Cutting The Mustard

While still at school, Dublin born Naimee Coleman was a backing vocalist with the once hotly tipped Wilde Oscars. She was offered a solo contract with EMI, but was to turn it down to concentrate on her studies, finish school and travel and busk for a while. She asked EMI if they would re-offer her a contract, and recognising an enduring talent and voice, EMI agreed.

Naimee's debut album Silver Wrists was released in 1997, and started an international workload that took in all of the major cities of Japan (where her music went Top 5 in most radio airplay charts), and visits to Europe. The success of Silver Wrists elicited invitations for Naimee to perform with the likes of Donal Lunny and Siniad O'Connor, and to co-write with established songwriters in Nashville and in Miles Copeland's castle retreat in the South of France. Other writers involved included Go-Go Jane Wiedlin, Paul Brady and former Police drummer and movie soundtrack favourite Stewart Copeland.
Of all these mind-boggling star-studded encounters, Naimee has two clear favourites.
"Playing with Donal Lunny was really special," she coos. "His band played two of my original songs in their own style, which was absolutely amazing. That and singing Raglan Road with Siniad O'Connor in the Barbican, London for the Irish festival are definite highlights."
Coleman's current collaboration sees her flirt with hi-octane pop trance courtesy of Sacha Collison and Simon Greenaway, better known as Aurora, for an Ibiza 2000 style reworking of the Duran Duran classic 'Ordinary World'. While for most of us, the tune will evoke some old late eighties memories, it will be the very first time many a pop kid gets to hear the majestic, poptastic melancholy of 'Ordinary World'.
"My twelve-year-old sister had never heard it before, and she keeps going on about it, saying it s the best thing I've ever done!" laughs Naimee. "Even though I do write my own stuff! The album is entirely my own material, apart from the first single 'Lovesong' (by The Cure). I was slightly worried about being labelled a late eighties throwback artist, but when people get familiar with the material they'll realise the full range of what I do."
Regardless of what you think of eighties cover versions, both 'Lovesong' and 'Ordinary World' are fantastic renderings, and that is by no means faint praise coming from a pop cynic like me. Naimee's soaring voice lifts both tunes into higher realms, to a point where you'd have to be lying not to like that voice.
October sees the launch of Naimee's second full-length album Bring Down The Moon, the follow up to her 1997 debut.
"I'm really, really proud of Silver Wrists, but I was eighteen when I did it and I was just overwhelmed by being in a studio. Since then, I've learnt so much about recording and installed my own home studio, so in terms of studio knowledge and songwriting I think I've learnt so much which I didn't know making the first one. I'd like to see my work as having longevity to it, and to be still bettering myself in three years time. That and to work with Massive Attack!

Ordinary World is out now on EMI.