Julia Biel is a British jazz singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist.
Early life
Biel was born in London on 22 February 1976.
She was brought up in
Sutton, then studied French and German at the
University of Oxford.
There, she was in a band with
Idris Rahman
Idris Rahman ( bn, ইদ্রিস রহমান; born 16 July 1976) is an English clarinettist, saxophonist and record producer.
Early life
Rahman was born and brought up in Chichester, West Sussex, England by a Bengali father, Mizan Rahm ...
.
She was a pianist first, then developed her singing.
Later life and career
Biel won the
Perrier Young Jazz Vocalist of the Year in 2000, which brought her more attention.
She then joined the
F-IRE Collective
F-IRE Collective is a creative music community. The Collective also has a record label.
In 2004, F-IRE Collective won the BBC Jazz Award for Innovation.
Details
F-IRE (Fellowship for Integrated Rhythmic Expression) was named later in 1998 and ...
.
In 2005 she made her recording debut as a leader, with the album ''Not Alone''.
She also appeared on the
Polar Bear
The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear specie ...
album ''Dimlit''.
Her compositions appear on the Unity Collective EP ''Love in the Dead of Night'' and on recordings by guitarist
Jonny Phillips Jonny Phillips may refer to:
*Jonny Phillips (actor) (1963), English actor
*Jonny Phillips (musician)
Jonny Phillips (born 11 January 1971, in Kendal, Westmorland, England) is an English jazz guitarist and composer. He played the violin and stu ...
.
She also featured on and co-wrote
Ben Watt's "Guinea Pig" and "Bright Star" alongside Watt and the German producer Stimming.
Her second album, ''Love Letters and Other Missiles'', was released in 2015
and led to her being nominated in the Best Jazz Act category for the
MOBO Awards.
She performs accompanying herself on piano or electric guitar with backing from bass and drums and tours extensively in the UK and abroad.
Discography
As leader
* 2005: ''Not Alone'' (album)
* 2014: ''Nobody Loves You Like I Do'' (EP)
* 2015: ''Love Letters and Other Missiles'' (album)
* 2015: ''Licence to Be Cruel'' (remixes EP)
* 2018: ''Julia Biel'' (album)
* 2020: ''Black and White, Vol.1'' (album)
As guest
With
Polar Bear
The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear specie ...
*2004: ''Dimlit''
*2007: ''Polar Bear''
With Soothsayers
*2012: ''Human Nature''
*2018: ''Tradition''
With others
*2004:
Oriole
Oriole or Orioles may refer to:
Animals
* Old World oriole, colorful passerine birds in the family Oriolidae
* New World oriole, a group of birds in the family Icteridae
Music
* The Orioles, an R&B and doo-wop group of the late 1940s and earl ...
– "Song for the Sleeping"
*2004: Unity Collective – ''Love in the Dead of Night''
*2008:
Ben Watt ft. Julia Biel – "Guinea Pig"
*2010:
Stimming, Ben Watt & Julia Biel – "Bright Star"
*2015: Alaev ft. Julia Biel - "Light as a feather"
References
External links
*
1976 births
Living people
English jazz singers
English jazz pianists
English jazz guitarists
English multi-instrumentalists
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