Ngaiire

Ngaire Joseph, who goes by the stage name Ngaiire (pronounced Ny-Ree or /naɪəriː/), is a Papua New Guinea-born singer based in Sydney.^[1] She is a former backing vocalist for Blue King Brown, Paul Mac and Chet Faker, and has sung on tracks by The Tongue, Thundamentals, Bluejuice, Kilter, Lancelot and Jordan Rakei. She has toured nationally, has played at Gastonbury festival^[2] and sang at the opening ceremony for the 2015 Pacific Games.^[3] She was in the top 30 of the second season of Australian Idol,^[4] and was recognised as one of the best Australian live performers of 2015.^[5] Her debut album, Lamentations was released in 2013 and she is currently preparing to release her second album Blastoma in early 2016.

Early life

Ngaiire was born in Lae, Papua New Guinea in 1984 as Ngaire Laun Joseph, and is the eldest of three siblings. She is bi-lingual, growing up speaking both English and Tok Pisin. Her parents moved to Palmerston North in New Zealand when she was one to study, and returned to PNG six years later.^[6] Ngaiire was living in Rabaul until Mt Tarvurvur erupted in 1994 and buried the town (including her house) under a deep layer of volcanic ash.^[7] Ngaiire's parents divorced some time after returning to PNG, both subsequently remarrying. She realised from an early age that music was something she could use to make her life more stable. When I was about 11 or 12 and I was living in PNG and singing was just one of those things I did. I listened to a lot of music. Life there has loads of craziness and so many unexpected things happen. Music gave me the ability to talk about and feel all the things that were going on in my world,^[8] I always viewed songs as a form of poetry that didn't necessarily need to make sense to anyone else.^[9]

Ngaiire spent a large part of her time in New Zealand fighting for her life after being diagnosed with cancer in her adrenal glands at the age of three.^[10][11] This fight has left it's marks on both Ngaiire's body and her music - Ngaiire made these comments about her single, Dirty Hercules: "My body is not conventional. I have a rather prominent scar across my stomach from cancer. I struggled a lot with my body after I beat cancer and this clip also represents that journey to acceptance"^[12] and has titled her sophomore album 'Blastoma' - an album who's lead single is about life's uncertainty and taking risks.

Ngaiire moved to Lismore, Australia with her Mother and Step Father in 2000. She attended Kadina High School, took her first steps towards a career in music with the 2002 local Accelerator music competition and recorded her first song, 'I Remember' for the 'Accelerator 2002 the Winners' CD.^[13][14] She then moved to Mackay in Central Queensland to undertake a bachelor of Jazz studies in 2003. She was recognised at CQU as an outstanding vocalist by many of Australia's leading Jazz performers and fronted a number of local Jazz bands.^[15]

Ngaiire achieved moderate success in the 2004 season of Australian Idol, reaching the top 13 before being voted off. She was brought back as a wild card before being voted off a second time, and was again brought back to perform solo as part of the grand final night. Despite never making the top 12 Ngaiire is frequently described as a finalist, her rendition of Back to the Middle was ranked in the 'all time' top 10 Australian Idol performances,^[16] and Season three included a formal 'Top 13'. Ngaiire subsequently returned to her studies and worked hard to avoid the perceived stigmatism associated with appearing on the show,^[17] turning down offers from American recording industry professionals in order to first grow herself as an artist.^[18]

Early career

Ngaiire's second recording was a four track single called Luv Sa Giaman,^[19] which translates as Love Tells Lies. She recorded this with Lismore-based band 'The Rent' in 2005 and released it in Australia through the now defunct WindSong Records label, and in Papua New Guinea through Chin H Min Music. Ngaiire and The Rent toured in Papua New Guinea in support of the single, providing both a connection back to her roots and her first experience of touring.^[20]

Ngaiire recorded her debut EP 'Song For No One' in 2008 with Sydney-based producer Tony Buchen (aka Buchman). The EP features the single 'Song For No One' and 1920's style 'Glorious'. Glorious was the most successful song on the EP, with TripleJ and NIDA supporting the production of a music video (produced by Karla Conway). TripleJ also listed Ngaiire on the 2010 'Next Crop' artist list^[21] and commenced airplay of her songs on TripleJ Unearthed.

Blue King Brown

Ngaiire joined Blue King Brown as a backing vocalist in 2004 following the success of their debut single "Water". She toured extensively with them for the next four years in support of the band's self-titled debut EP and first album "Stand Up", visiting the UK, Japan, Europe and Canada as well as a large part of regional Australia in the process. Ngaiire credits this period as being a time during which she matured as a musician and gained a first hand knowledge of what being a successful independent artist requires.^[22] Ngaiire 'retired' from full-time touring with BKB in 2008 in order to focus on the release of her own debut EP, but continued to perform with them occasionally up until her 2013 release of 'Lamentations'.^[22]

Paul Mac

Ngaiire recorded the single 'It's not Me, It's you' with Paul Mac in 2005 after Paul tracked her down following her elimination from Australian Idol. Paul subsequently enlisted Ngaiire as a regular feature vocalist on his live performances in support of the 2005 release 'Panic Room', describing her as a diminutive bomb of goodness.^[23] 'It's Not Me, It's You' was the start of a longstanding friendship, with Paul becoming a mentor and big brother to Ngaiire.^[24] Ngaiire and Paul continue to collaborate, with Ngaiire providing guest vocals on Paul's 2015 album 'Holiday from Me'^[25] and with Paul co-writing and co-producing Ngaiire's second album 'Blastoma'.^[26][27]

Collaborations, Styles and Influences

Ngaiire is recognised as one of Australia's leading future-soul artists, often being compared to artists such as Jeff Buckley, Hiatus Kaiote, Kimbra, and Angie Stone.^[28][29][30] Appearing at the 2014 Glastonbury, the 2015 Culture Collide (Los Angeles) and 2015 CMJ Music Marathon (New York) festivals, she has contributed to increasing international attention on the Australian music scene in what is sometimes described as the emergence of the Australian soul movement.^[31][32]

Ngaiire's musical style is typified by strong, clear vocals that are frequently accompanied by layered harmonies and rhythms, and her sound is sometimes described as a combination of Mary J Blige and Erykah Badu's voices mixed with M.I.A's genera-bending sensibility.^[33] Her lyrics often express complex emotional and social issues, her performances are notable for her flamboyant costumes, and her music videos have been described as more like condensed art films than music clips.^[34]

One comment often made of Ngaiire is that she both expands and transcends musical boundaries.^[35][36] The styles and influences she presents have coalesced into very diverse range of collaborations that include names such as John Butler, Alicia Keys, John Legend and Chet Faker. John Butler first noticed Ngaiire during her Blue King Brown days, describing her voice as a soulful massage for (the) eardrums and having Beautiful harmonies, great songs, sass, sincerity and soul to spare.^[37] John hand-picked Ngaiire to precede his set at the 2009 East Coast Blues and Roots Festival^[37] and then went on to support her professional development through management training^[38] and funding (the JB Seed Fund).^[39] Ngaiire then went on to support Ruthie Foster's Australian tour in 2009, Alicia Keys, John Legend and Cody CesnuTT in 2013, and Chet Faker in 2015.^{[40][41][42][43]} Additional collaborations and musical styles include:

• Experimental jazz performances with the Australian Art Orchestra,^[44] including Struttin' With Some Barbecue, an avant-garde homage to Louis Armstrong^[45] and Gypsy Fusion/Cabaret with Monsieur Camembert, with remakes of Leonard Cohen's Bird on a Wire and Light as a Breeze ^[46]
• Hip Hop/Reggae on the single One for One, performed with The Strides^[47] and R&B for Bluejuice's version of the Boyz II Men classic; End of the Road
• Contemporary Synth Pop (Broken Wings) with producer Nick Wales for the movie Around the Block and Melanesian Reggae on the freedom song West Papua, sung in Tok Pisin with Sir George Telek.
• Roots/World Music with the Barefoot Divas^[48] remake of Never Forget I, and Electro Pop with Kilter's remake of Ice Cream.
• Meditative/Experimental soundscape - as a guest vocalist on Chris Townend's multichannel music/art installation for the Red Queen exhibition at the Museum of Old and New Art in Tasmania,^[6] and World Music for the Marrugeku Dance Theatre production Cut the Sky
• Latin/Samba with Marcello Maio on Samba Mundi^[49] and Rap/Hip Hop with The Tongue/Thundamentals track Just You Wait.
• House/Electro Soul with Lancelot's version of Aint' Nothin' Goin' On but the Rent as well as writing and performing the theme song Breathing Underwater for the movie 'Mr Pip'^[50]

Recognition

• Ngaiire won the 'Popular Contemporary' category of the APRA 2015 Professional Development Awards^[51]
• Ngaiire won Best R&B or Soul Live Act as well as NSW Voice of the Year at the 2nd Annual AU Live Music Awards (2015).^[5][52]
• Once ranked 73rd in JJJ's 2015 Hottest 100,^[53] and third in the 2015 Scene Awards for Best song of the Year.^[54]
• Lamentations was nominated for the 9th Coopers Australian Music Prize for the Most Highly Regarded Album in 2013^[55]
• Lamentations was ranked by Faster Louder as #27 on the 2013 Critics list, #25 on the Readers List. The single Around ranked in their 2013 - top 50 Countdown^[29]
• Triple J's 2015 CD release 'Like a Version 11' includes the tracks End of the Road (performed with BlueJuice) and Ice Cream (performed with Kilter). This album contains the best Like a Version performances of 2015

Discography

Blastoma

Blastoma is Ngaiire's second album, and was produced by Paul Mac and Jack Grace. Blastoma was recorded over a period of two years, primarily in Paul's studio in Erskineville, Sydney. The name refers to a form of cancer - a reference to Ngaiire's childhood encounter with the disease, as well as a reminder that sometimes life just explodes in your face and you just have to get out there and live it.^[56] This album almost didn't happen. Ngaiire returned from the high of performing at the 2014 Gastonbury Festival to the news that her partner of 5 years, (and the producer of Lamentations) had ended their relationship, leaving Ngaiire questioning her ability to complete the album.^[57] She did persevere, and the album is slated for release early in 2016.

The first single from the album, 'Once', was released in July 2015 to early critical success. The accompanying music video was styled in the form of an interview and biographical dream, with a live recording also being produced in the JJJ Like a Version studio. Once charted 73rd in JJJ's 2015 Hottest 100,^[53] a remarkable feat considering it was released on an independent label by an un-signed artist. Once resulted in Ngaiire's first solo appearance on the list and is the first instance of a Papua New Guinean born artist making it into the Hottest 100.^[58]

Initial reports are that the new album will continue Ngaiire's use of glitch and danceable, funky beats. It is reportedly an evolution on prior works, with a more mature and refined sound than in Lamentations",^[57][59] also being described as soulful, fierce and spellbinding.^[54]

• Release Date: Early 2016
• Label: TBA
• Production Credits: Paul Mac and Jack Grace.

Lamentations

Lamentations is Ngaiire's debut Album, and was released in 2013 to critical acclaim. It was written in a tiny bar in Ekoda (Tokyo) called Bar Noah with jazz pianist and Beat maker Aaron Cholai, and has been described as electronic but soulful, innovative but accessible, and a timeless mating of genres.^[35][60] Lamentations is an inspired by a combination of classical literature (Dido's Lament & the Book of Lamentations), fantasy and personal experience. Its major themes are deep and personal and include hope, love and loss. It is poignant and melancholic, and leaves a sense of empathy and understanding. Musical styles are stripped back and possess a depth and darkness to the soundscape that is both unexpected and appreciated. The album is a concept album in both lyrical content and soundscape, mixing elements of soul & funk, folk & jazz, gospel & Electro as well as hip-hop and blues with complex beats, synth and glitch.^{[22][60][61][62]} The songs rely heavily on both story-telling the carrying power of Ngaiire's voice to engage the listener, and Lamentations has been described as an album you can't place or date.^[35]

• Release Date: 12 July 2013
• Label: Independent Release
• Production credits: Tim Curnick, Aaron Choulai and Chris Townend

EP's

• Song For No One (August 2008) EP. Independent Release
• Two Minds (March 2010) EP. Independent Release

Singles

• Once (July 2015). Independent Release
• Around (May 2013). Independent Release
• Dirty Hercules (March 2013). Independent Release
• Filthy (November 2011). Independent Release
• Song for No One (2008). Independent Release - Demo only
• Luv Sa Giaman (2005) Single. Wind Song Records (Australia), Chin H Min (Papua New Guinea)

References

External links

• Ngaiire