Description
Deluxe edition, limited to 500 copies worldwide. Comes in a glassine, stickered bag containing CD and 32-page zine featuring lyrics, still images and a personal note from Nishla.
Singer Nishla Smith creates vivid, enigmatic stories through sound, her voice stretching from melancholic sweetness through to dark intimacy. Her debut album 'Friends with Monsters' confirms Smith as a major new vocal talent and sees the vocalist's affinity for inventive narratives extended over the span of a full album.
The Australian performer travelled via Berlin to eventually settle in Manchester and is joined here by some of the city's most talented improvisers. Richard Jones and Johnny Hunter cover piano and drums respectively, whilst bassist Joshua Cavanagh-Brierley and trumpeter Aaron Wood add graceful touches to complete the quintet's intimate feel. Smith's depictions of night-time have an enigmatic quality, inviting listeners on an atmospheric journey but all the while pointing to something greater.
Smith's work moves swiftly through genres, driven by her unique artistry. A City Music Foundation artist, she has received commissions from Manchester Collective and Opera North, as well as Manchester Jazz Festival and Jazz North. As co-creator of theatre company Ulita, she also creates collaborative pieces that blend theatre, music and visual arts. 'Friends with Monsters' continues that theatrical drive - "I'm a very natural storyteller, I just love to tell stories. I find myself weaving everyday events into tales that are very narratively pleasing."
Set over the course of a single evening, 'Friends with Monsters' explores changing states of insomnia, informed by Smith's own sleepless nights. It's realised in four distinct sections; each is introduced by a scene-setting interlude. Delving deeper into the dreamy world of Smith's storyland rewards greatly.
Press:
"From the title track's metaphorical flight of fancy and the heart-melting delicacy of 'Julian' to the uplifting, instantly memorable 'Up', Smith's meticulously observed songs compel the attention." - **** Jazzwise
"Friends with Monsters combines the whimsical, the poignant and the slightly sinister in a unique way." - **** BBC Music Magazine
"Intimate and often atmospheric jazz nocturnes." - ****The Scotsman
"Lyrical and thematic ingenuity." - DownBeat
"The playing is fine from all concerned... Superior stuff." - Jazz Journal
"Smith's voice is at times sweet, at times affectless and on the title track, slightly reminiscent of Billie Holiday." - RnR Magazine
"An impressive debut from a new talent worth watching." - Jazz Views
"Sumptuous and splendid... a great simplicity cohabits with a beautiful alchemy."- Radio REC
"Vivid yet melancholic songs." - Presto Music
"A deep and dark journey into unfamiliar territory... Compelling listening." - Bebop Spoken Here
"A set of inventive narratives around the subject of night-time restlessness." - LondonJazz News
