Holy Other made his debut in 2010 with the release of a 7" single, We Over, on Transparent Records. Shortly after he signed to Tri Angle and released his debut EP, With U, in 2011. With U was highly acclaimed by music critics, many applauding its unique blend of R&B, UK Garage, and House Music. Paul Lester, writing for The Guardian, remarked in reference to the EP “remember those stories about Prince being a Cocteau Twins fan? Well, this is what might have resulted had he worked with Robin Guthrie or Kevin Shields”, while Marc Hogan, in his review for Spin Magazine wrote that the EP "blasts through not only genres, but the divide between the otherworldly and the physical”. Despite the early hype Holy Other immediately developed a reputation for being a particularly elusive and private artist, rarely divulging personal details about himself and preferring not to be photographed or filmed during interviews. In an interview with Stereogum he explained the mystery surrounding him as a by-product of intense stage fright and an initial desire to keep the project as faceless as possible for as long as possible. In 2012 Holy Other released his debut album, Held, again, on Tri Angle Records. The album garnered very positive reviews and was featured on numerous Best Of lists that year. Ruth Saxelby, in her eight-out-of-ten review for Pitchfork stated "his music is of the wholly sensual, painfully physical kind, and with Held he triumphantly translates his bruised intimacy to full-length format without losing any of its skin-prickling power”. In a nine-out-of ten review Mixmag assessed that the album acted "as the perfect catalyst for moments of intense intimacy” and in another nine-out-of-ten review FACT Magazine concluded that “in both musical and studio accomplishment Holy Other has come into his own as a strong, individual, musical voice”. Around this time Holy Other was widely recognised as being one of the more important artists in the then fledgling Alternative R&B scene, although Holy Other himself has never stated any affiliation with the genre. In support of Held Holy Other performed at numerous music festivalsaround the world and also toured with artists including Beach House, Amon Tobin, and Lucky Dragons.
