Noisettes singer and bassist Shingai Shoniwa today released her debut solo album Too Bold. Londoner Shingai unveiled the new record on her social media accounts this morning – along with a selection of its stunning accompanying artwork.
The album, which follows on from last year’s EP Ancient Futures, is a bold fusion of pop, soul; and indie sounds; and has a distinctly African sonic feel which reflects Shoniwa’s Zimbabwean roots. She told Okay Africa “For me it’s always been about rhythm. Obviously I’m the bass player in the band and I grew up with a lot of rhythmic bass like African music or pop that was inspired by Southern African music as it’s an important part of my musicality.”
That Zimbabwean influence comes to the fore musically on lead single War Drums, and in the lyrics to We Roll which showcase the vocalist’s pride in her shared heritage: “I got that African heat/Coming through with that London heat“. Other album tracks touching on similar themes of duality include South London Safari and the stunning Ghost Town (Battle Scars), which blends together references to African history (“It was from Zambezi/ That gentleman named countries after themselves”) and childhood personal tragedy in the UK over a pulsating drum beat and soft synth sounds.
The Noisettes – who enjoyed chart successes in 2009 with disco-rock hit Don’t Upset The Rhythm (Go Baby Go) and the melodious, Motown-esque Never Forget You – have officially been on a ‘pause’ since their third album (2012’s Contact) but Shoniwa hasn’t had much in the way of downtime. In addition to the new album and last year’s EP, the mult-talented Lewisham songstress has modelled for NEXT Management; provided voiceovers for CBeebies‘ show The Adventures of Abney and Teal; and demonstrated her acting chops in Cook Off, the first Zimbabwean film to be picked up by Netflix.
Shingai – who was never credited for her performance on Dennis Ferrer’s 2009 hit Hey Hey – has also spoken powerfully on the marginalisation of black female voices on the UK pop and dance music scenes. In a recent interview with the Guardian, she said: “There’s a clear pattern with a lot of dance music, I’ve found. With acts such as Rudimental or Sigala, it’s been those tracks with vocals from white or mixed race singers that have really blown up, despite them also working with a lot of super talented darker-skinned singers on album tracks…it’s a one-in one-out situation. I’ve been told that because there’s a Ray BLK or Laura Mvula album coming out, my album can’t be pushed. It affects your self-esteem as a black artist – there’s something quite rotten at the core of the music industry.”
Shingai’s new album Too Bold is available now on streaming platforms, and can be listened to on her YouTube channel.
