Shingai Shoniwa
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| Shingai Shoniwa | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | 1 September 1981 London, England [1] |
| Genres | Post-punk revival, indie rock, rock, soul, blues |
| Occupations | Singer |
| Instruments | Vocals, bass, guitar, cello |
| Years active | 2000-present |
| Labels | Universal Records. Motown Records, Vertigo Records |
| Associated acts | Noisettes Sonarfly |
| Website | Noisettes official website |
| Notable instruments | |
| Fender Jazz Bass | |
Shingai Elizabeth Maria Shoniwa[2] (first name pronounced ʃi.ŋɡɑːɪ) born on 1 September 1981 is an English singer of Zimbabwean descent and best known as the vocalist and bassist for the UK indie rock band Noisettes. Her first name, Shingai (Shin-GUY) means ‘persevere’ in the Zimbabwean Shona language.[3][4]
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[edit] Early life
Shoniwa grew up to a single mother from Zimbabwe in a South London public-housing estate.[5] The experience, Shoniwa says, absolutely informs her music. “Wanting to escape from reality can inspire the greatest and most trivial creative natures in people,” and “I think escapism is something that connects all of us. Everybody has their own little soundtrack, and I guess I’m trying to make my own soundtrack to my escape plan. I want people to realize that there’s so much more.”[6]
She first wanted to be an actress, and for a while joined the Lost Vagueness crew as a burlesque performer.[5][7][8] She studied circus skills at a London youth club as a teenager.[5] When she graduated, she attended art school and dabble in local theatre. Her classmate and friend, Dan Smith, would hold what she called "ridiculous jam sessions — too many people strumming broken guitars thinking they're Syd Barrett."[9] One day she joined him singing, and the two quickly formed a group.[9]
[edit] Music career
Critical response to Shoniwa's performance has largely been positive. Rolling Stone magazine said that "Shoniwa is a living, breathing manifestation of the rock & roll spirit, with a voice that is equal parts Iggy Pop and Billie Holiday."[10] In her stage persona, Shoniwa looks like what the New Yorker called "an African supermodel",[5] and she frequently performs in bare feet while wearing face paint or fur hats on stage.[5]
Shingai Shoniwa has provided backing vocals for different indie rock, electronic, and punk rock artists including, Guillemots with their song "Made Up Love Song #43" and "Over the Stairs".[11] Shoniwa made an appearance on Annie Lennox's 2007 album, "Songs Of Mass Destruction" on the single Sing. The track, about the fight against HIV Aids, included 22 other renowned female artists such as Madonna, Melissa Etheridge, Gladys Knight, and Celine Dion.[12]
Shoniwa, along with Patti Smith and Juliette Lewis helped celebrate Jack Daniel's birthday in Lynchburg, Tennessee on 13 October 2007. The three joined by The New Silver Cornet Band for the show which took place at the company's distillery. The show is part of the 157th birthday celebrations for Jack Daniel, who was born sometime in September 1850. The Birthday JD Set opened to specially invited guests and competition winners only.[13]
On 19 November 2009, Shoniwa performed with rapper Dizzee Rascal at the Royal Albert Hall for an event to raise money for charity.
[edit] Other endeavours
Shoniwa joined Amnesty's Make Some Noise and appeared in an Instant Karma! video singing John Lennon's song, "Imagine" to raise awareness of the conflict in Darfur.[14]
On 8 September 2009, Shoniwa appeared as a special guest on the Five discussion programme The Wright Stuff.
[edit] Equipment
- Bass guitar: Fender
- Amp: Ashdown
[edit] Solo discography
- Herbert songs: "I Miss You", "The Audience", "It's Only", "A Reprise", "Leave Me Now", "Misprints", "Chromoshop" (2000-2003)
- Ace songs: "No Fear Of Falling" and "Phoenix" from the album Still Hungry (2003)
- Toob songs: "Inky" and "Beaulieu" from the album How To Spell Toob (2005)
- Guillemots songs: "Made-Up Lovesong 43" from their album, Through the Windowpane (2006) and "Over the Stairs" from their From the Cliffs EP (2006)
- Annie Lennox single: "Sing" from the album Songs of Mass Destruction (2008)
- Plugs singles: "That Number", "Imaginary Friends" (2008)
[edit] References
- ^ Dazed Digital.com: Shingai Shoniwa
- ^ "American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers: Shingai Elizabeth Maria Shoniwa". ASCAP. 20 May 2009. http://www.ascap.com/ace/search.cfm?requesttimeout=300&mode=results&searchstr=1760746&search_in=c&search_type=exact&search_det=t,s,w,p,b,v&results_pp=20&start=1. Retrieved 20 May 2009.
- ^ "Shingai perseverance". http://www.pastemagazine.com/action/article/4179/4_to_watch_noisettes. Retrieved 9 August 2007.
- ^ Annie's Song Was A Joy - The Daily Record
- ^ a b c d e Frere-Jones, Sasha (16 April 2007), "THE SHONIWA SHOW". New Yorker. 83 (8):24
- ^ "Growing up music experiences". https://venuszine.com/articles/music/features/772/noisettes. Retrieved 10 June 2007.
- ^ "Shingai first wanted to be an actress". http://shinymedia.headshift.com/cgi-bin/mtshiny/mt-search.cgi?tag=Shingai%20Shoniwa&blog_id=14. Retrieved 26 April 2007.
- ^ "Co-creator of the infamous Golden Egg". http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/a152976/noisettes.html. Retrieved 13 June 2009.
- ^ a b Goodman, Elizabeth (21 September 2006), "THE NOISETTES", Rolling Stone: (1009):24
- ^ Goodman, Elizabeth (24 August 2006), "Noisettes", Rolling Stone, (1007):93
- ^ Made up Love Song Wikipedia
- ^ "A choir of 23 renowned female artists join Annie on her new album". http://www.rcalabelgroup.co.uk/news/6412/s. Retrieved 9 August 2007.
- ^ "Jack Daniels Birthday Celebrations". http://www.rcalabelgroup.co.uk/news/6412/s. Retrieved 10 August 2007.
- ^ "Instant Karma: The Campaign to Save Darfu". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJgV_dXGvCE. Retrieved 17 August 2007.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Shingai Shoniwa |
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Shingai Shoniwa |
- Official Noisettes Site
- Official Noisettes Site (Non-flash)
- Noisettes at MySpace
- Shingai Shoniwa discography at MusicBrainz
- Shingai Shoniwa at Discogs
- Shingai Shoniwa interview with PopMatters
- Shingai beauty tips
- Shingai: CQ's favourite girls
- Icon Spotting: Shingai Shoniwa of Noisettes
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