Just a starving artist trying to express himself. I'm 7 albums deep and a single to go along with it, and I don't feel like I've lost momentum. Done everything from garage rock to ambient folk to dream pop, with progressive and classical elements doused heavily in psychedelic soundscapes and textures. Initially I felt my music had a somewhat indigo/violet hue to it, but I think I've moved into the red of late.

I'm influenced by virtually every genre in some way, and I like to attempt mixing elements in unpredictable ways. I pull from a library of instrumentation that is now nearly two-dozen in number, from all over the world. Most of my music has a trance-like angle to it, albeit it is considerably removed from what that term's connotation has taken on in the last couple decades.

"Some Call Me...Tim" is a totally acoustic affair drowned in effects and loops and samples, with a folk spine. "Modern Idyll" shifts an about-face into the wave and gothic territory, with a sociopolitical edge. "New Frontiers" seeks to bring some light into the darkness with its raw-and-ragged and road-trip-ready appeal. "Heartbeat" brings a matured and level-headed approach to themes that are both new and re-examined, while successfully following up 2016's "Modern Idyll". "Take Two" is a collection of 11 tracks from my first two records (2 previously unreleased) in a stripped-down, *mostly* acoustic folk-rocker. Close out the entourage with my only single, Oysterband's "The Lost and Found" covered with my own flair, and you have a solid musical foundation that seeks to stretch and explore itself for years to come.

For the curious, my instrumentation list (as it stands):

piano
synthesizers
organs
6 string guitar
12 string guitar
electric guitar
bass guitar
bass organ
bass synths
irish bouzouki
mountain dulcimer
pennywhistles
concertina
harmonium
harmonicas
saxophones (tenor and alto)
pan flute
bodhran
djembe
congas
bongos
drum sampler/machine
various found percussion toys

The Story of Opāru…

Opāru is the musical endeavor of Los Angeles based songwriter, singer and actress Dianna St. Hilaire. Opāru's music can be described as future electro with a dark ethereal undertone. Combined with dream-like operatic vocals, Opāru's work creates a unique depiction of modern pop culture.

Originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, St. Hilaire started to write and perform music at a very young age in choir and musicals. Self taught, her first instrument was the piano and she worked tirelessly at the craft of reading and writing music. When St. Hilaire was in her late teens she began performing with punk bands and for producers as a back up/ studio vocalist in New Mexico, where she took on her first musical alias, the highly successful group Versailles. Partnering with the infamous Kim Fowley (The Runaways, Kiss, Joan Jett, Alice Cooper), she has toured the US extensively, been featured on the official Grammy ballots, as well as charting on Billboard. Versailles’s music was also on rotation with popular stations across the U.S. including KROQ and NPR tastemaker KCRW.

St. Hilaire reinvented herself in late 2015 with the new project Opāru, deriving from the Japanese name of the birthstone opal. Opāru’s roots stem from dream-pop, 80s synth pop, indietronica and new wave. “The music represents pure animalistic human emotion”, St. Hilaire confesses, “It epitomizes what it is like to be human by transcending the human experience with self discovery and acceptance of who we are on an emotional level.” Influences can be found throughout the record including the likes of Mt Eden, Lindsey Stirling, Odesza, Aurora, Black City Lights, Chvrches and Grimes.

After the success of her first release ‘Remember Me’, Opāru is back with a project that is some of her most personal work to date. The new single, ‘The Deep End’ is a love song to her beloved and admires the strengths and the flaws in a relationship, but most importantly it focuses on the depth of what most humans attempt to attain in their lifetime. Opāru reveals, “The Deep End is about a unique equality between two people on an emotional and physical level. Our survivability paired with our own hopes and dreams and how we can make them a reality for each other by helping one another to change the world”. Combining heartfelt lyricism, haunting pop melodies and dark experimental synthesizers, ‘The Deep End’ will succeed in drawing feelings of hope and admiration from it’s listeners.

Opāru has created a poignant lyric video to accompany the release of ‘The Deep End’. The video encompasses the beautiful aspects of nature, blending them with an urban landscape. Featuring stunning time-lapsed visuals of nature at it’s finest, the hustle and bustle of a city at night and a brilliant night of dancing lights, the video highlights the importance of finding compassion for living things and being mindful of your inner animal.

With an ever-growing fanbase and media attention, Opāru is ready for the next chapter of her musical journey with the release of ‘GHOST TO FOLLOW’ due summer 2018.

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