CABARET VILLE MAGAZINE. P281. CONT'D FROM P280
CAROLINE NIN. Cont'd.
PROFILE AND LIFE OF A FRENCH DIVA AND A TROOPER!
Originally from Paris, Caroline Nin established herself during a sojourn in Britain as one of the leading singers of French material in the country. Although recently returned to France, she's still making forays across the channel as a superb interpreter of Edith Piaf material, songs from the likes of Brel, Dutronc and other French writers, and the occasional English language piece: her show Scarlet Stories includes a song given to her by Marc Almond. A busy live schedule over the past few years has included extensive work for the Alliance Française, plus events and venues like the Soho Jazz Festival, the Coin Street Paris Meets London Festival (singing Piaf in the street), the Freedom Theatre, and residencies The Edge, Café Noir and Harvey Nicks. Caroline is quite capable of playing the stereotype of the elegant night club singer, with just a hint of sang froid: as Diva magazine once commented, she 'has the appearance of a 1940's movie goddess...this woman is the epitome of style and class'. But her talent goes much further than that: originally a jazz singer, she only started exploring the repertoire of her home country once she'd moved away, and she's in the enviable position of being able to bring elements of one genre into the other. Her interpretations of Piaf stand out for their jazz tinge (check out her arrangement of the renowned 'Hymne à l'amour') but she brings something of the passion and intelligence of the chanson to English language material too. Caroline has appeared with numerous musicians; the trio for her Piaf show also comprised Tim Sharp (piano/accordion) and Robert Rickenberg (double bass). JAZZ :Jazz is the school of Caroline Nin. She listens to Ella Fitzgerald’s live Berlin album 1954 and her singing career is born. We are in 1988.Singing tuition with an opera singer, she discovers Callas, « the genius ». She grows into « scat », a singing improvisation technique invented by Satchmo (Louis Armstrong), and while listening to Sarah Vaughan, « the vocal instrument ». Billie Holiday invites her into the subtlety of harmony, she is unique and inimitable. Exploring the huge repertoire of Nina Simone, from jazz to South African music, from Kurt Weill to Brel. Nin follows, she adventures into Cabaret. CABARET : Cabaret is Caroline Nin’s « lounge ».
She
is familiar with the cinematic and musical masterpieces of Marlene Dietrich,
« her beauty ». She has been a fan since her teenage years. She discovers
Edith Piaf, “the ultimate gift”, she is besotted and records her first
album, “If you love me - Hymne à Edith Piaf”. Sally Bowles becomes an
integral part of her life. « Cabaret », its photography, the Berlin era, the
decadent 30’s. Nin is in her element. Juliette Greco is a living example of
stage passion, her knowledge, her poetry. Grace Jones, androginous, modern
cabaret, popular music pop POPULAR MUSIC : A 4 track EP is in the making
with lyrics by Caroline Nin and composed by Corine Sombrun and Sean
Hargreaves, produced by James Knight (who has worked with Princess Julia and
Moloko). It is entitled « A ». Clearly an underground project which allows
Nin to sing her own lyrics for the first time. The tracks are called : « je
ne sais pas », « dommage », « le doute », « cocagne ». A recent
collaboration with the French group « Brady » (Paris Lounge 2 Wagram), a
song called « beautiful ». Two singles : « My Harley Davidson » and « Love
for Sale » (Cole Porter) the latter illustrating Caroline’s first short
film. Both tracks are produced by Hargreaves. Her musical influences are :
Klaus Nomi, Serge Gainsbourg, Prince and the Revolutions (Under the Cherry
Moon), Madonna, Mirwais, Radiohead, Nina Hagen, Bowie, Roberta Flack, Moby,
Innercity, S‘express, One o one, Susheela Raman, Nitin Sawhney and many more
...Oh, of course, Kraftwerk. Caroline's recent release: Hymne à Edith
Piaf Fric-Frac CNCD1 1997 The CD of the show, featuring Caroline's
jazz-inflected reworkings of the songbook of the renowned sparrow of Pigalle,
including familiar material like 'Les amants d'un jour', 'Milord', 'Non, je
ne regrette rien' and 'La vie en rose' alongside the less familiar like 'La
foule' and 'Mon ménage à moi'. The acoustic tracks are a good representation
of Caroline's live work (some of them were taped live), but a couple of
attempts at setting this material to an electronic beat are a little
ill-advised, since the lifeblood of this style is in its rubato.