Nicolas Jaar

Nicolas Jaar entered electronic music as a teenage prodigy and has spent the years since refusing to stay in one place. He has made house for Wolf + Lamb, an ambient noise album, a Palme d'Or-winning film score, a radio play about the Pinochet dictatorship and records with Darkside, and he runs his own label, Other People. On 20 November 2026 he releases Mist, the debut album of AEAEA, his duo with guitarist Patrick Higgins.

New York, Santiago and Brown

Jaar was born on 10 January 1990 in New York City. His mother, Evelyne Meynard, is a dancer of French origin, and his father is the Chilean artist and architect Alfredo Jaar, according to English Wikipedia. He lived in Santiago, Chile, from the age of three to nine, then returned to New York, where he attended the Lycée Français. He entered Brown University in 2008 and graduated in 2012 with a degree in comparative literature.

Wolf + Lamb and Space Is Only Noise

His first dance releases came through Wolf + Lamb, Gadi Mizrahi's label. According to Wikipedia, Mizrahi suggested adding a four-on-the-floor kick to Jaar's experimental material, and the result was The Student. In 2009 Jaar founded his own imprint, Clown & Sunset, and in 2011 released the debut album Space Is Only Noise on Circus Company. Resident Advisor named it its album of the year, and Pitchfork ranked it 20th, per Wikipedia. RA also ranked his live shows second in 2010 and first in 2011.

In 2012 he debuted the live concept From Scratch and delivered a BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix, which was voted Essential Mix of the Year.

Other People, Darkside and Sirens

After Clown & Sunset closed in August 2013, Jaar replaced it with Other People. RA's launch report, dated 19 July 2013, described it as a serial label that would deliver new content weekly, with a launch compilation, Trust, due on 2 September 2013. Other People has since released work by artists including Lydia Lunch, William Basinski and Laurel Halo.

That year also brought Psychic, the debut album of Darkside, his duo with Dave Harrington, released on 4 October 2013 on Other People and Matador. Pitchfork gave it 9.0 and Best New Music. Pomegranates, an ambient and noise record, followed in 2015, and in 2016 came Sirens, his second studio album, which Rolling Stone named the top electronic album of the year, according to Wikipedia.

Film Work, Against All Logic and the 2020s

His soundtrack for Jacques Audiard's Dheepan (2015) accompanied a Palme d'Or winner, and he later scored Pablo Larraín's Ema (2019) and co-produced most of FKA twigs' Magdalene (2019). Under the alias Against All Logic he released 2012-2017 in 2018 and 2017-2019 in 2020, his vehicle for solo house and dance material. In 2020 he also issued Cenizas and Telas, and Weavings, a work for thirteen musicians, premiered at Unsound on 1 October 2020. Darkside's second album, Spiral, came out on Matador on 23 July 2021.

In 2023 he released Intiha with Ali Sethi. His 2024 double album Piedras 1 and Piedras 2 appeared on Other People on 25 October 2024 and was drawn from his radio play Archivos de Radio Piedras. It began as a commission tied to the Museum of Memory and Human Rights in Santiago and, per Wikipedia, grew into an alternative-history narrative with a score. Pitchfork gave the double album 8.3 and Best New Music.

Politics and Advocacy

Jaar has been outspoken. In November 2023 he signed an open letter calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, and in July 2024 he performed at the Artists for Aid benefit concert in London, which raised funds for Gaza and Sudan, according to Wikipedia.

Festivals and Live Shows

Jaar's live reputation predates all of this. He was on the inaugural bill of Houghton in 2017, curated by Craig Richards, as our Houghton festival page notes, alongside Ricardo Villalobos, Seth Troxler and Floating Points. In 2019 he also played Rewire, a festival known for crossover bookings between club music and experimental sound, as that page notes.

2025 and 2026

Darkside returned with Nothing, their third album and first as a trio, released on 28 February 2025 via Matador, according to Wikipedia. The group toured the UK and Europe in autumn 2024 and North America in spring 2025, and Jaar's own site links to Billboard coverage of their Coachella 2025 performance. Concert listings show a Darkside residency at La Gaîté Lyrique in Paris on 8 and 9 July 2026, and Songkick marks the 8 July date as past.

Jaar's site also lists a 2025 remix of Yasmine Hamdan's "Shmaali Tarweeda" and a new album with Charbel Haber and Sary Moussa on the Ruptured label in July 2025.

His newest project is AEAEA, with Patrick Higgins. According to Stereogum, their album Mist, recorded over three years in Berlin and at Higgins' studio in Upstate New York, is out on 20 November 2026 on Other People, with cellist Judith Hamann on the arrangements. The lead single, "Sunrise On Lethe", runs about 13 minutes, and the duo's first US live show was scheduled for 25 September at 314 Scholes in Brooklyn.

Sound

Jaar's catalogue ranges from house and dub-inflected club music to ambient and noise records, a radio play and a work for thirteen musicians. Wikipedia notes he has said he will never sign with a major label, and he keeps the rest of his output tied to his own imprint.

FAQ

How old is Nicolas Jaar?

Nicolas Jaar was born on 10 January 1990, which makes him 36 as of November 2026.

Where is Nicolas Jaar from?

He was born in New York City and spent ages three to nine in Santiago, Chile, before returning to New York.

What nationality is Nicolas Jaar?

Chilean-American. English Wikipedia describes him as a Chilean-American composer and musician.

Who is Nicolas Jaar?

Nicolas Jaar is a composer, producer and DJ who founded the Other People label, records as Against All Logic and in the duo Darkside, and has scored films including Dheepan and Ema.

What is Nicolas Jaar's best-known album?

Space Is Only Noise (2011) is the debut that made his name and Sirens (2016) is his second studio album, which Rolling Stone named top electronic album of the year, per Wikipedia.

What is Other People?

Other People is the label Jaar launched in 2013 after closing Clown & Sunset. It has released work by Lydia Lunch, William Basinski and Laurel Halo.

What is Darkside?

Darkside is Jaar's group with Dave Harrington, which became a trio for its third album. Their albums are Psychic (2013), Spiral (2021) and Nothing (2025).

What is Nicolas Jaar doing now?

His AEAEA album Mist, with Patrick Higgins, is due on 20 November 2026 via Other People.

Which films has Nicolas Jaar scored?

Dheepan (2015, Jacques Audiard) and Ema (2019, Pablo Larraín).

What is Against All Logic?

Against All Logic is the alias he uses for solo house and dance releases, including 2012-2017 (2018) and 2017-2019 (2020).