female vocalists | Musicosity

female vocalists

Joanna Newsom

Joanna Newsom (born January 18, 1982) started taking piano lessons at a very early age and played for a couple of years, but switched to the harp at seven. Her approach to the harp, from the percussive aspects of her playing to her chord changes, was also influenced by West African and Venezuelan harp music, which she began studying at a folk music camp she attended in her early teens. At the same time, she also listened to more vocal-based folk, punk, and jazz like Karen Dalton, Texas Gladden, Patti Smith, and Billie Holiday.

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The Pretenders

The Pretenders are a rock band who came to prominence during the punk and new wave movement of the late 1970s due to their innovative songwriting and charismatic performances. The original band consisted of group founder, songwriter, vocalist, and rhythm guitarist Chrissie Hynde, lead and rhythm guitarist James Honeyman-Scott, bassist Pete Farndon, and drummer Martin Chambers. Save for Hynde, a native of Akron, Ohio, the original band members were all from the U.K.

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Sarah Blasko

Sarah Blasko (born September 23, 1976) is an ARIA Award winning Australian musician. She was born in Sydney soon after her family returned from French-speaking Réunion where her parents had been missionaries. An original and largely self-reliant musical artist, Blasko is known for her writing and production skills, as well as her unique voice and stage presence. Blasko was first heard in the mid-1990s fronting Sydney band, Acquiesce, after an initial tour of France with founding members Dave Hemmings, Paul Camilleri, and her sister Kate Halcrow.

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Emmylou Harris

Emmylou Harris is truly a modern innovator. For over 30 years, Emmylou has flowed effortlessly between genres achieving popularity in pop, folk, country and now alternative. The common bridge is an exquisite vocal style and a gift for discovering the heart of a song. Born in Birmingham, Alabama on April 2, 1947, the daughter of Walter and Eugenia Harris grew up near Washington, D.C. As a college student in the late 60s, she sang with a local folk duo and eventually moved to Greenwich Village.

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Fangs

The 3 members of Fangs first met whilst breakdancing ironically in the basement of a club that they heard Ian Curtis had once had a pint in. After complimenting each other on their use of eyeshadow, the two male members both attempted to seduce their future lead singer by performing 'the worm'. Once they had been helped off the floor, they conversed in halting tones (reminiscent of that employed by Deborah Harry of Blondie in hit song 'Atomic').

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Yelle

Yelle (a feminised acronym of YEL, "You enjoy life") is Julie Budet, a French singer from the town of Saint-Brieuc, France, who started performing in 2005. She rose to fame on MySpace when she posted a song titled "Short Dick Cuizi", dissing Cuizinier, a member of the Parisian hip-hop group TTC. With producer and close friend GrandMarnier, Yelle has recorded a debut album Pop-Up, after her hit single "Je Veux Te Voir" (a finalised version of "Short Dick Cuizi"). The song, which samples the bassline from 20 Fingers' 1994 club hit Short Dick Man, received heavy airplay on MTV.

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Bertie Blackman

Bertie Blackman’s first encounter with her artistic self came as a child sashaying across her mother and father’s paint strewn studio floor. The daughter of iconic Australian artist Charles Blackman, not many musicians can boast a foundation of emotional expression like Bertie.

Bertie first stepped onto the scene with ‘Headway’ (2004), her folk-inspired debut album. The single ‘Favourite Jeans’ became Bertie’s radio breakthrough and saw her dubbed “Australia’s underground queen”.

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Ladi6

Ladi6 is one of New Zealand's premier vocalists and MCs. Starting her musical career in Christchurch, Ladi6 was part of the all-girl hip-hop group Sheelahroc. Sheelahroc had the hit track "If I Gave You The Mic" and Ladi6 was nominated for Best Vocalist/MC at the 2003 bNet music awards. Ladi6 then moved to Auckland with her band Verse Two who quickly gained a reputation as a top New Zealand live soul/hip-hop group. They won the bNet best new act award in 2004, toured New Zealand with packed shows and supported international acts such as The Roots and De La Soul.

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Janet Seidel

For her sixth release, Australian singer Janet Seidel continues to mine gems from the huge lode of popular music, this time focusing on tunes with a Gallic bent. Several of the tunes on the play list have a French origin, such as "A Man and a Woman" from the 1966 classic French film of the same name and "I Will Wait for You" from the soundtrack to The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. Virtually all of these, including the American pop tunes, are sung in French (like a native) and English. For those who need translating help, the lyrics are printed in both languages in the liner notes.

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Clairy Browne & The Bangin' Rackettes

Hard hitting rhythm and blues nine-piece, Clairy Browne & the Bangin' Rackettes, released their debut album in November, 2011. With launch parties announced in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, CB/BR are never ones to shy away from a full-blown production. These very special evenings will be reminiscent of the old school dancehall party days, where the hair is high and the music is sleazy. The record has been in the making for two years and was recorded with and produced by the gifted, Steve Schram (Little Red, Little Birdy, Cat Empire, Eagle and the Worm, Ground Components).