Ndidi Onukwulu is a Canadian singer-songwriter born in British Columbia.
[Ken Eisner]
"Melodrama seems to suit wide-ranging Ndidi Onukwulu"
, ''Georgia Strait'' Although her style is often classified as jazz and blues, Onukwulu combines several musical genres in her songs including surf music, electric blues, gospel, and country.
[Rachel Sanders]
" Ndidi Onukwulu: The Contradictor"
Exclaim.ca She has frequently toured across Canada and Europe in support of her records.
[Mike Mineo]
"Ndidi Onukwulu"
, 5/20/08, Obscure Sound
Life
Although Onukwulu never had any interest in music at an early age and she did not consider a career as a singer until her friends heard her sing in her early adult years.
[Kathleen Bell, "Ndidi in a Blue Dress," ''See Magazine'', September 18–24, 2008, Music Section, Edmonton edition.] She moved to New York City, where she sang on the open-mic circuit. During her time in New York, she met several hip-hop and blues musicians who influenced her atypical style.
[ Next Onukwulu moved to Toronto where she first became a member of a rock band. Later, she joined the electronica group Stop Die Resuscitate.][
Eventually, Onukwulu moved back to a more definitively blues style and began performing at prominent venues including ]Massey Hall
Massey Hall is a performing arts theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1894, it is known for its outstanding acoustics and was the long-time hall of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. An intimate theatre, it was originally designed to seat ...
in Toronto.
In January 2006 Onukwulu released her first album ''No, I Never''. The album release was followed by a tour that garnered positive buzz in the Canadian blues community.[
Following a bad break-up in December 2006, Onukwulu spent 2007 composing new music. In addition to drawing on the experiences of her relationship, she found inspiration by visiting cemeteries and imagining stories for the deceased people whose graves she visited. Onukwulu united the ideas of death and the end of relationships to create the eclectic music featured on her second album ''The Contradictor''. This album introduced the more diverse styles for which she is now known. The album got its name from the contradiction between the upbeat music and its more serious themes, in addition to elements of the singer's own personality.][ ''The Contradictor'', released on June 17, 2008, was produced by Steve Dawson under the Indie record label ]Jericho Beach Music
Jericho Beach Music is a record label in Vancouver, British Columbia that specializes in world music, folk, and jazz. It was named after Jericho Beach in Vancouver. The label was formed in 1997 and released its first album, ''Compadres'' by Jame ...
.[
She then went on to Europe, where she signed a deal with Universal Jazz and Classics France and went on to write and record two additional albums " The Escape" 2011 and "Dark Swing" 2014
]
Discography
See also
Madagascar Slim
Randriamananjara Radofa Besata Jean Longin (born October 31, 1956 in Antananarivo, Madagascar) is a Canadian-Malagasy folk and blues guitarist, who records and performs under the stage name Madagascar Slim. He is a member of the folk music band T ...
Vancouver Folk Music Festival
The Vancouver Folk Music Festival (VFMF), founded in 1978, is an outdoor multistage music festival, located at Jericho Beach Park on the west side of Vancouver, British Columbia. It takes place annually, on the third weekend of July.
The fes ...
References
External links
Official website
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Onukwulu, Ndidi
Canadian women jazz singers
Canadian blues singers
21st-century Black Canadian women singers
Musicians from British Columbia
Living people
Canadian people of Nigerian descent
Canadian film actresses
Black Canadian actresses
Year of birth missing (living people)