Biography
Nicki
Singer-songwriter-composer-producer Nicki Wells, having recently gained a first class honours degree in music, has been working on her solo debut album as well as multiple collaborations with various artists and producers including the acclaimed Nitin Sawhney. She has already been featured on his work from album recordings to performances in venues such as the Royal Albert Hall, The Royal Opera House and Sadlers Wells and is featured on the recent BBC hit series the ‘Human Planet’.
In January of 2011, Nicki composed the score for Tanika Gupta’s theatrical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ ‘Great Expectations’, receiving critical acclaim as it toured theaters and playhouses throughout the country.
Having already performed in countries as a singer to sell out audiences in regions as diverse as Australia, the Middle East, the Far East & Europe, she has astounded audiences all over the world with her incomparable ability to traverse the gaps between old and new, east and west and contemporary chic and classicism.
Nicki is an exciting young talent and one to watch out for as her multi-faceted career develops.
Reviews
“The lead female vocalist, Nicki Wells, immediately captured the audience’s attention with her ability to belt out melodies in just about every known Indian style of music from Bengali folk and Hindustani classical raagas to soulful blues back-up singing. She was definitely the star attraction of the show, aside from Sawhney himself.”
Guy Life. Review of Nitin Sawhney’s Bluefrog show in Mumbai, India. Feb 2012
“Nitin’s band is mostly white, and his starry-voiced lead singer is a 21-year-old natural blonde called Nicki Wells, a student of classical Indian music who is set for a major career judging from her extraordinarily beautiful singing last night.
Whether any listener will ever be qualified to judge whether Nicki is “authentic” or not seems to me beside the point, when you’re listening to a voice of such fresh, luminously expressive timbre. I am not sure you need any expertise in authentic Indian classical singing to enjoy the mellifluous sweetness in this girl’s delivery.”
The Arts Desk. About Nitin Sawhney and Akram Khan’s show Confluence
“… Sawhney’s outstanding band, led by the staggering voice of Nicki Wells, emerge from behind the grey gauze at the back of the set.”
The Telegraph. About Nitin Sawhney and Akram Khan’s show Confluence
“Blonde chanteuse Nicki Wells sang the gorgeous Sanskrit poem Sloka to near pin-drop silence”
Evening Standard. Last Days of Meaning Album Launch. Royal Albert Hall
“The music is gorgeous, particularly the songs written for the haunting voice of talented singer Nicki Wells”
The Globe and Mail. Luminato Festival, Toronto, Canada
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BASED IN LONDON, UK
Nicki Wells is an entirely new phenomenon. She is the first truly global singer.
Blessed with an unparalleled memory for melody and vocal technique from virtually any culture, Nicki is able to easily leap from folk, French trip-hop, deep gospel, jazz or choral vocals to Indian classical or Arabic inflections as if all were emanating directly from her soul.
Wells’ debut album, produced by award-winning producer-composer Nitin Sawhney, has already won her enthusiastic attention from the likes of Chris Martin and Joss Stone, even before completion, and the singer just signed a lucrative deal with music publishers Reservoir /Reverb Music.
Having performed with Sawhney as a lead vocalist everywhere from major international festivals to sold out venues, such as London's Royal Albert Hall to Sydney Opera House, she has enthralled countless astonished music lovers across the globe.
As well as creating her breathtaking new album, Nicki has already scored extensively for film, theatre and dance and holds a first class degree in music from Guilford's ACM. [ less ]
Official Website
FOLK & HONEY
This from Folk and Honey Site"
London
Nicki Wells, the exceptionally gifted singer and songwriter behind TURYA, takes inspiration from Indian classical music, which she studied as a teenager. The name comes from Turiya, a Sanskrit word, meaning a state of pure consciousness, the silence one experiences after sound.
This influence is echoed throughout her new single ´Falling´. Taken form her Nitin Sawhney produced debut album ´Ocean´, TURYA´s uniquely original sound fuses elements of Western folk, roots and pop with classical Indian foundations.
With influences rooted in her personal experiences, Nicki was born in South London, but grew up in the foothills of the Himalayas. TURYA’s vocal and songwriting approach is a cultivated collection of melodies, combined with uniquely captivating, bittersweet and moving vocals. It´s these elements that have shaped her ‘Ocean’ album.
TURYA describes her unconventional background, and how it impacted on her music ´I grew up in Himachal Pradesh between the ages of 6 and 10, and just absorbed the sound, colours and culture of the region,´ she explains. ´It was also very international – we were with kids from India,
America, Australia, Austria, all different parts of the world. Growing up with so many different languages and accents, I became very open to different ways of communicating. That’s how my musical ear began to develop; listening to an array of different sounds and languages´
Singing primarily in English, TURYA´s music represents an artist who is vast in her range, and clear in her emotional appeal.
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Biography
TANYA WELLS lived in India for over three years, attending school in the foothills of the Himalayas. She later returned to study Indian classical music (including light classical, thumri, bhajan and ghazal) and has performed original material in a number of clubs and festivals on the Indian sub-continent. Tanya continues to draw upon personal experience, writing and performing songs that express a range of diverse cultural influences.
With influences rooted in her personal experiences, Nicki was born in South London, but grew up in the foothills of the Himalayas. TURYA’s vocal and songwriting approach is a cultivated collection of melodies, combined with uniquely captivating, bittersweet and moving vocals. It´s these elements that have shaped her ‘Ocean’ album.
TURYA describes her unconventional background, and how it impacted on her music ´I grew up in Himachal Pradesh between the ages of 6 and 10, and just absorbed the sound, colours and culture of the region,´ she explains. ´It was also very international – we were with kids from India,
America, Australia, Austria, all different parts of the world. Growing up with so many different languages and accents, I became very open to different ways of communicating. That’s how my musical ear began to develop; listening to an array of different sounds and languages´
Singing primarily in English, TURYA´s music represents an artist who is vast in her range, and clear in her emotional appeal.
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Biography
TANYA WELLS lived in India for over three years, attending school in the foothills of the Himalayas. She later returned to study Indian classical music (including light classical, thumri, bhajan and ghazal) and has performed original material in a number of clubs and festivals on the Indian sub-continent. Tanya continues to draw upon personal experience, writing and performing songs that express a range of diverse cultural influences.
