Circuit Des Yeux

Circuit Des Yeux is the moniker of singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Hayley Fohr. A celebrated figure in Chicago’s music community, Fohr released acclaimed albums via De Stijl, Thrill Jockey, and Drag City before signing to Matador records.

Fohr released her sixth album, and Matador debut -io at the end of 2021 to widespread acclaim. The Times called it “strikingly original”, and The Washington Post described it as “an artistic triumph”. It was highlighted as one of the best albums of the year by NPR, Crack, The Wire, and others. The album was remixed by musician Claire Rousay for an EP titled Sunset Poem in 2022. The live tour for -io saw Fohr performing and adapting music from the album alongside local orchestral ensembles in different cities and countries, including New York, Chicago, Bern, London, The Hague, Ljubljana, Zaragoza, Lisbon and Espinho. She has since composed, scored and performed pieces alongside artists including Bergamot Quartet, Erika Dohi, the Brooklyn Youth Chorus choir, and Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe.

Halo On The Inside, the much awaited follow-up to ~io, arrived in March 2025. Written mostly in the dead of night in a period of intense solitude, HOTI is the product of that metamorphosis – a rhapsodic, hedonistic, dance floor-adjacent, wall of sound and emotion. The center of Halo remains Fohr’s voice. It is a powerful, seemingly supernatural instrument — with a four-octave range that can span gentle melodic hooks, animalistic bleats, and elemental wails. Here, Fohr makes use of its full range in maximalist compositions that swerve fearlessly between genres and styles. “Through the process of making this music I was able to rewind myself to a time before fear,” she says. “And in the absence of fear I found the intimate beat of sex, love, and melody.”

“Fohr’s work is rooted in the deepest crevasses of the human condition.” – Pitchfork

“Haley Fohr’s voice has an entrancing power. As Circuit des Yeux, she composes haunting atmospheres that augment its force.” – New York Times