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CAROLINE NIN. Cont'd.
FROM HER OFFICIAL BIOGRAPHY:
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Originally from Paris, Caroline Nin established herself during a sojourn in Britain as one of the leading singers of French material in the country. Although recently returned to France, she's still making forays across the channel as a superb interpreter of Edith Piaf material, songs from the likes of Brel, Dutronc and other French writers, and the occasional English language piece: her show Scarlet Stories includes a song given to her by Marc Almond. A busy live schedule over the past few years has included extensive work for the Alliance Française, plus events and venues like the Soho Jazz Festival, the Coin Street Paris Meets London Festival (singing Piaf in the street), the Freedom Theatre, and residencies The Edge, Café Noir and Harvey Nicks. Caroline is quite capable of playing the stereotype of the elegant night club singer, with just a hint of sang froid: as Diva magazine once commented, she 'has the appearance of a 1940's movie goddess...this woman is the epitome of style and class'. But her talent goes much further than that: originally a jazz singer, she only started exploring the repertoire of her home country once she'd moved away, and she's in the enviable position of being able to bring elements of one genre into the other. Her interpretations of Piaf stand out for their jazz tinge (check out her arrangement of the renowned 'Hymne à l'amour') but she brings something of the passion and intelligence of the chanson to English language material too. Caroline has appeared with numerous musicians; the trio for her Piaf show also comprised Tim Sharp (piano/accordion) and Robert Rickenberg (double bass). |
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JAZZ :Jazz is the school of Caroline Nin. She listens to Ella Fitzgerald’s
live Berlin album 1954 and her singing career is born. We are in 1988.Singing
tuition with an opera singer, she discovers Callas, « the genius ». She grows
into « scat », a singing improvisation technique invented by Satchmo (Louis
Armstrong), and while listening to Sarah Vaughan, « the vocal instrument ».
Billie Holiday invites her into the subtlety of harmony, she is unique and
inimitable. Exploring the huge repertoire of Nina Simone, from jazz to South
African music, from Kurt Weill to Brel. Nin follows, she adventures into
Cabaret. CABARET : Cabaret is Caroline Nin’s « lounge ». She is familiar with
the cinematic and musical masterpieces of Marlene Dietrich, « her beauty ».
She has been a fan since her teenage years. She discovers Edith Piaf, “the
ultimate gift”, she is besotted and records her first album, “If you love me -
Hymne à Edith Piaf”. Sally Bowles becomes an integral part of her life. «
Cabaret », its photography, the Berlin era, the decadent 30’s. Nin is in her
element. Juliette Greco is a living example of stage passion, her knowledge,
her poetry. Grace Jones, androginous, modern cabaret, popular music pop
POPULAR MUSIC : A 4 track EP is in the making with lyrics by Caroline Nin and
composed by Corine Sombrun and Sean Hargreaves, produced by James Knight (who
has worked with Princess Julia and Moloko). It is entitled « A ». Clearly an
underground project which allows Nin to sing her own lyrics for the first
time. The tracks are called : « je ne sais pas », « dommage », « le doute », «
cocagne ». A recent collaboration with the French group « Brady » (Paris
Lounge 2 Wagram), a song called « beautiful ». Two singles : « My Harley
Davidson » and « Love for Sale » (Cole Porter) the latter illustrating
Caroline’s first short film. Both tracks are produced by Hargreaves.
Her musical influences are : Klaus Nomi, Serge Gainsbourg, Prince and the
Revolutions (Under the Cherry Moon), Madonna, Mirwais, Radiohead, Nina Hagen,
Bowie, Roberta Flack, Moby, Innercity, S‘express, One o one, Susheela Raman,
Nitin Sawhney and many more ...Oh, of course, Kraftwerk.
Caroline's recent release: Hymne à Edith Piaf
Fric-Frac CNCD1 1997 The CD of the show, featuring Caroline's jazz-inflected
reworkings of the songbook of the renowned sparrow of Pigalle, including
familiar material like 'Les amants d'un jour', 'Milord', 'Non, je ne regrette
rien' and 'La vie en rose' alongside the less familiar like 'La foule' and
'Mon ménage à moi'. The acoustic tracks are a good representation of
Caroline's live work (some of them were taped live), but a couple of attempts
at setting this material to an electronic beat are a little ill-advised, since
the lifeblood of this style is in its rubato.
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