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KOOL
artist biographies
HEATHER NOVA
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 Something
happens to Heather Nova as soon as she starts to sing. In
the flesh the beautiful, Bermuda born songwriter is softly
spoken and painfully modest. On record however, armed with
an angelic voice which soars from a glass shattering soprano
to an earthy alto, she sounds supremely confident. Having
spent two years on tour since the release of her 700,000 selling
last album, "Oyster", Nova has good reason to feel at ease
with her music. 300 gigs - following the release of "Oyster",
mostly with a full on rocking band, and some acoustic performances
with only a cello player as accompaniment - have strengthened
her haunting, poetic style and encouraged her to experiment
more with her unique and powerful vocals.
"When
I finished touring," says Heather, "I went home to Bermuda
and rented this cottage that was right on the sea and as it
was winter time there were lots of storms. The front of the
cottage was literally in the water and the waves would lash
the walls. It was fantastic. I cut myself off from the phone,
T.V, everything. After being on the road for so long, I 'd
got really strung out and removed from myself. I needed to
be alone to gather up all the ideas I had and to write some
new songs. I didn't want to just rush in and record a new
record to meet any deadlines, when the time came I just took
my time and really enjoyed being in the studio."
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"Siren",
released in May '98, is a mix of stripped down, story telling
songs, string drenched, mid tempo guitar driven tracks and atmospheric
ballads. Written last year on a return trip to Bermuda, it's
14 tracks were recorded at various studios in London at Real
World in Bath with longtime collaborators Felix Tod and Youth,
as well as new Nova producer, John Kelly.
The result is a deeply personal record full of observations
on love and relationships as well as Nova's trademark emotive
lyrics and earthy imagery. "This record is more raw than "Oyster
". After living on the road for so long, I wanted the production
to be less of a process and more an art of capturing the moment,
with a lot more spontaneity and room for improvisation" , says
Heather." "Oyster" was an aftermath record it was about picking
up the pieces, healing old wounds; I buried my past in that
record, and Siren is about moving on: the schizophrenic life
of being on the road and the highs and lows of love."
The album was recorded with what Nova refers to as her dream
team of players, which included Paul Sandrone from Raissa on
bass, Nicolaj Juel from Addict on guitar , Nadia Landman from
Nova's live band on cello, and Geoff Dougmore from Killing Joke
on drums. Clearly influenced by the live experience, Nova's
new songs are both her most loose and direct to date.
Raised on a 40 foot sail boat built by her parents, on which
she travelled around the West Indies until the age of 15,Nova
grew up listening to The Beatles, Neil Young and Jimmy Cliff.
She started writing her own songs at art college, where she
majored in film making, before moving to London to pursue a
career in music. Her first album, "Glowstars" was little more
than a simply structured collection of demos, recorded at home
on an eight track. The next release couldn't have been more
opposite, the album "Blow" being a tape of a live show that
was released to accompany a European tour ,and ended up selling
40,000 in Europe within a few months of release, on the back
of some rave live reviews.
The first single from Siren, "London Rain", was released in
April '98, it's an 'on the road' song. "As virtually all performers
would say, the actual on stage element of touring is fantastic
, but all the bullshit that goes with it can make you yearn
for some kind of reality, familiar places and familiar faces."
The video for the single was shot in Bermuda.
Nova's personal favorite is "Valley Of Sound". It's about simply
being overcome by music, where music has a power to bring you
to your knees. I was so inspired by an early solo performance
of Jeff Buckley's, the way he was willing to really expose his
soul. I felt transported..........music taking you to the depths
of feeling we can't sometimes otherwise attain."
"I'm The Girl" is about the idea of ancestral memory. That as
a woman I am connected to every woman that has come before me......every
archetype....every emotion....has been felt by women before
me. Sometimes I'm the siren and sometimes I'm drawn to the rocks
myself."
"Paper Cup" is the song about unrequited love, something that
might have been. At the same time, trying to hold on to something
that can never last".
In the summer of '98, Nova and her new band consisting of Bastion
Juel (bass), Berit Fridahl (guitar), Laurie Jenkins (drums)
and Nadia Lanman (cello and keyboards), went out on another
gruelling world tour, starting with some European club dates,
moving onto a US club tour and some dates on the Lillth Fair
festival.
A live album was recorded during a further sell-out European
tour (due for release late summer) in Germany, where the sales
of 'Siren' passed the 100,000 mark as the second single 'Heart
and Shoulder' was released.
Currently taking a break to write, she will be doing an acoustic
promo trip in Australia and New Zealand through April/May before
embarking on a summer of festivals throughout Europe - see gigs
section for dates. |
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Copyright Koolmag Ltd 2000
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