An editor has performed a search and found that
sufficient sources exist to establish the subject's
notability. (November 2018) |
Hilary Woods | |
---|---|
Origin | Republic of Ireland |
Genres | Alternative |
Occupation(s) | Singer |
Instrument(s) | Vocals, bass, piano |
Years active | 1996–present |
Labels | Sacred Bones |
Formerly of | JJ72 |
Hilary Woods is an Irish musician born in Dublin. [1] She is a solo artist, previously a member of the alternative rock band JJ72, with which she played bass guitar from 1996 until 2003. [2] JJ72 had success with two Top 20 albums in the early 2000s with Woods as the bassist. [3] She quit the music industry until 2013, returning with her first solo album, The River Cry, and the EP Night the following year. [3]
Woods' solo albums have a gentle, ambient folk sound with "nocturnal keyboard-based songs". [3] Her musical inspiration comes from filmmakers, electronic artists, experimental noise, and folk music traditions. [3] She is currently signed to Sacred Bones Records. [1]
Woods was raised in Dublin by parents that fostered a musical environment, playing classical, folk and rock LPs in the home. [3] Her parents encouraged her to play music, and she began learning her main instrument, the piano. [3] Her brother was encouraged to play instruments as well. [3] As an 18-year-old, Woods joined the band JJ72 with singer/guitarist Mark Greaney and drummer Fergal Matthews. [3] Woods played bass in the band from the late 90's to the early 2000's. [3]
JJ72 was signed to Sony imprint Lakota Records and released their debut self-titled album in 2000, followed by their second album in 2002. [3] Both albums were successful and reached Top 20 charts in the UK and Ireland. [3] The group toured for a total of four years, after which Woods left the band and did not return to the music industry for more than a decade. [3]
A year after leaving JJ72, Woods started a family and focused on raising her daughter. [3]
Before returning to the music industry, Woods took college courses that sparked creativity and compelled her to continue making music. [3] Notably, she was inspired by filmmakers such as Wong Kar-wai and Chris Marker. [3] She also expanded her musical horizons by listening to electronic artists such as Jon Hopkins and Vincent Gallo. [3]
After her spell in fine art school and having studied literature and film in college, she returned to music under the name The River Cry for one confidential self-titled album in 2013, [4] then started to release EPs under her own name (Night in 2014 and Heartbox in 2016); leading to her debut solo record Colt in 2018 [5] as a Sacred Bones artist. [6] After releasing her debut solo EP Night, Woods began touring again. [3] Her most recent album, Acts of Light, was released in 2023. [7] [8]