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Halfaxa

Halfaxa is the second studio album by Canadian electronic music artist Grimes. It was released in Canada on October 5, 2010, by Arbutus Records, and in the United Kingdom and mainland Europe in May 2011 by Lo Recordings.

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Jun 14, 2026
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Halfaxa
Studio album by
Grimes
ReleasedSeptember 30, 2010 (2010-09-30)
Genre
Length55:07
Label
ProducerGrimes
Grimes chronology
Geidi Primes
(2010) 		Halfaxa
(2010) 		Darkbloom
(2011)
Alternative cover
Lo Recordings cover
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Drowned in Sound7/102
Dummy7/103
Pitchfork7.8/104

Halfaxa is the second studio album by Canadian electronic music artist Grimes. It was released in Canada on October 5, 2010, by Arbutus Records, and in the United Kingdom and mainland Europe in May 2011 by Lo Recordings.3567

Background

Grimes described Halfaxa as "dark" but created at a more positive point in her life, contrasting with the other albums she had produced.8 The album is mostly inspired by her time in Halifax, Nova Scotia, while staying at her friend's home.9

Composition

Halfaxa has been described as a goth-pop, witch house, dark wave, and glo-fi release, as well as featuring influences of glitch pop, R&B, techno, industrial, and electro.21011 Grimes has said Halfaxa was created to "evoke the feeling of believing in God in a very Medieval Christian way", and has described it as her "medieval" album.12

Track listing

All tracks are written by Claire Boucher.

No.TitleLength
1."Outer"1:12
2."Intor / Flowers" (deliberately misspelled;131415 titled as "Intro / Flowers" on most digital releases161718)2:50
3."Weregild"5:14
4."∆∆∆∆Rasik∆∆∆∆" (deleted from digital releases and pressings made by Arbutus Records in 2016 and later19)1:50
5."Heartbeats" (bonus track exclusive to the Lo Recordings releases1820)4:32
6."Sagrad Прекрасный"5:13
7."Dragvandil"1:39
8."Devon"4:31
9."Dream Fortress"5:01
10."World ♡ Princess"4:41
11."† River †"1:57
12."Swan Song"3:05
13."≈Ω≈Ω≈Ω≈Ω≈Ω≈Ω≈Ω≈Ω≈" (titled as "Omega" on some releases15)2:14
14."My Sister Says the Saddest Things"4:12
15."Hallways"5:44
16."Favriel"2:36
Total length:55:07

Notes

  • On the Lo Recordings version, the tracks: 1, 2, 4, 6 are stylised in lowercase and 9, 10 are stylised as "Dreamfortress" and "world♡princess."
  • On some digital releases, "∆∆∆∆Rasik∆∆∆∆" is simply titled "rasik".

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Halfaxa.21

  • Grimes – vocals, production, composition, illustrations
  • Jasper Baydala – design
  • Sebastian Cowan – mastering (tracks 1–4, tracks 6–16)
  • Antony Ryan – mastering (track 5)

Release history

Country Date Label Format(s)
Canada22 September 30, 2010 Arbutus Records Digital download
United States23
Canada24 October 5, 2010 CD
Australia25 February 28, 2011 Lo Recordings Digital download
France26
Germany27
United Kingdom28
Germany29 March 11, 2011 CD
United Kingdom3031 March 14, 2011
France3233 March 16, 2011 Loreley
Australia34 March 30, 2011 Lo Recordings CD
Germany35 April 22, 2011 LP
United States36 January 31, 2012 Arbutus Records CD
United States37 April 1, 2016 Arbutus Records LP
References

References

  1. Pitchfork Staff (October 8, 2019). "The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 6, 2023. Claire Boucher's first two albums as Grimes submerged her pop instincts deep within experimental manipulations.
  2. Welsh, April Clare (March 8, 2011). "Grimes – Halfaxa". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on March 28, 2013. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  3. "Halfaxa - Home". Dummy. 4 April 2011.
  4. Moreland, Quinn (April 6, 2016). "Grimes: Halfaxa". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  5. "Grimes – Halfaxa (CD & Download)". Lo Recordings. 2011. Archived from the original on September 27, 2013. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
  6. Marszalek, Julian (March 22, 2011). "Grimes – Halfaxa". The Quietus. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  7. Diver, Mike (March 1, 2011). "Review of Grimes – Halfaxa". BBC Music. BBC Online. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  8. Coleman, Madeline (2011-03-04). "Interview With Grimes". Maisonneuve. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  9. Grimes Breaks Down Her Albums, From Geidi Primes to Miss Anthropocene | On the Records | Pitchfork, retrieved 2022-04-18
  10. Bowler, Paul (March 23, 2016). "Geidi Primes, Halfaxa / Grimes". Record Collector Mag. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  11. Marsh, Calum (November 1, 2010). "Grimes - Halfaxa Review". Coke Machine Glow. Archived from the original on April 29, 2011. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  12. "forthebeat » Interview with Grimes". 2012-07-03. Archived from the original on 2012-07-03. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
  13. "Grimes – Halfaxa (2012, CD)". Discogs.
  14. "Grimes – Halfaxa (2011, CD)". Discogs.
  15. "Halfaxa, by Grimes".
  16. "Intro / Flowers - YouTube". YouTube.
  17. "Halfaxa by Grimes". 5 October 2010. Archived from the original on 20 August 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  18. "Halfaxa". Spotify. 28 February 2011.
  19. "Grimes – Halfaxa (2016, Digipak, CD)". Discogs.
  20. "Halfaxa (Lo87), by Grimes". Archived from the original on 2022-02-12. Retrieved 2019-08-20.
  21. Halfaxa (CD liner notes). Grimes. Lo Recordings. 2011. LCD87.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  22. "Halfaxa by Grimes". iTunes Store Canada. Apple Inc. Archived from the original on June 18, 2014. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  23. "Halfaxa by Grimes". iTunes Store US. Apple Inc. Archived from the original on June 18, 2014. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  24. "HALFAXA by GRIMES". HMV. Archived from the original on December 26, 2015. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  25. "Halfaxa by Grimes". iTunes Store Australia. Apple Inc. Archived from the original on June 18, 2014. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  26. "Halfaxa par Grimes" (in French). iTunes Store France. Apple Inc. Archived from the original on June 18, 2014. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  27. ""Halfaxa" von Grimes" (in German). iTunes Store Germany. Apple Inc. Archived from the original on June 18, 2014. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  28. "Halfaxa by Grimes". iTunes Store UK. Apple Inc. Archived from the original on May 16, 2013. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  29. "Grimes – Halfaxa" (in German). Musicline.de. Archived from the original on July 21, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  30. "Halfaxa: Grimes". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  31. "Halfaxa [VINYL]: Grimes". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  32. "CD album – Halfaxa : Grimes" (in French). Fnac. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  33. "Vinyl album – Halfaxa : Grimes" (in French). Fnac. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  34. "Halfaxa – Grimes". JB Hi-Fi. Archived from the original on September 27, 2013. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  35. "Grimes – Halfaxa (2LP)" (in German). Musicline.de. Archived from the original on July 21, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  36. "Halfaxa: Grimes". Amazon. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  37. Halfaxa, Arbutus Records, 2016-04-01, retrieved 2016-05-22
External links