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Terri Walker (born Chanelle Gstettenbauer, 14 April 1979) is an English
R&B and soul singer-songwriter. Walker has released four albums in the United Kingdom, ''
Untitled
Untitled or (Untitled) may refer to:
Artworks
* '' Untitled (2004)'', by Banksy
* ''Untitled'' (1982 painting), by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat
* ''Untitled'' (Devil), a 1982 painting by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat
* ''Untitled ...
'', ''
L.O.V.E'', ''I Am'' and ''Entitled''. She also provided the majority of the vocals for
Shanks & Bigfoot
Shanks & Bigfoot were a British duo of UK garage producers Steven Meade and Danny Langsman, known principally for their single " Sweet like Chocolate", which topped the UK Singles Chart in 1999. They were originally known as Doolally, recording ...
's debut album ''
Swings and Roundabouts''.
Biography
Early life and career
Walker was born in the
Wimbledon district of London, England to Jamaican parents, but moved to
Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany when she was four. She speaks fluent German. In a 2007 interview with ''Soul Culture'', Walker stated: "I love Deutschland, it's moulded me into what I am. I love here
ondontoo and I came back to go to boarding-school." Walker moved back to the UK permanently to study at the
Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts
The Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts is a performing arts conservatoire based in Woking, England. It was founded in 1911 by Italia Conti, an actress. The first production at Italia Conti Academy was the play '' Where the Rainbow Ends''. F ...
in London, which is a
performing arts centre of excellence. Here, she began to study and sing opera. She stated: "I started to study opera when I was about 15 and I started to sing it professionally from about 18. It was always a life-long ambition of mine. I think classical training is the best kinda training you can get."
[Interview: TERRI WALKER](_blank)
''SoulCulture''.
Walker began working on music independently providing vocals for
garage
A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include:
*Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicle ...
artists such as
187 Lockdown
187 Lockdown was a British speed garage act, comprising Danny Harrison and Julian Jonah. The duo produced one album, with four singles released from it, and remixed many songs towards the end of the 1990s.
The duo also recorded under a number ...
and TNT. Walker also provided vocals on the
Shanks & Bigfoot
Shanks & Bigfoot were a British duo of UK garage producers Steven Meade and Danny Langsman, known principally for their single " Sweet like Chocolate", which topped the UK Singles Chart in 1999. They were originally known as Doolally, recording ...
album ''
Swings and Roundabouts'', most notably on the
UK top 20 hit "
Sing-A-Long".
During this time, she was introduced to producers James Yarde, Sammy Jay and Amber Rene of Xosa Entertainment. Walker travelled to
LA to record some demo tracks and then returned to the UK, continuing her attempts at landing a deal. Receiving her demos from LA, months later, Walker's UK management sent the recordings to labels in the US, who requested to see her. However, due to 9/11, this was delayed.
Def Jam were one of the labels to which they had sent Walker's demos and her management contacted their UK offices who signed her to 'Def Soul UK'.
Debut album ''Untitled'' (2003–04)
Walker released her debut album ''
Untitled
Untitled or (Untitled) may refer to:
Artworks
* '' Untitled (2004)'', by Banksy
* ''Untitled'' (1982 painting), by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat
* ''Untitled'' (Devil), a 1982 painting by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat
* ''Untitled ...
'' in 2003 to critical acclaim. In a review from the
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. ...
...
, Denise Boyd stated that "In Ms Walker we have an artist who can bravely take on the US diva and who may even come out unscathed on the other side. Terri Walker and Untitled can't be pigeon holed. This is not just urban, this is not just R&B, this is music for the soul."
The album received further acclaim when it was nominated for the 2003
Mercury Music Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...
alongside Walker's nominations for ''Best R&B Act'', ''UK Act of the Year'', ''Best Album'' and ''Best Newcomer'' at the 2003
MOBO Awards
The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and ...
.
Walker's debut single and the first single from ''Untitled'' was "Guess You Didn't Love Me", a collaboration with
Mos Def
Yasiin Bey (; born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), previously and more commonly known by his stage name Mos Def (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. His hip hop career began in 1994, alongside his siblings in the s ...
, which was released on 17 February 2003. The single debuted and peaked at number 60 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
and remains one of Walker's biggest hits to date. Although a collaboration with Mos Def, he did not appear in the song's music video. The second single from the album was "Ching Ching (Lovin' You Still)", which became her biggest hit single to date on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
, reaching the top 40.
Promotion included an appearance on Jools Holland, performing both "Ching Ching" and the album's third single "Drawing Board". Walker states that the album was called ''Untitled'' as "It's like when you go to an art gallery and see a piece of work called 'Untitled'. That's how I want people to see my work. I want them to judge for themselves and make up their own minds."
Despite critical acclaim, the album was not a commercial success when it was released on 3 March 2003, peaking at number 118 on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
, leading Walker's record label to push her into a more commercial direction for second album ''L.O.V.E''.
Walker was also the guest vocalist on the single version of
's "Common Ground", the fourth single taken from his album ''Think on Your Feet''. It was released on 24 May 2004.
Walker also provided vocals on
Lemon Jelly
Lemon Jelly is a British electronic music duo from London that formed in 1998 and went on hiatus starting in 2008. Since its inception, the band members have always been Fred Deakin and Nick Franglen. Lemon Jelly has been nominated for awards ...
's single "Make Things Right", which peaked at number 33 on the UK singles chart.
Second album ''L.O.V.E'' (2005)
Following the critical success of her debut album, Walker released her second studio album ''
L.O.V.E'' (an acronym for "Love Overcomes Virtually Everything")
two years after the release of ''Untitled'' on 28 March 2005.
During the promotion of ''Untitled'', Walker spoke on her second album, stating "I'm gonna be doing my new album soon. The next one will be a bit more serious. I've grown up since writing some of my original material and I've seen a lot of things that I would like to write and sing about."
Upon the release of the album, Walker explained the more commercial direction by stating, "A lot of people didn't really know where to put me, I was 23 but everybody thought I was about 90 the way they were going on!". Producers that worked with Walker on the album included ''Soulpower'' and ''Copenhaniacs''.
Reviews for ''L.O.V.E'' were also positive with the ''
Daily Mirror
The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print c ...
'' stating that "The opening track confidently predicts that This Is My Time and, with a voice that knocks competitors into the underachieving box and songs a cut above her substandard debut, Ms T is in the ascendant. Pop soul sweetness." ''
Contactmusic.com'' gave the album 4/5 stars, explaining that "Terri's second album, picks up from where her debut album left off, but there is a different a huge step up in the quality of production... The lyrics, production and vocal performance are all jaw dropping. If you are 29 or younger view this as the female Lemar if you are over 30 be prepared to be shocked and have your breath taken away cause this album is something special, very special."
The first single from the album was "Whoopsie Daisy", produced by Remee and
Cutfather
Mich Hedin Hansen (born 9 April 1968), known professionally as Cutfather, is a Danish music producer, songwriter, remixer and DJ based in Copenhagen. Cutfather has a studio on Njalsgade, Copenhagen.
Career
Cutfather is perhaps best known for hi ...
& Joe. The song missed the
UK Top 40
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
by one place, peaking at number 41.
The second single was "This Is My Time" which featured a sample of Dynasty's "Adventures in the Land of Music" but the song was not commercially released, even though a music video was produced for the song. Despite a more mainstream direction, ''L.O.V.E'' performed worse on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
than its predecessor, peaking at number 142.
This lack of commercial success lead to Walker parting with
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it i ...
and recording her third studio album independently. Speaking on her departure from the label in an interview with ''Catch a Vibe'', Walker explained "When I got dropped from Mercury I was really annoyed and pissed off because aside from getting dropped I wasn't being 100% me. I had to play the game and do the whole weave thing because that's what the label thought would sell but then obviously it didn't. It was a double whammy because you're getting dropped but you're getting dropped with something that you did to compromise, to try and make things work. If I'd been dropped after the first album I'd have been like, 'Oh well, I like the album. Moving on.' The second one left a bad taste in my mouth. But I got over it."
Third album ''I Am'' and hiatus from music (2006)
Walker released her third studio album in 2006, only one year after leaving her major label home. It was released via independent label Dekkor Records. Walker stated that "Dekkor gives creative control and freedom of expression, much better than being on a major label where you have to watch what you say." and that it's a "progression from the last two albums. Live instruments, songs about life, love and friendships, with the neo-soul vibe still in tact".
icref name="TheSituation2" /> Walker co-wrote eight of the ten tracks on the album and also co-produced the album track "I Don't Care". The album predominantly featured production by Sammy Jay and James Yarde (who had featured on Walkr's debut album ''Untitled'').
The album received positive reviews for Walker's return to her neo-soul roots. Matilda Egere-Cooper of the ''
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. ...
...
'' stated that "Its just as well that Terri Walker has returned to good form with her third LP, as the faux pas that was her second album didn't do much for her cause... This is one heck of an album, putting Terri firmly back in the premier league of UK singers.".