The Noisettes' frontwoman Shingai talks nights out with Bloc Party and Maximo Park
Feisty front-woman of British rock band The Noisettes, Shingai Shoniwa took time out of her busy schedule to talks about the new album, touring and meeting Lionel Ritchie.
The Noisettes is preparing for the release of brand-spanking new single Don’t Upset The Rhythm, out on March 23. The single builds up for the launch of second studio album Wild Young Hearts, out in April “It’s an exciting slab of pop, grounded in our roots of rock n roll, jazz and soul. We had no money last time, so the album was very much drums, guitar and bass, but this time there is piano, strings and harmonium.” Shingai was clearly thrilled with the new album’s direction. The single has been making waves and has already been snapped up by the ad men. “People compared it to African music like Fela Kuti, we weren’t aiming for a particular sound, we just wrote music.” Shingai explained when asked about the tracks 80’s electro slash disco feel.
For those of you who haven’t already had the pleasure of seeing The Noisettes live, the band is about to embark on a UK and European tour, part of which is supporting Teeside art-rockers Maximo Park, “We played Summer Sonic last year; us, Maximo Park and Bloc Party went out, got completely plastered and sang karaoke. So when they [Maximo Park] were going on tour, they asked us if we were up for it.” Shingai talked about the coalition.
The trio embrace playing live; energetic and attitude packed topped with Shingai statuesque beauty and velvet tones, watching them perform you know that this is a band that love making and performing music. Explaining about the bands rituals when on the road, “We deck out our transit so it looks like a Bedouin tepee. From the outside it just looks like another band on tour, inside we’ve got our own thing going on.”
The signature sound of juxtaposing jazzy and soulful vocals with rock n roll launched the band worldwide in 2007 with debut album What’s The Time Mr Wolf; touring Asia, Europe and America, appearing at SxSW and Coachella festivals, as well as supporting Muse on their monster dates at the newly re-opened Wembley Stadium, “all my African family was there, it was difficult to get them all there as they are a lot of us, but loved that they were all there.”
Despite being one of the hardest working bands in rock, The Noisettes is still relatively underground, “We were signed to Motown and singles like Scratch Your Name and Count of Monte Christo did really well in Europe, America and Asia, but not in the UK.” Shingai explained, highlighting the saturation of the British music industry of clone indie bands, leading tastemakers to overlook more original bands. “At the time, it was all skinny white boys getting played on the radio.” However, the American music-going public seems to have an alternative take on live music, “In the States, they love performers and are more responsive, going out to gigs is an important part of being into music.” Shingai explains.
The industry is now evolving, with move to MP3, a trend toward DIY labels and of course, the throws of recession all have an impact on music, Shingai sees this as a positive change, “Between 1999 and 2008 anyone was getting signed from Uncle Joe to the milkman, everyone was given a chance in the music industry. Now people are going to be more picky about the music they buy and the gigs they go to, so it will separate the good from the shit. Artists are artists, they don’t come out of factories.”
The Noisettes broke through at a time when white men dominated guitar music. Since then other female-fronted bands like Metric and Howling Bells have come to prominence, not to mention seeing more black faces in rock, such as New Young Pony Club, Bloc Party and Lightspeed Champion. Shingai had a very pragmatic view on this trend, “Women have always been making good music and now there is just more exposure. Record labels seem to stick to formulas and was dominated by the average white male band and black females did RnB, now it’s rinsed itself and public are demanding something different.”
When asked what inspires and influences Shingai and the band, it became apparent that musicality is in her blood “My family are a big influence musically. My little brother was in I’d Do Anything with Andrew Lloyd Webber to find a new Oliver. He is on a couple of tracks [on the new album] doing harmonies. We have a very musical family, on my mum’s side, academic on my dad’s.”
Shingai also talked about meeting hero Lionel Ritchie after the Brit Awards, “he was on the next table to us in Claridges” Shingai said, “spoke to him for about 10 minutes, he’s really nice guy. Was a bit star-struck”.
Check out The Noisettes who will soon be playing at a venue near you or hit www.myspace.com/noisettesuk for more information.
First published 23.02.2009
The Noisettes is preparing for the release of brand-spanking new single Don’t Upset The Rhythm, out on March 23. The single builds up for the launch of second studio album Wild Young Hearts, out in April “It’s an exciting slab of pop, grounded in our roots of rock n roll, jazz and soul. We had no money last time, so the album was very much drums, guitar and bass, but this time there is piano, strings and harmonium.” Shingai was clearly thrilled with the new album’s direction. The single has been making waves and has already been snapped up by the ad men. “People compared it to African music like Fela Kuti, we weren’t aiming for a particular sound, we just wrote music.” Shingai explained when asked about the tracks 80’s electro slash disco feel.
For those of you who haven’t already had the pleasure of seeing The Noisettes live, the band is about to embark on a UK and European tour, part of which is supporting Teeside art-rockers Maximo Park, “We played Summer Sonic last year; us, Maximo Park and Bloc Party went out, got completely plastered and sang karaoke. So when they [Maximo Park] were going on tour, they asked us if we were up for it.” Shingai talked about the coalition.
The trio embrace playing live; energetic and attitude packed topped with Shingai statuesque beauty and velvet tones, watching them perform you know that this is a band that love making and performing music. Explaining about the bands rituals when on the road, “We deck out our transit so it looks like a Bedouin tepee. From the outside it just looks like another band on tour, inside we’ve got our own thing going on.”
The signature sound of juxtaposing jazzy and soulful vocals with rock n roll launched the band worldwide in 2007 with debut album What’s The Time Mr Wolf; touring Asia, Europe and America, appearing at SxSW and Coachella festivals, as well as supporting Muse on their monster dates at the newly re-opened Wembley Stadium, “all my African family was there, it was difficult to get them all there as they are a lot of us, but loved that they were all there.”
Despite being one of the hardest working bands in rock, The Noisettes is still relatively underground, “We were signed to Motown and singles like Scratch Your Name and Count of Monte Christo did really well in Europe, America and Asia, but not in the UK.” Shingai explained, highlighting the saturation of the British music industry of clone indie bands, leading tastemakers to overlook more original bands. “At the time, it was all skinny white boys getting played on the radio.” However, the American music-going public seems to have an alternative take on live music, “In the States, they love performers and are more responsive, going out to gigs is an important part of being into music.” Shingai explains.
The industry is now evolving, with move to MP3, a trend toward DIY labels and of course, the throws of recession all have an impact on music, Shingai sees this as a positive change, “Between 1999 and 2008 anyone was getting signed from Uncle Joe to the milkman, everyone was given a chance in the music industry. Now people are going to be more picky about the music they buy and the gigs they go to, so it will separate the good from the shit. Artists are artists, they don’t come out of factories.”
The Noisettes broke through at a time when white men dominated guitar music. Since then other female-fronted bands like Metric and Howling Bells have come to prominence, not to mention seeing more black faces in rock, such as New Young Pony Club, Bloc Party and Lightspeed Champion. Shingai had a very pragmatic view on this trend, “Women have always been making good music and now there is just more exposure. Record labels seem to stick to formulas and was dominated by the average white male band and black females did RnB, now it’s rinsed itself and public are demanding something different.”
When asked what inspires and influences Shingai and the band, it became apparent that musicality is in her blood “My family are a big influence musically. My little brother was in I’d Do Anything with Andrew Lloyd Webber to find a new Oliver. He is on a couple of tracks [on the new album] doing harmonies. We have a very musical family, on my mum’s side, academic on my dad’s.”
Shingai also talked about meeting hero Lionel Ritchie after the Brit Awards, “he was on the next table to us in Claridges” Shingai said, “spoke to him for about 10 minutes, he’s really nice guy. Was a bit star-struck”.
Check out The Noisettes who will soon be playing at a venue near you or hit www.myspace.com/noisettesuk for more information.
First published 23.02.2009
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