Keepin ya in the loop!

Sooo my lurrvvverlies...I've been so busy I don't even know what day it is right now. But busy is a great thing and I feel blessed that I have that privilege.

I did few more shows since the gig at mau mau's and I will try and get my hands on some footage to put up in the next post.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to all of you who watched my "kisses in the morning" promo video
It's been up for 3 weeks now and has had over 3000 views which is a great achievement for me. So at least I know people are getting to hear my music! Please keep posting and spreading the word!

I have also been very fortunate to have had my video and song reviewed by many blogs, sites, magazines etc.

My most recent one was Soultrain.com in an article by Terry Bello (founder of the International Soul Music Summit)
Please check it out www.soultrain.com

If you've been following my blog for a while, you will remember the name Emmy Collins.
He's a friend of mine who happens to be a Fashion Designer. I have had the pleasure of wearing his clothes and working alongside him on shoots and will continue to support him as I believe his style is very unique and innovative.



Emmy and I





Brian Friedman modelling two of his suits





An Emmy Collin's Dress

Born Nigerian and growing up during Fela’s (Kuti) prime, he sneaked out on many a night to watch the Afro beat king play at his “Afrika Shrine” club influenced Emmy so much that from his teens together with his neighbourhood friends, he developed clothing styles unique to his time and brought to life by a local machinist friend. Emmy Collins’ work today is not a copy of Fela’s sartorial sense. Instead he has honed his creative skills while borrowing from some of his personal childhood creations and allowing memories of his music icon to inspire his original designs today. These influences have never been more evident than in his Spring/Summer 2011 collection recently unveiled at the Pitti Immagine Uomo 78 men’s apparel fashion show in Florence, Italy.

The Emmy Collins London collection can be viewed at his eponymous showroom opening 25th August at:
87 Great Eastern Street, London EC2A 3HY, TEL:02034870734, Email info@emmycollins.com
www.emmycollins.com
Feel free to come down and have a sneaky peak through his collection between 11am and 8pm.
I look forward to seeing you all there.

I will also let you know when the Grand Opening Launch Party is taking place, that will be an event and a half!!!

Okay me dearies. I need to get some rest. I have a very important recording session tomorrow.

Also got much more to tell you but that will have to wait for another day...

Sweet dreams
God Bless
Nay Nay xx

Been so long...

Been meaning to post something up here for a while but been busy with rehearsals etc...life in general!

I know I know...I'm like that bad girlfriend/boyfriend who says "baby I'm gonna change" and does so for a week and then reverts back to their former bad ways. But you love me too much to dump me...right? Mwaaaah
Love you too xx

Wanna say a big big thank you to everyone who came down to my gig at Mau Mau Bar last Thursday. I must say I was surprised at how many of you turned up to see lil ole me :) THANK YOU

Here are a few pictures that Jerry Barnett took.





To see more of his work go to http://bit.ly/agw8cj

A couple days ago I uploaded a video I did for that free download I gave you a few weeks ago "Kisses In The Morning"

Have a look and if you like it please comment, subscribe to my youtube channel and share it with a friend. Sharing is caring !



Must dash again but holla at me on twitter. WWW.TWITTER.COM/NADIVA99

Take care
God Bless
Nads xx

FINALLY some free music for my luvvies xx

It's not the track that I was going to originally give you, because it's not quite ready, so I got this one mixed for you and it's easy to download. Enjoy girls and boys and let me know what you think xx

Nadsy x

It's me again?

Hey you,

I'd been putting off writing a post because I wanted to give you some FREE music at the same time, but you know how it goes...things don't always go as planned. Hopefully I will get it by the end of today and I'll post it up later or tomorrow.

HOW ARE YOU? It's been a while since I've asked that. I'm always going on about ME ME ME but I'm so grateful for all the feedback i get on twitter and facebook, but you guys are still shy after all this time to write comments on here...what's so scary???
It's all good though, any feedback is appreciated, so thank you...I do listen and hopefully learn!

Anyhoo...the past week has been fantastic. Call me Miss Hot Foot! I have been out quite a lot since the last post. Restaurants, clubs, but most importantly some excellent gigs!

I would've loved to have given you pics and footage from Kaidi Tatham's gig @ Jazz re:freshed but silly me was too out of it to stick around! I had taken some medication and accidentally mixed it with a lovely glass of wine which had a crazy affect on me! I was so upset because I was looking forward to it ALL week.
Anyway, I just found some footage on youtube...(kaidi is the guy on keys by the way)I'm honoured to have had the pleasure of working with him :)



TY's ALBUM LAUNCH

I'm so happy to have actually witnessed this Album Launch. It really set the standard to a totally different level. Everyone I know that went said it was the best gig they'd been to in a while and I'd have to agree. Ty is a fantastic Lyricist and has the respect of so many other UK and overseas artists (including myself) which is why so many of us went to support him @ Jazz Cafe last Monday. I've said it a hundred times now and I know I've annoyed a couple people who missed out but I said it was gonna be one NOT to miss and I was right!

The support act on the night was none other than Colin Emmanuel aka Black Einstein.
I saw his set a few weeks ago at a gig on Brick Lane and was blown away , but this performance was even better!
Here's some footage I took with my own fair hands.

Black Einstein @ Ty Album Launch from Nadine Charles on Vimeo.

In between sets we were still bubbling courtesy of music provided by DJ Mr Thing and DJ Bounce.

When TY hit the stage it was non-stop energy from beginning to end. Check out my video.

Untitled from Nadine Charles on Vimeo.

GEORGE BENSON
I've been a George Benson fan from a young age. I like most of the music my parents played when I was a kid and as my mum was a fan and went to see George in nineteen seventy-something, I also became a fan!
A friend of mine is his Stage Manager and tours with him so I get the hook up every time he's in London :)
Last year I saw him at the Royal Albert Hall which was fantastic, but this year he played at the O2 Arena...not so brilliant. George was fabulous as usual but I don't like that venue AT ALL...the sound in there was very questionable.
Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the show as he has a fantastic band and his voice is faultless, not to mention his guitar playing skills! WOW
I only recorded a little bit because I wasn't sure how it would come out so here's a snippet of the night!

George Benson from Nadine Charles on Vimeo.

I know I winged a bit about the venue, but being a musician, my ears are kinda sensitive. But I had a lovely evening and enjoyed hanging out with George and the band after.

Candy Mag
Candy Mag is an urban men's magazine, it's a British equivalent to something like King or Show magazine.
I was asked to do an interview and photoshoot for this publication a few months ago and although my initial reaction was "are they going to expect me to get my bits out?" I was quickly put at ease, so I agreed to it. I had an excellent make up artist with me that day, Emily Rose, who used minimal make up but make me look lovely. Thanks luvvy xx
And I had the pleasure of working with Kosher who is a wizard with the camera. I saw the pictures before any airbrushing and I was very impressed.
After the shoot, I was interviewed by Semper. It seemed more like a conversation than an interview, so on the whole it was a great day.
Last week vol 4 of Candy Mag UK was launched and I went along to the party where I met some of the featured models, such as covergirls Sashia Summers and Demented who were absolutely lovely.
We were entertained by a girl from a group called Polefection. Basically they teach pole dancing for exercise and host parties such as Hen nights etc. I can tell you the performance went down a treat with the lads and I must say seeing the dancer's bodies made me consider doing classes for exercise purposes. Don't worry, I will not be changing professions on you.
Here's a little clip of the dancer...

Candy Mag! from Nadine Charles on Vimeo.

Here's footage from my shoot at the Femelle studios

You can download Vol 4 of Candy mag at www.candymaguk.com for just £1 for the digital copy. BARGAIN!

Last but NOT least
It's my gorgeous friend Natalie's birthday today. And although she calls me "mole" because of my bad eyesight, I still wish her a wonderful day and hope she's enjoying all her birthday treats!



Well I'm off for now,


I'll be back soon

Much Love

Nads xx

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

Hello!!
I have a confession to make....I've been naughty. I've done loads of things and taken my camera with me everywhere but taken very little footage and pictures. It's hard to enjoy yourself when your stuck behind the lense of a camera.
I apologise for being so selfish. I realise the error of my ways!
So from today I'm making a conscious decision to take more pics etc even if it's just a couple.

What have I been up to?
I can't remember everything off the top of my head, but the events that stand out are :
Shean Williams Mixtape launch party
This dude can SANG! I love his voice and his slightly gospel/oldskool feel although he's very current. He's also a very humble person. I've come across so many people who have fallen into the "internet celebrity" thing and believe their own hype. Not our Shean. Look out for him. He's on facebook and twitter as "Face Williams", add him and follow him.

Obenewa @ Shoreditch house

Yes I'm slightly biased as most of you know this chick is my sister, BUT she was fantastical last week @ Shoreditch house. I invited quite a few of my friends down to see her and although some of them weren't very familiar with her material, by the end of the night she had them singing along and downloading her mixtape!
That speaks for itself!
www.twitter.com/obenewamusic



Cat on a hot tin roof

I've been wanting to see this play since it came out last year. For those of you who don't know, it stars Sanaa Lathan (hot chick from Love and Basketball) Phylicia Rashad (Fame), James Earl jones (Mufasa, Lion King). So...I dropped hints, left messages, status updates and then one day, I think on the day the show was closing, I got tickets. I was beaming. It was a long play but I really enjoyed it and respect the actors for learning all those lines cos I find it difficult learning a couple songs!

Rehearsals
I've started rehearsing again. I've put off live performances for a while because I've had so many other things to take care of, but I have started rehearsing with various musicians and am really enjoying it! So make sure you show your support and come see me when I announce dates. :)

Jason Jermaine @ I luv live
I went down to the Proud Galleries in Camden to see my friend Jason do his thang. If you haven't seen him perform yet, you should really catch one of his gigs. He's got a really unique style which I find it hard to describe. It's kinda electro, retro, soulful, pop....I'm doing a crap job. Best thing is to listen yourself.
Trust me, he'll have you singing "Hollywood"!



The Video

For all of you that have asked me about "the video", it's nearly done. As soon as it's finto I'll post it up for you all to see.

I'm going to dash now because I have to get my son from youth club...nearly lost track of the time. It's not easy multi-tasking sometimes. But it makes us stonger and builds our characters.

On a slightly different note, apart from enjoying fabulous gigs in the past few weeks, I've had some reflective times. Certain events occurred that forced me to question certain relationships and appreciate others. Life is not all strawberries and cream and fields of daffodils, and it seems that at those particular times we are tested and true characters surface.

I don't really want to go into details and single any one situation or person because like I said, these situations make us stronger and I don't want to attack anyone. But I am grateful for my true friends who are always there without fail when the lights aren't flashing and the champagne isn't flowing. You know who you are.

Much love
Nads ♥
Follow me on twitter...just a click away! www.twitter.com/nadiva99

And another one!

Whoah dudes!
Two posts in one week...what the heck is wrong with me??? lol
I guess I just wanna share things with you. I just got the above pictures yesterday from one of the photographers who snapped away @ day one of the video shoot.
You can check him out on twitter, his user name is @pr0file so follow him and keep an eye on his work. I'll be putting up links on my website which is nearly good to go!!

I also wanted to share some footage with you of my Candy Mag shoot that I did this weekend.
I hadn't done a shoot since August/September last year so I was a bit rusty. But I had a great time with photographer Kosher and MUA Emily Rose.

Have a peek @ the shoot



I'll be featured in the May Edition...make sure you grab a copy!!

I'm off for now but I'll keep you informed on the progress of the video. It's being edited right now and as soon as it's done you'll be the first to know!
Have a great week and take advantage of the lovely weather...I might go for a walk in a bit.

Later lovelies xx