Everybody Loves The Sunshine...

Well that may be a sweeping comment BUT most people love the sunshine apart from a couple of weirdos. The sun generally puts people in a good mood and encourages us to come out of our dwellings and socialise. I ♥ it a LOT!
It helps motivate me. Let's be honest, when it's all gloomy outside it takes an extra effort to get out of the bed. When it's sunny I practically jump out of the bed and hit the ground running! lol...okay slight exaggeration but you catch my drift!

From the end of last week the weather here in London started picking up which coincided with a session I had with Dornik Leigh of the Truth MoveMENT.
I normally go to his house and within a couple hours I will have written and recorded a song. We have a great chemistry. In the last few months I think I've done four or five tracks with him.

I videoed a bit of the session for you all to see how the song began and how it progressed. And because we're feeling sunshiny, Dornik and I are giving the track away for FREE.
It will be available in a few days so stay in the loop by following me on my twitter so you can get the download details www.twitter.com/nadiva99

Come On Son from Nadine Charles on Vimeo.

The same evening I ended up @ Mau Mau. The Uprock boys had New York Artist Spec Boogie performing and my sis was singing a couple of his hooks so I thought I'd go and have a peek and also keep her company.



As usual we grabbed a bite to eat first. I actually ended up getting upset because my friend Incisive ordered food which tasted waaaaaaaay nicer than mine...it got quite emotional. But luckily the show had me bobbing my head and I forgot about it ....... till the show was over!

I'd never heard of Spec Boogie before, as did none of my friends, but he had us all singing along, dancing and vibing.
Check him out www.specboogie.com
Have a look at the footage I took below...There's so much I missed but I got quite a bit still!

Spec Boogie from Nadine Charles on Vimeo.

The good weather continued to the weekend. It actually got hotter. On Saturday I overdosed on football. My son had football training in the morning, then in the afternoon he had a Football Funday at his school. I spent 6 hours watching football. My idea of HELL. I actually do like football, but little kids who don't know how to play, who sulk when they lose (hmmm sounds a bit like men! lol) is NOT fun. BUT hey it's part and parcel of being a parent. Sometimes you've gotta do stuff you don't want to.





So Sunday, was about MEEEEEEEE! lol
Some friends and I wanted to go and make the most of the sun, so we decided to go to one of the biggest parks in the country, Hyde Park.
I packed a bag full of goodies and a cooler full of drinks (including a lovely bottle of wine), whacked on the sunscreen and headed off to the park.
One of my friends suggested roller skating! hahahahaha...as if! It was all about lazing in the sun for me :)
We had a FUNtastic time

Hyde Park from Nadine Charles on Vimeo.

That was my weekend in a nutshell.

Oh, and If you didn't have a chance to look at the profile posted of me in Flavour Magazine, have a butchers FLAVOUR MAG It's short and sweet. Go on have a nosey!

Okay peeps.
I'm off now. But do stay in touch with me on twitter until the next post. I'll let you know when and how you can download FREE, yes FREE music.
Until we meet again, have a blessed week

Nay
xx

Young & Ambitious: Nadine Charles

Young & Ambitious: Nadine Charles

Music is the Remedy

In the past week or so I've been overdosing on music...if that's actually possible. I came to the conclusion a long time ago that music is the remedy for me. If I'm sad I play music, if I'm happy I play music, if I wanna create a mood *wink wink* I play music. Music plays a big part in my life. I've written some of my best songs when I've been going through some major ish and needed to vent. I LOVE MUSIC !!

SO...continuing from my last post, I've been going out to more gigs! Supporting some fantastic musical friends of mine.
I went down to Vibe bar in Brick lane to see my friend, musician and producer Colin Emmanuel otherwise known as the Black Einstein.
He actually produced a track on my EP www.nadinecharles.bandcamp.com
Have a listen. It's called "Not My Man".



Anyhoo. He played a brilliant set and had Mystro, Baby Sol and Sharlene Hector on vocals. I was enjoying it so much that I nearly forgot to film. But I did get a little bit for you.
Have a lookie

Black Einstein from Nadine Charles on Vimeo.

The next night my sis sang at an event called Soul-d-out held at Cottons in Angel. The food was great and my sis was even better!





Last Thursday, I met up with some of my friends for dinner on Portobello Road before having the pleasure of seeing my longtime friend J-soul from Gospel group Blessed Voices perform @ Inn on the Green. He's now doing his solo thing and I'm sure you'll agree that he's got a beautiful voice.

J-Soul from Nadine Charles on Vimeo.

We had a fun night as usual. Too many jokes, great food, company and music. Perfecto!

Friday I had my first rehearsal with my new band "Soundforce". It was fun. We have a LOT of work to do, but we had a nice lil jam and just got familiar. Played my songs a bit and I introduced them to the sounds of Don Blackman. They loved him!!



Here's a lil clip of our rehearsal. Remember it's our FIRST so don't watch any bum notes on the band's part...on the other hand, I have no excuse, but hey! Apologies for the shaky filming. My son was the cameraman on the day. He's got a bit to learn!

Untitled from Nadine Charles on Vimeo.

Today I had a rehearsal with a guitarist and a studio session with my good friend Pesci and Nutty P. I was rushing around so much I forgot to film anything or take pics. Sorry!

Until Next time...Stay Blessed
Nads xx
www.twitter.com/nadiva99

GOING BACK TO MY ROOTS!

Nah I'm not going back to Africa, China, Japan, Scotland or wherever I'm from...I've gone au natural. I decided about 8 months ago not to chemically process my hair anymore because my hair was crying from all the madness I was doing to it. And in a bid not to use my hair straighteners to get my naturally curly hair straight,I decided to give it a break and braid it for a few weeks. It was a bit of a shock to the system but...I'm getting used to it!
Just thought I'd explain the change of appearance...



Anyway...onto more interesting things.
I've been busy, out and about and even remembered to take some pictures and footage. I think I deserve a massive pat on the back. Yay me :)

So...we've had lovely weather lately which has made me much more sociable.
I've been a bit of a social butterfly! lol

My friend Yomi, otherwise known as poet, G.R.E.E.D.S, invited me to the Grace Obika Album launch as he was her opening act. So I rounded up a few of my friends and headed down to Bar Music Hall in Shoreditch.
As usual he smashed it. I love it when an artist engages a crowd, and Greeds does it EVERY time. When he talks, people listen. A great skill.
I took some footage on the night so you could see the talent, but it's one of those " you have to be there to get it"...Hopefully my camera captured the spirit of things but I'm afraid the sound man was deaf and the lighting person was blind, so the levels are not too great!
Have a butchers below!

Untitled from Nadine Charles on Vimeo.

The pics I took on the night were waaaay below average! I only had one drink so I wasn't even drunk so I don't know what my excuse was! I think I was just having too much fun! lol


I captured mine and DJ Christoss' shiney foreheads! lol...I'll keep practising my photography skills...


This one is slightly better...slightly

That day I went for a casting for a modelling job, where they tested different looks on me to see if I was suitable. So luckily I didn't have to do my make up and I also got the job. I did the shoot the following week, which consisted of a couple looks, one being a bride, so I daydreamt as I posed in a stunning wedding dress!...one day...*sighs*

Anyway...pics will come soon

Another friend of mine, rapper, Incisive invited me to his show in Shoreditch last Monday. I've watched his blogs, performances, even worked with him, but this was my first time seeing him live.
The venue was a little bit strange and there were some strange acts there...some were actually strange in a good way.
Incisive was on last, which was a good move on the part of the organisers because they really did save the best for last.
Again, I was a bit p'd off with the sound and lighting person. Different venue, same bloody problem. Luckily Incisive and his fab band are professional and they gave a great performance.
I will definitely go and support him again not just because he is a friend and a fellow West Londoner; his tracks and production are really good too. He's not just a run off the mill rapper, he's got that X factor. Follow him on twitter for more info and watch the clip below. Look out for a special appearance from bad bwoy singer Shakka too!

Incisive and Shakka from Nadine Charles on Vimeo.

www.twitter.com/incisive1
www.twitter.com/shaxmusic

I've had a couple birthday celebrations too. It was my cousin's 21st *WINK WINK* so I went to go and show my face at the club. I'm not really a clubber but it was a special occasion so I made the effort. But greedy lil me was taken to dinner before hand so I had that itis going on...I was in bed by 1am! I'm a lightweight these days.


Me and bday boy Herman


Me and cousin Cleon

The next day it was birthday celebrations number two! For my sister obenewa. She booked a room @ one of our favourite restaurants, Busaba and made us all dress up supposedly "geek chic" ...but we mainly just looked geeky!

Birthday girlie Obenewa








So, I'm going off to my bed now. I hope you're proud of me for sticking to my word.
I've got a few events/gigs I'll be going to this week and I'll get some pics for ya.
Sweet dreams my darlings
Nads xx
www.twitter.com/nadiva99