Formation and early years Harper majored in drama in college and moved to
Los Angeles to pursue a career as an actress, but she was unable to make it work and soon found herself disillusioned by it. After relocating to
Brooklyn, she decided to pursue a career in music instead. She formed Elizabeth Harper & the Matinee, Harper later contacted
Philadelphia-based producer Mark Richardson, who had remixed a song from her debut album. She preferred Richardson's version to the original, and the two began recording songs at her house, trading Harper's previous guitar-based sound for
electronic music, which she had long been interested in exploring.
The New York Times described it as "an alluringly precise recapturing of the winning chill of early '80s electro-pop". The EP also drew comparisons to
New Order,
The Human League, and
Depeche Mode, while Harper's vocals were likened to those of
Blondie's
Debbie Harry and
Saint Etienne's
Sarah Cracknell. The trio's debut studio album,
Rapprocher, was released on October 18, 2011, by
Carpark Records. Harper stated that the title—which means "to come closer" in
French—was inspired by "a French lover who broke [her] heart". The album received generally positive reviews from music critics, obtaining a rating of 69 out of 100 based on 16 critics on review aggregate site
Metacritic.
AllMusic named it one of the best
indie pop and
rock albums of 2011.
Rapprocher reached number 21 on
Billboards
Dance/Electronic Albums chart and number 27 on the
Heatseekers Albums chart. The song "Keep You" was used in an episode of the
fifth season of the teen drama television series
Gossip Girl.
2013–2015: Movies As a solo artist under the moniker Class Actress, Harper signed to
Casablanca Records in 2013. That same year, she moved into a bungalow at
The Beverly Hills Hotel in order to write and record songs. Class Actress premiered the track "More Than You" on May 20, 2015, and on June 2, it was announced that her EP
Movies would be released on June 23 via Casablanca and
Republic Records. The EP was executive-produced by
Giorgio Moroder and
Evan Bogart, and features production by Harper herself, Moroder,
Neon Indian, and
Mess Kid. ==Discography==