Nicole Willis (born 1963) is an American singer-songwriter, producer, director, and visual artist. Willis lives and works in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

, Finland.

Biography

Professional

Willis contributed vocals in London, United Kingdom in 1985 with Washington Week in Review. Prior to that she was a member of The Hello Strangers and Blue Period with Spike Priggen, Jean Caffiene and

Mark Mulcahy Mark Mulcahy is an American musician and front-man for the New Haven, Connecticut-based band Miracle Legion. The band earned modest renown, especially in their native New England region, but disbanded after a sad turn of events with their recor ...

performances at Munson Diner and Danceteria's ''No Entiendes'', based in New York City while working at night clubs Berlin and Danceteria. In 1984, Willis performed as lead vocalist with Jenn Vix on backing vocals, Adam Horovitz on electric bass, Phil Painson on drums and David Strahan on electric guitar, called Disco Donut. Willis toured with

The The () are an English post-punk band. They have been active in various forms since 1979, with singer-songwriter Matt Johnson being the only constant band member. achieved critical acclaim and commercial success in the UK, with 15 chart singles ...

as a backup and lead vocalist in 1989. Nicole Willis was the lead vocalist of the nu-soul group Repercussions. Singles and albums were released on

Mo' Wax Mo' Wax was a British record label founded by James Lavelle in 1992. The label was not co-founded by Tim Goldsworthy, as is often reported. Steve Finan became co-owner shortly after. Mo' Wax came to recognition for being at the forefront of t ...

, Reprise/Warner Brothers USA, Pony Canyon Japan. Producers of those records include Nicole Willis,

Gary Katz Gary Katz is an American record producer, best known for his work on albums by Steely Dan. Katz has also produced numerous other recording artists and assisted in the discovery and signing of a number of subsequently successful acts. Career ...

, Daniel Wyatt, Genji Siraisi, and Gordon Clay. The single ''Promise Me Nothing'' from the debut album of Repercussions LP ''Earth and Heaven'', peaked at number 6 in the Hot Dance Music, Club Play chart of Billboard magazine on March 18, 1995. Together with

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music.

, the band recorded a version of Mayfield's ''Let's Do It Again'' in which Willis sings a duet with Curtis Mayfield in 1994 released on Reprise/Warner Brothers Records. The group also released an album on Pony Canyon Japan, titled ''Charmed Life'' in 1997. Willis has collaborated with

Leftfield Leftfield are a British electronic music duo formed in 1989 as the duo of Neil Barnes and Paul Daley (the latter formerly of the Rivals and A Man Called Adam). The duo was very influential in the evolution of electronic music in the 1990s, wi ...

singing and writing lead vocals for ''Swords'' on the '' Rhythm and Stealth'' LP in 1999 on Hard Hands/Higher Ground/Sony BMG Records,Potts, Diana
Nicole Willis Biography
,

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

. Retrieved 23 July 2011 which was also featured on the soundtrack for the film '' Go'' released 1999. The LP ''Rhythm and Stealth'' received a Platinum Sales Award in the United Kingdom. An instrumental remix was included in a single release by

Two Lone Swordsmen Two Lone Swordsmen were a British electronic music duo from London, consisting of Andrew Weatherall and Keith Tenniswood. History Formed by Andrew Weatherall and Keith Tenniswood in 1996, following the dissolution of Weatherall's the Sabres of ...

, an electronic duo consisting of

Andrew Weatherall Andrew James Weatherall (6 April 1963 – 17 February 2020) was an English musician, DJ, songwriter, producer and remixer. His career took him from being one of the key DJs in the acid house movement of the late 1980s to being a remixer of trac ...

and

Keith Tenniswood Keith Tenniswood is a British DJ, producer, and remixer. He was one half of the electronic act Two Lone Swordsmen alongside Andrew Weatherall, and produces music on his own as Radioactive Man. He co-runs the Control Tower electro label with Si ...

. Willis has sung lead vocals to the track ''Call of the Wild'' on the

Jimi Tenor Jimi Tenor (born Lassi O. T. Lehto, 1965) is a Finnish musician. His artist name is a combination of the first name of his youth idol Jimmy Osmond and the tenor saxophone. His band Jimi Tenor & His Shamans released its first album in 1988, whilst ...

album ''Out Of Nowhere'' in 2000 on Warp Records. Willis collaborated with Nuspirit Helsinki, with writing and vocal on the track ''Honest'' from the self-titled album ''Nuspirit Helsinki'' released 2002 on Guidance Recordings. Willis also wrote and sang vocals on the track ''Are You Ready To Party?'' with Mr Comicstore in 2006 on Mamushi Records. Willis collaborated with Flexatones Originals on tracks, ''Cause I Want'' & ''Fresh'' released on Fat Belt Records in 2007. Willis has contributed lead vocals to the Shawn Lee track ''Jigsaw'' featured on the album ''Soul in the Hole'' released in 2009 on Ubiquity Records. She has also sung vocals on the track ''A Little Bit Of Soap'' on the new album from

Pizzicato Five Pizzicato Five (formerly typeset as Pizzicato V and sometimes abbreviated to P5)Yang Jeff, Dina Can, Terry Hong, (1997) ''Eastern Standard Time'' pg 277 New York: Mariner Books was a Japanese pop band formed in Tokyo in 1979 by multi-instrume ...

Yasuharu Konishi is a Japanese musician, composer and DJ. He was a founding member of Pizzicato Five and the only such to stay with the group until its breakup in 2001. Konishi's current activities are through his company readymade entertainment and his record ...

solo project titled Pizzicato One. The album titled ''One And Ten Very Sad Songs'' was released on May 25, 2011, on Universal Music in Japan. Willis collaborated with Jimi Tenor & Abdissa Assefa on track ''Leatheries'' from their LP ''Itetune'' released in 2011 on Temmi Kongi Records, contributing spoken words and poetry. Willis wrote lyrics and sang on the track ''Bad For Me'' by Bosq featuring Nicole Willis released by Ubiquity Records in 2014. Willis collaborated with artist

Sophie Calle Sophie Calle (born 9 October 1953) is a French writer, photographer, installation artist, and conceptual artist. Calle's work is distinguished by its use of arbitrary sets of constraints, and evokes the French literary movement known as Oulipo. ...

for her installation ''Take Care Of Yourself'' with a performance in time-based media in 2007, which exhibited at the French Pavilion of the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

in 2007. Willis also contributed vocals to time-based media performance ''Rinologia'' of Barcelona-based artist group Los Rinos who are artists Marcel.lí Antúnez, Pau Nubiola and film director, Sergi Caballero. ''Rinologia'' was performed at the BEM Festival in Burgos, Spain in March 2007. Willis had two of her first solo exhibitions of oil paintings, in 2012, first of which were in March 2012 at Galleria Kingi Kongi in

, Finland and in November 2012 at Pirkko-Liisa Topeliuksen Galleria, also in Helsinki, both titled ''Gatherings''. Willis will have a solo exhibition at Gallery Emil in

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...

, Finland titled ''Talking Trash''; February 2, 2014 – February 28, 2014. Willis contributed 10 jewel cases, painted in acrylic and one musical track, of ten musicians/visual artists musical contribution, ''Do the Watusi'' (written by Jimi Tenor, Pete Toikkanen & Nicole Willis) to curator/artist Jaakko Tuomainen's group exhibition ''Soundtrack for Painting'' from September 1 to 30, 2012, at the Lahti Modern Art Kiosk, in

Lahti Lahti (; sv, Lahtis) is a city and municipality in Finland. It is the capital of the region of Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme) and its growing region is one of the main economic hubs of Finland. Lahti is situated on a bay at the southern e ...

, Finland. Willis has contributed a painting to a group exhibition to be shown from July 18 to August 11, 2013, in London, United Kingdom's A Side B Side Gallery, curated by artists Chloe Mortimer &

Harry Pye Harry William Pye (born 31 August 1973) is a British artist, writer, and event organizer. Early life Pye was born in London. He completed a foundation course at Camberwell School of Art in 1991. He then studied printmaking at Winchester Sch ...

, titled ''ELVIS: I Love You Because'' of which the subject is

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

. On Puu/Sähko Recordings, Willis released her first solo albums ''Soul Makeover'' 2000 and ''Be It'' 2003.Potts, Diana
"Soul Makeover" Review
,

. Retrieved 23 July 2011 On those solo records Willis collaborated with producers and songwriters such as Dharma One, Ercola, Nuspirit Helsinki, Jimi Tenor and Maurice Fulton. Willis and Tenor remixed Op*l Bastards single ''Funking'' in 2001 on Form and Function Records. In 2005 Willis collaborated with the Soul Investigators and released ''

Keep Reachin Up ''Keep Reachin Up'' is a studio album by soul recording collaboration Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators, released on Timmion Records in 2005. The music is composed and performed by Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators and the record is p ...

'' on Helsinki's Timmion Records,Hoffman, K. Ross
''Keep Reachin' Up'' Review
,

. Retrieved 23 July 2011 produced by Didier Selin. The LP ''Keep Reachin' Up'' was critically acclaimed. The album has been since released in the United Kingdom on Above The Clouds Records, France, Benelux, Denmark, Spain and Italy on Differ-ant, USA and Canada on Light in the Attic Records in the years 2006 & 2007. Their song ''Feeling Free'' was chosen 2006 Worldwide Winner on the

Gilles Peterson Gilles Jérôme Moehrle MBE (; born 28 September 1964), better known as Gilles Peterson (), is a French broadcaster, DJ, and record label owner. He founded the influential labels Acid Jazz and Talkin' Loud, and started his current label Brow ...

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Biography

Professional

Education

Discography

Albums

Singles

Collaborations

Music videos

Singles with The Soul Investigators

References

External links