nelly

?Me by Me?

                                     I am impressed when music matters,
                                     when genres are broken, when spirits
                                     are lifted, when people make a
                                     difference, and when people are true to
                                     themselves. I am impressed by: Leonard
                                     Cohen, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Nusrat
                                     Fateh Ali Khan, Woodstock, Free Tibet,
                                     free shows for tens of thousands,
                                     Marvin Gaye, Bob Marley, De La Soul,
                                     good films, visual art, Andy Warhol,
                                     jazz, improvisational anything, artists
                                     who I watch perform and they bring me to tears, Jeff Buckley, going to
                                     a rave, writing poetry about the city, tripping out on a good book,
                                     traveling to a foreign city and not knowing anybody...the list goes on
                                     and on.

                                     I have always been in awe of nature and all things innovative.
                                     Although I grew up in Victoria, B.C, a mere suburb of a city, I know
                                     what independence is, I know what soul is and I know what God is. I
                                     know what it feels like to sing on the top of a mountain as if God is
                                     pumping Abraham straight into me from heaven. I was performing in
                                     both Portuguese and English by age four, and playing ukulele and
                                     trombone through ages nine to eighteen. I played the trombone in a
                                     jazz band, concert band and marching band, and sang and danced in
                                     musicals.

                                     I've seen lots and grown lots in my short life span. I have been the
                                     bully, I have been bullied, been insecure, been precocious, been lost,
                                     been found again, been praised, been heralded, been shamed and been
                                     alone. I am not sheltered and I have never been, although family is
                                     very important to me. I am quite street smart and my pain often fuels
                                     my passion, but more often my spirit does. I aspire, like anyone, to do
                                     great things with my life. I want to be Jack Kerouac, Mona Lisa, Ghandi
                                     and Mother Theresa all at the same time. I want to inspire people but
                                     not in a cheap way. There is an artist in me. I see art everywhere I
                                     walk. I believe I was born to sing and to create music that emotionally
                                     connects. I was born to document the way I see the world and the
                                     experiences I've had in it.Considering my musical heritage it seems inevitable that I would pursue
                                     this musical dream. In S. Miguel, Azores, my late Portuguese
                                     grandfather played several instruments. His brother, my great-uncle,
                                     was a famed marching band score composer or 'maestro' in his village
                                     who today remains somewhat of a legend to the towns people. To this
                                     day, even after his death, hundreds of his musical scores remain under
                                     lock and key in his basement despite several attempts to confiscate
                                     them by local music-lovers. My mother sings in the church choir and
                                     my father also enjoys casual singing and has a deep interest in the
                                     Portuguese style of music 'fado', or 'fate'. These Portuguese elements
                                     and influences are very much a part of what I like to call my 'musical
                                     hardrive'.

                                     I received my first tape recorder at age eight - I sang into the
                                     microphone and recorded songs myself. I received a keyboard with a
                                     built in scratch effect at age eleven. I was writing rhymes at age
                                     fourteen but that was a phase which only lasted a couple of months
                                     because the hip-hop culture looked so appealing to me then.

                                     I've always been obsessed with new music. I'm nineteen years old so I
                                     can't say that my influences are Pink Floyd and Kate Bush, because
                                     they aren't. I wasn't even born. I was listening to a haunting Paris
                                     sample or a PM Dawn song with a sampled Spandeau Ballet chorus hot
                                     off the radio. I was into anything sensational and loud. It was
                                     somehow so refreshing to my young ears. Ice T, LL Cool J, Salt n
                                     Pepa, Bel Biv Devoe, New Edition, High 5, Jackson 5, Boyz II Men,
                                     Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Pharcyde 'passin' me by', Del,
                                     Hieroglyphics Crew, TLC , Janet, Word Up Magazine, anything rap and
                                     R&B, DJ Quik, Young MC, Diggable planets, Tribe Called Quest or
                                     anything I could get my hands on be it a bootleg off the radio or a
                                     friend's mix tape. Prince stands vitally, somewhAnything that was created                                          using a drum machine or a sampler - at
                                     ages 14-16 I was there with bells on. The culmination of these
                                     listening experiences led to my first studio recording at age 16, belting
                                     out full-fledged R&B vocals for a friends Toronto hip-hop group.

                                     New influences came to me as I got older and started listening to my
                                     older brother's CD player. I also went to Portugal for a summer
                                     vacation and opened up to rock influences like Radiohead, Smashing
                                     Pumkins, U2, Pulp, Oasis, and Sarah Maclaughlin. Next came the
                                     discovery of Portoisehead, whose style had a significant impact on my
                                     writing and production experiences from that point on. Especially
                                     intriguing was Beth Gibbons haunting vocal style, which I could mimic
                                     to a tee for a good year following. With this wave of influences came
                                     Madredeus, Sade, Pedro Abrunhosa, Cornershop, Amalia Rodrigues,
                                     Tricky, Prodigy, Bjork, anything Brazilian especially Bossa Nova, Hindu
                                     music, and techno in all musical forms, especially drum and bass.
                                     Throughout this period I also discovered the greatest hits collections
                                     of the Beatles and Simon and Garfunkel. From this point on, the door
                                     had been opened up real wide, and it only gets wider each day.

                                     Flashy urban music of the early nineties gave me a love for sampling,
                                     technology and hip-hop. It taught me how to be a bold singer, and
                                     how to sing with attitude. The later wave of influences taught me
                                     passion and meaning. They taught me how to express emotion and
                                     melancholy, how to write songs from the heart, develop a personal
                                     style and edge to songs and how to develop a signature vocal style.

                                     All of these influences and all of the life experiences I've had that fuel
                                     my lyrical content come together to make me, as an artist, urban folk
                                     alternative, if that helps any. Through all of my recording experiences I
                                     have held good songs in a very high place. I believe in the power of
                                     words and the mystery of a good melody. What is music until you make
                                     it anyway?