif is delighted to be stretching her legs and working with Anti-.

“I’m 31 now and have been doing this for a really long time and this has been a journey of slow growth,” she says. “But throughout all of that, I’ve been held by the safety net of my love for music. Anti- has long been one of my favorite labels. I really admire their roster, it’s so diverse.”

The Caretaker landed on March 27, and Half Waif is stoked with the result.

Lavender was recorded with a band and we arranged it more collaboratively,” she says. “The Caretaker was a return to a solo project. I had a lot more control over the arrangements and production. I feel like it’s the next step forward for me, and I’m actually pretty deep in the next one.”

Date Signed: Jan. 24, 2020

Label: Anti- Records

Band Members: Nandi Rose

Type of Music: Pop

Management: Andi Wilson, [email protected]

Booking: Carly James, [email protected]

Legal: Eric Morris

Publicity: Eloy Lugo, [email protected]

Web: half-waif.com

A&R: Andy Kaulkin