I've hardly had time to sleep lately and I'm not gonna bore you with all the ins and outs of my week but it has been very hectic to say the least! I'll just give you my highlights otherwise I'll be here all day and you'll probably switch off!
I was invited to the nomination party for the very first Official Mixtape Awards hosted by Ras Kwame and the lovely Kele Le Roc.
My sis Obenewa was nominated in the best newcomer category, so you can imagine I was pleased as punch. Please vote for her @ www.officialmixtapeawards.co.uk she's amazing! www.myspace.com/obenewa1
Saturday, I went out with my twinny, Sherona, we share the same bday, but unfortunately she was sick on the day of our party so I had to party with out her :( I didn't stay out too late because I had early morning footie the next day (which was actually cancelled because of the rain) but we had a nice time. It was much calmer than my party, but nevertheless I good night out!
I had a great night out on Sunday @ Room 4 Movement, which was held at the Book club in Shoreditch with my Uprock Crew and Dego from 4hero spinning.
Me and ru baby AKA Rumel had fun catching up and as it was her bday she had a few cocktails which were ridiculously tasty and STRONG!
I tasted one called "Brown Sugar" and it was divine :) Although I remained VERY sober as I was designated driver...boooo!
Yesterday I popped into Lightning fm to see Dj Christoss as I was in South London for a meeting, so I killed two birds with one stone. We had a right old laugh! Thanks for all of you who called in and texted. You asked some really good questions and gave me some great feedback. I'll definitely be passing my music to the Lightning fm crew to play new material so stay tuned! www.lightningfm.co.uk!
As you all know, or should know by now, my Ep is out! www.nadinecharles.bandcamp.com, which is all very exciting. But what is really exciting for me right now is that I'm going to be doing a video for one of my tracks.
It's my first video so it's quite daunting, but exciting @ the same time. And yeah I realise I've used the word exciting a lot but I'm EXCITED!!
I have great team of people working on it already and many volunteers too. If you feel you have any skills that you feel you could contribute please do not hesitate to contact us at nadinecharlesbiz@gmail.com.
Okay...well I have a couple meetings, a dinner and a gig to attend and that's just my schedule for today, so I have to dash.
I'm still buzzing off the fabulous birthday I had last week...and to be honest with you, I'm still slyly celebrating, on a more low key level. I went for dinner @ Rocket in Mayfair last night with a friend who wasn't able to make my party. It's a beautiful restaurant BUT the food wasn't all that. Good thing my company made up for what the meal lacked. We had a good old chin wag and before we knew it the staff were clearing up, turning on all the lights etc, hinting for us to shove off! We finally got the message and I went home, smiling although my belly was still longing for a decent meal!
Food does feature a lot in my life. One of my "loves". If you follow me on twitter you'll know how much I eat and think about food. A slight obsession I think. I even dream about it..."issues" I hear you scream. Oh well, I could be an alcoholic, sexaholic or shopaholic...so being a foodie is not that bad surely!
I just wanted to let you know about another article that was written on my EP. I met some guys @ the summit in ATL from "Grown Folks Music". They passed on my EP to a colleague who listened to and reviewed my music.
Here is what he had to say,
"Nadine Charles - Introducing Miss Charles
Upon hearing the EP Introducing Miss Charles from Nadine Charles I loudly exclaimed “El gusto es mio!” fortunately no one was around to laugh at my poor excuse for Spanish. But in all seriousness the pleasure really is all mine. Having the opportunity to listen to this great project from this wonderful artist just adds another notch to my “there really is hope for R&B scorecard”.
Seven tracks that run the subject matter gamut from: Love to loss, infatuation to even openly admitting that you’re a Cry Baby…you have to love an artist that is not afraid to be that open and honest. Musically, if you are a fan of great melodies(which I am) and dense beautiful harmonies(guilty as charged over here) you will love Introducing Miss Charles.
The production[C Swing and The Truth MoveMENT] and performances on this EP are wonderfully consistent: no throwaways here. The tracks contained herein do not reside in the “beatmaker” category, this is not a dig at any music or producer who operates in that realm, I’m merely stating that this is gimmick free music. They even have the audacity to have musical bridges in these songs that really do take you on a journey. The nerve!
If someone would have told me yesterday that I would be this excited about R&B again, I probably would have done what I usually do which is to point to the old dusty box of well worn cassettes and LP’s (yeah I said it) and curmudgeonly say “Now that’s R&B over there”. Fortunately, today I was properly introduced to Miss Charles so now I can point to my computer’s monitor and the dusty old box. Musical recommendation: hit repeat." Ivan Orr
www.grownfolksmusic.com
I've agreed to do an interview for them too so look out for it SOON!
A few posts back I told you about a charity event I did about a month or so back. Here's some footage of it. I'm featured towards the end of it.
That's it for now. I've got to go and plan my sister's baby shower now, and I've put it on hold for weeks. So I gotta go. I'll holla soon.
Walk Right Nads xx
For hard copies of my EP mail nadinecharlesbiz@gmail.com Download individual tracks www.nadinecharles.bandcamp.com Follow me on twitter www.twitter.com/nadiva99
My boys "Blessed Voices" Jermaine,Cameron,Kwaku and Meshach
Dancehall Queen for Life!
This is just a quickie,
I just wanted to say THANK YOU for the hundreds of messages I got on my birthday! I was overwhelmed. I'm thankful that so many of you took those two minutes out of your busy schedules to say Happy Birthday to ME!! I really appreciate it. So there was no way I was gonna have a crappy birthday!!! My friend Le-Starr organised a private party for me @ Molton House in Mayfair and I had sooooo much fun.....as you can probably gather from the pictures.
Although it was a Monday and most of my friends/family had to get up the next day for work, so many of them came to celebrate my Earthday with me. I had people around me who I love to death, a bling bling dress that made me feel like a princess and TWO birthday cakes :) It was a supercalifragulisticexpialidocious night!
I know you've heard it a million times but again I must say SORRY. MUWAAAAAAH xoxoxoxoxoxo
The problem is, that I take so many photos, videos etc then don't have the time to organise and edit them!
I don't know if you think it's a good enough reason/excuse, but it's the truth! Anyhoo, apology out of the way...
I hope you're all well. Where do I start?
Okay... A few months ago I was approached by a young lady called Sophia Savizon, with her idea to organise a fashion show to showcase fashion designers and at the same time raise money for charity. I thought it was an excellent idea and didn't hesitate to be involved. This event was especially important to me because the causes she chose were Sickle Cell and Cancer, which have both affected my life.
Anyone who knows me, knows that I'm a chatterbox in private, but I'm not much of a public speaker, so when I was asked to do a speech on Sickle Cell disease I immediately said no! However, I was persuaded by Sophia and the nurse who treats my son for his condition. They convinced me it was good idea for me to talk about the subject as it affects my everyday life as my son lives with it. Although, I was dreading it, I'm so glad I went through with it because I was able to raise awareness for something that affects so many people, yet most people don't even know what it is. But that wasn't me out of the spotlight. I had to also perform a couple of songs of Sophia's choice(cheeky monkey but it's all love). She and her organisers did a fabulous job and the night ran smooooovely! :)
Check out the I Love Runway Site for pictures : www.iloverunway.co.uk
Mike Kiwanuka (guitarist) and Miss Kadija Kamara (singer/songwriter)
In my spare time...which is very limited, I LOVE going to gigs. I was lucky enough to be asked to go to the Eric Roberson show in Jazz Cafe. As usual he pleased his fans. He's such a talented guy and really down to earth. I had a little word with him after and he gave me some positive feedback on my EP which was nice. I was just glad he bothered to listen to it!!! Loool
I also had a chance to go see Vula @ Jazz re:freshed. Guys if you don't know about this girl, google her. She is one of UK finest singers and I'm not kidding...and she's got the sweetest smile...girlie crush coming on! lol
Me and a few friends went down to see her @ Mau Mau in Portobello road, West London, and she rocked the mic!!
Jazz re:freshed is a weekly event and entry is something stupid like £3/5...There's always fresh talent and a wicked vibe. Big up my Uprock massive!!!
I performed there a few years back. Check out the dodgy clip! lol
VULA
So we all know I'm partial to a photoshoot or two! But my little sister Asantewa is new to it. So she asked me to accompany her to a shoot for her portfolio. She's not a model, but she's a GREAT dancer and needed to get some pictures done, so off we went to the depths of Deptford!!! What a flippin Trek! I'm sure you agree that she's quite the stunner. Silly moo calls me a twiglet and says it's better to be thicker than a snicker...cheeky lil girl. Watch out for her. She's a bad ASS dancer.
Now, lets get back to MEEEEE! My EP is now available. I think I told you this before... Anyway, there are a few copies left (as I only pressed a limited amount).
My favourite track off the EP
So if you would like one please contact nadinecharlesbiz@gmail.com
Alternatively, you can download some of the tracks from bandcamp.com www.nadinecharles.bandcamp.com I will be updating this site with tracks as often as I can.
Talking of tracks, I made one on Frday with Dornik from the TRUTH MoveMENT. I love it. I must have played it a hundred kerbillion times over the weekend. My son now hates it...but I love it still! lol I can't wait for it to be mixed so I can give it to you. It's a proper slow jam. My mum says it's for the erm hmmmm intimate times, but I just think it's a deep love song. I'm a hopeless romantic...Where's My knight in shining armour?????
ME and the Birthday Girl NADIA
Last weekend I went to a club for the first time in ages. I'm more of a gig kinda girl but I know how to shake my tush on the dancefloor when I'm ready. And it was my girl, Nadia's bday. So we headed to Amika in Kensington High Street, but it was ...how can I put it as nicely as possible??? S*@t!!!! Really really bad...
Luckily, Le-Starr was running a club night across the road and was able to get us a cosy little section in the VIP section at a moment's notice. The girls got overly tipsy on Grey Goose mixtures and Sambucca and the birthday girl danced the night away.
This weekend was family chillout time. Saturday we had "lady's day" @ my mums house and Sunday, I spent time with my other family, the TRUTH MoveMENT. We're normally making music, but this Sunday, my sis Obenewa and I cooked for the boys and just vegged out! Bliss :) Btw if you haven't already, download my sis' official mixtape, it's VERY necessary in your life!!! www.wix.com/dirtymedialdn/obenewa
I've got a radio interview on Friday so I'll post details during the week so you can listen in and maybe even call up!!
I just thought I'd post a little review that was done on my EP. I was contacted by Soul:UK as they heard that my Ep was ready and they wanted first dibs :) I happily obliged and was pleased with what they had to say about it!
"Sometimes I come across an artist or music that seems to fill a void that I wasn’t even consciously aware was there in the first place. One such artists is Nadine Charles (and the music is her Introducing Miss Charles EP).
The ‘void’ in question is great female R&B, without the gimmicks, vocal effects, pop-crossover elements that seem so prevalent in today’s R&B starlets. If I was forced to draw comparisons with other artists I would probably choose someone like Faith Evans, Brandy or Monica.
I have been aware of Nadine for some time and many of those ‘in the know’ have been singing her praises at every opportunity, so she was definitely on my radar.
A chance visit over to her blog informed me that she had attended the Atlanta International Soul Summit, and finished up her debut EP. The cheeky curious side of me decided to drop her an email to see if I could get my hands on the EP and see if everything I had heard was true …. it was!
The EP is 7 tracks long and it’s obvious that the tracks were chosen carefully. There is no ‘filler’ (I know it’s an EP but it does happen) and the songs flow well, unlike a lot of EPs/mixtapes that seem to be cobbled together and released with no thought at all about how the finished project will sound as a complete package." Soul:UK
I must say I was pleased as punch as I wrote most of it so it was a very personal journey for me. Many thanks to the Black Einstein AKA Colin Emannuel AKA C Swing and my boys (Script,Progression and Dornik) and girl(Obenewa) from the Truth MoveMENT for producing my tracks! Big up.. Me love you long time.
I'm back from Atlanta and I had such a wonderful time...I must admit, I was in two minds about coming home! Gotta be honest! But I am so grateful for the great time I had and I did miss my family and friends in Sunny (yeah right) London. It's soo true about that Southern Hospitality. In 2 and a half weeks I think I came across just one unpleasant person! That's amazing. Everyone in ATL are just sooo nice :) I made many new friends and met up with some existing ones @ the International Soul Music summit too! I was also able to meet many of my facebook friends and fans @ the conference and at listening parties etc. It was a great experience. I also had the chance to perform for my very first time in America. I've recorded out there before but, NO live performances. Luckily I was provided with an excellent guitarist, Mr Brandon A Thomas www.myspace.com/brandonathomas, he's amazing, check him out. I'll also post some footage of the show.
A couple days before I left for ATL, I finished up my EP so it is now READY! Can you believe it? We've been talking about it for a while now...and it is actually done! WOW! I hope my UK peeps will forgive me for giving the US a preview of it, but that's just how it panned out! Sorry. But I will have a fresh batch of cd's ready in the next couple of weeks. For any enquires hit me up on nadinecharlesbiz@gmail.com.
I just wanted to share this Radio interview I did a lil while back. I know some of you listened in, but for those of you who missed it, have a lil listen.
I'm off to Atlanta next week as I've been invited to the International Soul Music Summit. So in the search of sun and good Soul music I'll be off. I'll try to do a blog while I'm out there if I get the chance because I know I've been really crap lately with my posts but I've been working really hard on my Ep. Oh! BTW I've finished all my recording for my EP. Just waiting on the producers to mix the tracks so hopefully you will be able to get your copies VERY soon!
Anyhoo, gonna love you and leave ya, cos it's Sunday and I'm trying to chill out cos I know this is gonna be a hectic week.
Hey! I haven't abandoned you. I have been busy writing,recording and doing photoshoots. So I thought I'd give you a bit of behind the scenes footage so you know I'm not gassin! The last shoot I did will be published in a couple months so I can't sneak you any of those pictures, but I'll let you know when the magazine will be out! Enjoy the vid Nuff love Nads xxxxx
Just a quickie, Been so busy since Lil man got back from the states. I forgot how hard it was to juggle motherhood with everything else. It aint bloody easy I tell ya. Anyhoo, I've been busy with him since it was his birthday on Saturday. I don't know where all the years have gone. We've been on bike rides and all sorts. Just generally having fun. But I must say certain parts of my body are hurting from the exercise. At least he will keep me young! I'm tres busy this week because I have a couple of photoshoots and a show along with summer holiday activities for the lil monkey! So I'm keeping it short. My good friend GREEDS' is having an Album Launch Party/show which I am part of. Funny man Simply Andy is hosting it and there will be performances from Cynthia Erivo, Enrico, Natalie Fiawoo and yours truly with the Remedy band.
He's worked so hard on this album and he's an amazing poet. You'd be mad to miss it. SOOOOO come down to the Fym Fyg Bar 231 Cambridge Heath Road London E2
Doors open @ 7pm and show starts 8.30pm sharp!
We would really appreciate your support. So See ya there!
Wow, this week has been so up and down. The "downs" were pretty damn low, but the "ups" were high so they kinda cancelled out the lows...eventually! Some great stuff came out of this week, but I can safely say, this is a week I don't want to relive! Anyhoo, So I performed my an acoustic set with my guitarist Joe @ Style and Substance in Shoreditch on Tuesday. I was a little bit, well actually VERY nervous as I've just been recording in the studio and not performed live for a while. However the audience were very attentive, gave me great feedback and many of them joined my twitter before I had even left the building! Result :) Although I was pleased and relieved that the performance went well and the Sistova Production girls were happy with it, there were a few niggling things that were bothering me so I met up with my friend RuMel on Wednesday and had a girlie day @ Westfields shopping Centre. Just what the doctor ordered. We got some snazzy new underwear, some bits and bobs and most importantly FOOD! # We were both a lil down in the dumps, but after our bellies were filled and after our bit of retail therapy, we both perked up and left the Mall beaming :) As a continuation of our cheer ourselves up plan, we decided to get our glad rags out on Thursday night and go to the launch party of my friend Le-Starr's new business venture, Starr Cars www.starr-cars.com Check out the above link to see more about this exciting new Company which will cater for all your car hire and chauferring needs, AlWAYS treating you like the star that you are! It was held @ Funky Buddha in Mayfair. Despite the most awful weather, the type you get in the tropics quite a few people braved it and made their way down to join in the celebrations. We stayed for a couple of hours, but I really wasn't in the greatest of moods and very hungry. So Ru and I left to go on a late night creep to KFC. I tried to take it easy on Friday as I was scheduled to perform @ Soul-D-Out in the evening so I had a chill out day until soundcheck. As my fellow artists will know, shows can be very stressful as something always seems to go wrong before you even get on stage and we're (in the words of Ms Badu) very sensitive about our s*@t. I nearly made a run for it after soundcheck but luckily I got a call from someone with the midas touch and they calmed me down. And I must say, I think I actually smacked it. I really let go and gave myself to my songs and even shed a tear or ten! But I held it together and hopefully wasn't too shakey. I'd like to give a big shout out to my friend Jerry Barnett who came down to support me and also take some shots of me in action. Check out the folowing links for his work: http://www.flickr.com/photos/blackandwhitebritain/sets/72157621997125462/ http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jerry-Barnett-Photography/73047957538 http://blackandwhitebritain.com/ 5368311034842590370" /> Other performances on the night were from Brooke Bailey, Nicky Prince and Noel McKoy who headlined. They were all received very well and the audience danced and enjoyed their evening. I had to leave prematurely though because I had to go to the Jazz Cafe to go and see my boys, "The Score" who had a launch party. Unfortunately I missed their performance as we were both on stage at the same time, however they were all happy to see me as was I. Watch this space cos they're gonna be BIG! They've got groupies and everything...where's my groupies at? Saying that I got mobbed on the way to their gig by a lady, yes I said a Lady, who tried to kiss me, but all she got was a hug. Then I ran like the wind.
I don't know how I stayed up so late on Friday. I must've been running on pure adrenaline, but you'd better believe I was a Zombie on Saturday.
I just about had the energy to laze around on the sofa watching Come Dine With Me and True Movies with my Auntie. Calm before the storm! lol
Yesterday was a beautiful day so I called up Nadiva2 so she came over and we jumped in the car and headed South to go to the Jerk Cookout where there were thousands of people queuing up for chicken!
We were running on Black People and Indian People's time and got there at 6pm, the time it was supposed to finish, but luckily it was still in full flow!
I was only there for about an hour but bumped into so many people I knew. Loads of my musical friends were there, Kadija Kamara, Jason Jermaine, Miss Laidlaw and also saw my photographer friends too which is always a pleasure.
It was nice to finally meet some of my Facebook friends too. Many of them have been so supportive, by posting my music and watching and supporting my progress etc so it was great meeting them in the flesh.
So after our fill of Jerk chicken, we jumped back in the Nadiva mobile and went on the search for more Food!
We had a little sing song on the way! lol Check out our homemade video. Watch out for it on MTV soon!
We headed to Clapham where were found a lovely Spanish restaurant and sat outside and ate tapas.
On reflection, I guess it wasn't such a bad week. The lows made me appreciate the highs and what's life without dynamics aye?
I'm a singer, songwriter, music lover from West London. My son, family and music are my life.
I've been singing since I could talk, but since winning the Nokia Prince's Trust Unsigned Award in 2005 I've taken my singing more seriously.
I have had the pleasure to sing with 2000Black, Silhouette Brown,and also with Gabrielle and Raphael Saadiq. You'll be able to also catch me doing solo gigs.
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