This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libelous.Find sources: "Kelsey Lu" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (November 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Kelsey Lu
Birth nameKelsey Elizabeth McJunkins
Born (1989-05-12) May 12, 1989 (age 34)
Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
OriginBrooklyn, New York, U.S.
GenresAvant pop,[1] baroque pop[2]
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • cellist
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
  • cello
Years active2016–present
Labels
Websitewww.kelsey.lu

Kelsey Elizabeth McJunkins (born May 12, 1989), known professionally as Kelsey Lu, is an American singer and cellist based in Los Angeles, California.[3]

Early life

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]

Discography

Studio albums

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

Extended plays

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

Remix albums

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

Singles

Title Year Album
"Shades of Blue"[12] 2018 Non-album single
"Due West"[13] Blood
"Morning Dew"[14] 2020 Non-album single
"let all the poisons that lurk in the mud seep out"
(with Yves Tumor featuring Kelly Moran and Moses Boyd)[15]
"Ride or Die"
(with Boys Noize featuring Chilly Gonzales)[16] 		2021

Guest appearances

Title Year Artist Album
"Where or When"[17] 2020 Onyx Collective Manhattan 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. ^ a b c Gore, Sydney (February 15, 2016). "Cellist Kelsey Lu Will Have You Under Her Spell". Nylon. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  5. ^ a b 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. ^ "Shades of Blue - Single by Kelsey Lu on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  13. ^ "Due West - Single by Kelsey Lu on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  14. ^ "Morning Dew - Single by Kelsey Lu on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  15. ^ "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.
  16. ^ "Ride or Die - Single by Kelsey Lu, Boys Noize and Chilly Gonzales on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  17. ^ "When or When - Single by Kelsey Lu and Onyx Collective on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved June 16, 2021.

External links

Authority control databases: Artists
Categories