Julia Biel
Encyclopedia
Julia Biel is a British
singer and songwriter
and multi-instrumentalist
.
After a spell in indie rock
, Biel became involved with jazz. Her career took off when in 2000 she won the Perrier Vocalist of the Year award. She has performed around the United Kingdom to great critical acclaim with her own band, and her self-produced debut album
Not Alone (featuring songs co-written with guitar
ist Jonny Phillips
, with whom she collaborated for some years previous) was released in 2005, again receiving critical praise. She is also known for her work with various members of the F-IRE Collective
, most notably Sebastian Rochford
on whose Polar Bear
project she has featured.
Formerly the singer of a now defunct project ironically called Unity, she came onto the radar of Everything But The Girl
producer Ben Watt
who released their EP 'Love in the Dead of Night' on his Buzzin Fly label (2004). Subsequently, Watt invited Biel to collaborate on other material, a single of his 'Guinea Pig' (2008) and also 'Bright Star'(2010), a 3-way collaboration between Watt, Biel and German producer Stimming. In both cases Biel was responsible for the melodies.
Biel regularly performs her self-penned alt pop material with her own band both nationally and internationally . A multi-instrumentalist, she can be often seen accompanying herself on piano or electric guitar . Biel is also a member of renowned South London afrobeat/reggae band Soothsayers with whom she also regularly tours.
Biel is also a professional singing teacher, based in London
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
singer and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
.
After a spell in indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
, Biel became involved with jazz. Her career took off when in 2000 she won the Perrier Vocalist of the Year award. She has performed around the United Kingdom to great critical acclaim with her own band, and her self-produced debut album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
Not Alone (featuring songs co-written with guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist Jonny Phillips
Jonny Phillips
Jonny Phillips is a prolific British guitarist and composer. He played the violin and studied theory from the age of five however he swapped to guitar at fifteen to study Jazz, Brazilian and African music...
, with whom she collaborated for some years previous) was released in 2005, again receiving critical praise. She is also known for her work with various members of the F-IRE Collective
F-IRE Collective
F-IRE Collective is a creative music community founded by Barak Schmool in London, United Kingdom. Additionally, the Collective also has a record label....
, most notably Sebastian Rochford
Seb Rochford
Sebastian "Seb" Rochford is a British drummer who spans many musical genres.He comes from Aberdeen and has a large family of 2 brothers and 7 sisters...
on whose Polar Bear
Polar Bear (jazz)
Polar Bear is a British experimental jazz band led by drummer Seb Rochford with Pete Wareham on tenor and baritone saxophone, Mark Lockheart on tenor saxophone, Tom Herbert on double bass and Leafcutter John on mandolin and electronics....
project she has featured.
Formerly the singer of a now defunct project ironically called Unity, she came onto the radar of Everything But The Girl
Everything but the Girl
Everything but the Girl was a two-person English band, formed in Hull during 1981, consisting of lead singer and occasional guitarist Tracey Thorn and guitarist, keyboardist, and singer Ben Watt . They are currently inactive although vocalist Tracey Thorn hinted that they may reform someday...
producer Ben Watt
Ben Watt
Benjamin Brian Thomas Watt is a British musician, DJ, and record producer, best known as one half of the duo, Everything but the Girl.-Family:...
who released their EP 'Love in the Dead of Night' on his Buzzin Fly label (2004). Subsequently, Watt invited Biel to collaborate on other material, a single of his 'Guinea Pig' (2008) and also 'Bright Star'(2010), a 3-way collaboration between Watt, Biel and German producer Stimming. In both cases Biel was responsible for the melodies.
Biel regularly performs her self-penned alt pop material with her own band both nationally and internationally . A multi-instrumentalist, she can be often seen accompanying herself on piano or electric guitar . Biel is also a member of renowned South London afrobeat/reggae band Soothsayers with whom she also regularly tours.
Biel is also a professional singing teacher, based in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Featured vocalist
- 2004: Polar Bear Dimlit
- 2004: Oriole Song for the Sleeping
- 2004: Unity Collective Love in the Dead of Night EPExtended playAn EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
- 2008: Ben Watt ft. Julia Biel Guinea Pig
- 2010: Stimming, Ben Watt & Julia Biel Bright Star