Daughter (band)

Of Irish–Italian parentage, Elena Tonra was raised in Northwood, London. Through her Dublin-born grandfather she experienced traditional Irish music from an early age. Her interest in music began when she received a copy of the album Grace by Jeff Buckley.[6] After being bullied at school she used writing to "deal emotionally with life". Changing schools at the age of 12 had a great impact and since then Tonra writes "about things I feel difficult talking about in adulthood”.[7]

Tonra began her career in music by performing acoustic shows under her own name around London. She found that this "didn't suit me at all. As a musician, I'm self-taught and felt I was restricted by my abilities".[7] Haefeli attended one of the acoustic shows that Tonra was performing and found that "she had this power which drew everyone in".[6] Originally from Neuchatel, Haefeli also attended London's Institute of Contemporary Music Performance where he met Tonra during a songwriting course.[8] They began performing together with Haefeli adding electric guitars.[7] After their first demo started word of mouth on the band, Daughter self-released their debut EP, His Young Heart, on 20 April 2011, recorded in Haefeli's bedsit.[9] Later that same year, they released another EP, The Wild Youth, on 2 October through artist-led Communion Records. The latter EP earned praise from British website For Folk's Sake who described Daughter as "one of the unique sounds in the pop landscape today."[10] BBC Radio 1 DJ Huw Stephens also invited them to perform a Maida Vale Session for his show.[11]

Tonra and Haefeli became romantically involved and the guitarist insisted that they "keep our couple life and our band life separate, [because] I don’t want Elena to stop saying things in her songs that are personal [as] songwriters need to be expansive and they need to be unafraid”.[6] While Tonra concurred with "Igor doesn’t question my lyrics. He regards what we do as an art form. He certainly doesn’t try to rewrite my words. I never tell anyone what my songs are about, not even him. I feel they are direct enough, anyway. They aren’t especially obscure".[7] Tonra and Haefeli ended their relationship before the release of their album If You Leave in 2013.[12]

In 2012, shortly after headlining a 700-capacity show in London, Daughter announced their signing to UK label 4AD. Speaking of this, Elena commented "we couldn't be happier to be working with 4AD, a label that has released so many inspirational records and whose ethos we hold in very high regard. It really is a privilege."[13] Their first single proper, "Smother", was released in October of that year. It was playlisted by both BBC Radio 1 and 6Music, while being awarded Single of the Week by long-time supporter Huw Stephens.[14] In December 2012 the band appeared on the David Letterman Show prior to the release of the record, which Tonra described as "perhaps (...) a cart-before-the-horse situation".[7]

• The band's song "Youth" was played in an advertisement for the Tour de France on ITV4,[26] as well as in a commercial by Norwegian airline company Widerøe.[27] It was also featured in various films and TV shows, including Lovesick,[28] A Long Way Down,[29] Grey's Anatomy, Cold Feet,[30] Our Girl,[31] Forever,[32][33] Skins, Arrow, The Gifted,[34] Cuffs, Battle and After Life.
• The song "Touch" was used in Season 3, Episode 6 of the American fantasy drama series Teen Wolf.[35]
• The song "Home" was used in Season 9, Episode 4 of the American medical drama series Grey's Anatomy,[36] and a remix of "Home" by Jon Hopkins was featured on the soundtrack to the British film How I Live Now, which was released on CD in October 2013.[37]
• The song "Medicine" was used for a BBC One promotional video titled "Original British Drama: Autumn 2013", first aired in October 2013.[38] Additionally, it was used in Season 3, Episode 20 of the American drama series Person of Interest.[39].
• The songs "Smother" and "Medicine" were used in Season 8, Episode 11 and Season 3, Episode 20 of the American fantasy drama series The Vampire Diaries.[40]
• The songs "Numbers", "Departure" and "Dreams of William" were used in the reveal trailer for Life Is Strange: Before the Storm.[41][42] The latter two tracks were later included on the soundtrack, Music from Before the Storm.[43]
• The song "The End" was used in the closing sequence of the first episode of Netflix's Altered Carbon.[44]

• Elena Tonra – vocals, guitar, bass, piano
• Igor Haefeli – guitar, bass, keyboards, programming
• Remi Aguilella – drums, percussion, sampling pad

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Daughter (band).

• Official Website
• 4AD Artist Page