IT'S ALL ABOUT NIKKA!
The buzz surrounding Nikka Costa began last summer in the US with a Tommy Hilfiger television spot that was so hot; it went into heavy rotation on MTV and VH1 as if it were a Top 10 music video. The Hilfiger commercial featured the song "Like a Feather," the opening track from Nikka Costa's U.S. debut Everybody Got Their Something. The song had legs long before anyone knew who Nikka was, positively representing the trajectory of Nikka's life. "It's about surrender," she says. "The idea that your destiny is like a feather. Try to grab it, it will fly away. Hold out your hand, it just comes to you."
Nikka Costa's career began at age five when she sang with Don Ho in Hawaii for a Christmas release produced by her father Don Costa. Costa was an arranger, producer and composer for singers who need few props-Dinah Washington, Tony Bennett, Sarah Vaughn, Paul Anka and Barbara Streisand. Though she admits, "Looking back it was kind of fabulous," as she lived in the company of legends with the nonchalance of a child. In her father's home recording studio, Nikka would hang out with dad and the likes of Quincy Jones, Sammy Davis Jr., and Sly Stone, or she would be in Las Vegas watching her dad perform with Rat Pack heavies. "All of those interpretations of that old jazz stuff definitely sunk in-down to the phrasing," she reminisces. "My family says that even now, I use dad's chords."
Concerts and performing have represented some of the most significant moments in Nikka's life. Although she was raised and lives in Los Angeles, Nikka was born in Tokyo during the Tokyo Music Festival. At 7, she sang "On My Own" with the full Don Costa Orchestra as the encore of one of his Milan shows. The crowd and Italian press reacted so chaotically to her performance that, in what seemed like a minute, she was in the studio making her first record. "It was a surreal experience and a lot of hard work. I was 8 years old and opening up for The Police in Chile in front of 300,000 people," explains Nikka. Her material was released in Europe, Israel, South and Central America where it reached platinum status in each territory. Impressive stats for a mere woman-child. Nikka remembers this time as a blur of "recording, planes and shows."
Keeping such a hectic schedule proved challenging and great fun, but also a heavy responsibility for a child her age. When back home in Los Angeles, Nikka tried to live a normal childhood, going to school, playing with friends, keeping her career on the D.L. "I'm still like that," she confesses. "It's a personal head-trip that I go through, so don't ask me to sing karaoke at a small party."
Everyone pays dues. And as the saying goes, 'Hard times makes good music.' Following the release of her second non-U.S. release Fairy Tales, Nikka's father passed away, marking the beginning of a difficult period of growing up and soul-searching. Nikka was 10 years old when her father died. As a result, she took a four-year break from recording. By age 14 though, she made a record for a small German recording label, which she explains, "was the fulfilment of a contractual obligation and I wasn't very proud of it." Nikka then returned to Los Angeles, got a boyfriend, joined local bands, sang back up, played in a lot of bad clubs, and graduated from high school.
In the years that followed, she began to really discover herself personally and musically and decided to move to Australia to hone her chops. Nikka gigged incessantly in the Outback, developed her live show, and started to seriously write songs. Nikka landed a solo deal with the down under label Mushroom Records and recorded the rockin' Butterfly Rocket album which earned her an ARIA nomination for Best New Artist. "All the experiences I'd had-good and bad," she reflects, "lead me to learn how to look out for myself, to write my own stuff and to be true to how I want to present myself." If every song to its writer is somewhat autobiographical, then the track "Tug of War" evokes Nikka's journey in music. "There are times in our lives/when our hearts fear our minds/we can't afford to ignore/ what are hearts are beating for."
Having heard about Nikka's undeniable voice through a friend, music exec Dominique Trenier tracked Nikka down in Australia and took her under his wing and later signed her to his label Cheeba Sound, home of D'Angelo. Trenier hooked Costa up with album producers Justin Stanley and hot NY deejay Mark Ronson. The three banded together, spent months writing songs, working out the fierce fusion of rock and soul. Unlike a lot of today's female vocalists, Nikka is credited for either writing or co-writing all the songs on Everybody Got Their Something. "It took a while for us to stumble upon this sound," says Nikka, whose musical tendencies used to lean towards rock. Trenier also suggested approaching the dream team of Soulquarian's Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, Pino Paladino, and James Poyser to guest on the project. The trio have worked with a who's who of artists including Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, D'Angelo and Common. Nikka's only concern was, "Can they rock?" And rock they did. In addition to the dream team, famous 70's soulster Billy Preston played clarinet on the down-tempo track "Just Because". Preston gave Nikka a huge compliment when he praised her piano playing. "I'm not that great at it," she chuckles, "But I was on cloud nine the whole day--giggling because of him."
The only thing that compares such compliments for the typically understated Nikka so far is playing her songs live. She is ready to tear it up on stage. Last fall, with one-week notice, Nikka rocked the season finale of "The Chris Rock Show". This was Nikka's first performance in over three years. The studio audience and the world were awed watching the petite red-haired powerhouse sing "Like a Feather" as if it were church on a Sunday. "I feel like I actually leave the planet, go totally blind over the music. Then, I am totally free," she says in anticipation. As a result, Nikka's red-hot Everybody Got Their Something debut is sexy, gritty, positive and right in the pocket.
Courtesy of Virgin Music
www.virginmusic.com.au
Nikka Costa's career began at age five when she sang with Don Ho in Hawaii for a Christmas release produced by her father Don Costa. Costa was an arranger, producer and composer for singers who need few props-Dinah Washington, Tony Bennett, Sarah Vaughn, Paul Anka and Barbara Streisand. Though she admits, "Looking back it was kind of fabulous," as she lived in the company of legends with the nonchalance of a child. In her father's home recording studio, Nikka would hang out with dad and the likes of Quincy Jones, Sammy Davis Jr., and Sly Stone, or she would be in Las Vegas watching her dad perform with Rat Pack heavies. "All of those interpretations of that old jazz stuff definitely sunk in-down to the phrasing," she reminisces. "My family says that even now, I use dad's chords."
Concerts and performing have represented some of the most significant moments in Nikka's life. Although she was raised and lives in Los Angeles, Nikka was born in Tokyo during the Tokyo Music Festival. At 7, she sang "On My Own" with the full Don Costa Orchestra as the encore of one of his Milan shows. The crowd and Italian press reacted so chaotically to her performance that, in what seemed like a minute, she was in the studio making her first record. "It was a surreal experience and a lot of hard work. I was 8 years old and opening up for The Police in Chile in front of 300,000 people," explains Nikka. Her material was released in Europe, Israel, South and Central America where it reached platinum status in each territory. Impressive stats for a mere woman-child. Nikka remembers this time as a blur of "recording, planes and shows."
Keeping such a hectic schedule proved challenging and great fun, but also a heavy responsibility for a child her age. When back home in Los Angeles, Nikka tried to live a normal childhood, going to school, playing with friends, keeping her career on the D.L. "I'm still like that," she confesses. "It's a personal head-trip that I go through, so don't ask me to sing karaoke at a small party."
Everyone pays dues. And as the saying goes, 'Hard times makes good music.' Following the release of her second non-U.S. release Fairy Tales, Nikka's father passed away, marking the beginning of a difficult period of growing up and soul-searching. Nikka was 10 years old when her father died. As a result, she took a four-year break from recording. By age 14 though, she made a record for a small German recording label, which she explains, "was the fulfilment of a contractual obligation and I wasn't very proud of it." Nikka then returned to Los Angeles, got a boyfriend, joined local bands, sang back up, played in a lot of bad clubs, and graduated from high school.
In the years that followed, she began to really discover herself personally and musically and decided to move to Australia to hone her chops. Nikka gigged incessantly in the Outback, developed her live show, and started to seriously write songs. Nikka landed a solo deal with the down under label Mushroom Records and recorded the rockin' Butterfly Rocket album which earned her an ARIA nomination for Best New Artist. "All the experiences I'd had-good and bad," she reflects, "lead me to learn how to look out for myself, to write my own stuff and to be true to how I want to present myself." If every song to its writer is somewhat autobiographical, then the track "Tug of War" evokes Nikka's journey in music. "There are times in our lives/when our hearts fear our minds/we can't afford to ignore/ what are hearts are beating for."
Having heard about Nikka's undeniable voice through a friend, music exec Dominique Trenier tracked Nikka down in Australia and took her under his wing and later signed her to his label Cheeba Sound, home of D'Angelo. Trenier hooked Costa up with album producers Justin Stanley and hot NY deejay Mark Ronson. The three banded together, spent months writing songs, working out the fierce fusion of rock and soul. Unlike a lot of today's female vocalists, Nikka is credited for either writing or co-writing all the songs on Everybody Got Their Something. "It took a while for us to stumble upon this sound," says Nikka, whose musical tendencies used to lean towards rock. Trenier also suggested approaching the dream team of Soulquarian's Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, Pino Paladino, and James Poyser to guest on the project. The trio have worked with a who's who of artists including Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, D'Angelo and Common. Nikka's only concern was, "Can they rock?" And rock they did. In addition to the dream team, famous 70's soulster Billy Preston played clarinet on the down-tempo track "Just Because". Preston gave Nikka a huge compliment when he praised her piano playing. "I'm not that great at it," she chuckles, "But I was on cloud nine the whole day--giggling because of him."
The only thing that compares such compliments for the typically understated Nikka so far is playing her songs live. She is ready to tear it up on stage. Last fall, with one-week notice, Nikka rocked the season finale of "The Chris Rock Show". This was Nikka's first performance in over three years. The studio audience and the world were awed watching the petite red-haired powerhouse sing "Like a Feather" as if it were church on a Sunday. "I feel like I actually leave the planet, go totally blind over the music. Then, I am totally free," she says in anticipation. As a result, Nikka's red-hot Everybody Got Their Something debut is sexy, gritty, positive and right in the pocket.
Courtesy of Virgin Music
www.virginmusic.com.au
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