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Nadia Ali
Biography
Nadia Ali was born in Libya to Pakistani parents in 1980. The family relocated when she was six years old and she was subsequently raised in Queens, New York.
An 8 year old Ali started volunteering to sing at any opportunity she could get after a friend heard her humming a Madonna song at school and complimented her on her talent. While continuing singing as a hobby and for the thrill of performing and receiving no formal vocal training, she had also started writing poems and songs for her friends by the the time she was 15. As a teenager her interest in dance music developed after visiting nightclubs in Manhattan and inspired her to dream that she would one day be featured on one of the records playing in the club.
Ali started working in the New York offices of Versace when she was 17, where she attracted attention by singing at the Christmas parties. By the time she was 20, she had quit Versace and started working as a bartender and was aspiring to start a music career when a former colleague from Versace introduced her to producer Markus Moser, who was looking for a female singer to collaborate on some of his original dance music production. The two teamed up with Moser working on production, while Ali wrote the lyrics and vocals for the songs. Her first song was the single "Rapture", which she wrote in 30 minutes based on an encounter with an Australian nightclub patron. Released in 2001, the single became a commercial success charting at No. 2 on UK Singles Chart and Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play Chart. The success of "Rapture", Ali said, caused the formation of iiO as the music they were initially working on was quite different from dance music and were asked to come up with a project name to promote the single. They originally named the duo Vaiio after the Sony VAIO laptop Ali own then and used to write the lyrics on. They later dropped the "va" on the advice of their label to avoid any problems in the future with Sony. The duo toured internationally and released several more singles, including "At the End", "Runaway", "Smooth", and "Kiss You". Their first studio album, Poetica followed in 2005.
Ali left the group in 2005 to pursue a solo career, while Moser continued to release iiO material featuring her on vocals. Most notably, these releases include the 2006 single "Is It Love?", which reached No. 1 in America on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Chart, the 2007 remix album Reconstruction Time: The Best Of iiO Remixed and the 2011 studio album Exit 110.
Her decision to pursue a career as a singer was not initially encouraged by her Pakistani parents who were academically inclined and wanted her to pursue a more stable career. She has said since then they have evolved and are one of her biggest supporters. Speaking of her identity as a Pakistani and Muslim woman, she has said it is very important to her to set an example that they are able to contribute positively and capable of taking their career into their own hands. Explaining further, she said that she feels it as her responsibility to any women who are sometimes stereotyped to show that they can contribute to arts or any professional field. She has said that over the years, she has met South Asian women who have told her that her story has inspired them to pursue something they loved.
After leaving iiO, Ali toured extensively and collaborated with prominent DJs and producers. The first, "Who Is Watching?", was a collaboration with Armin van Buuren, which appeared on his 2005 album Shivers. Followed by "Something to Lose" in 2006, a duet with singer-songwriter Rosko, produced by John Creamer & Stephane K and released by Ultra Records. The track was licensed to Roger Sanchez's Release Yourself, Vol. 5, as well as Sharam Tayebi of Deep Dish for his Global Underground debut Dubai.
Ali started working on her debut solo album soon after leaving iiO, a process which took her four years. She attributed the delay to her busy tour schedule and the fact that she was still learning and "trying to establish her identity as a songwriter and co-producer". The first single from the album was "Crash and Burn", released in June 2008. The single became a club success peaking at No. 6 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play Chart.
In February 2009, she released the second single, "Love Story" from the yet unnamed album. The single topped Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Chart in April 2009 and was nominated for the Best Progressive/House Track at the 2010 International Dance Music Awards. Ali was featured on MTV Iggy in March 2009, where she recorded three live acoustic videos, performing "Rapture", "Crash and Burn" and "Love Story".
The third single "Fine Print" was released in July 2009. Ali announced that the single preceded the release of her debut solo album Embers. The single peaked at No. 4 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play Chart.
Embers was released in September 2009. Co-produced by Sultan & Ned Shepard, Alex Sayz and Scott Fritz, Ali self-released the album on her own label, Smile in Bed Records. Embers generally received positive reviews, Chase Gran from About.com called it a "well rounded album, with gourmet songs". Gail Navarro from Racket magazine complimented Ali on her songwriting saying, "It wasn’t just her sultry sound mixed in together with that enchanting singing voice; her songwriting got me hook, line and sinker". Speaking about the self-release of the album, she has cited her creative independence and the pressure of deadlines as the main reasons why she created her own record label. She chose to release her singles and albums digitally citing the nature of the electronic music audience and the traditional method of distribution deals in the United States.
Ali released two collaborations in 2009, the first "Better Run" with Tocadisco was released on his album TOCA 128.0 FM, and "12 Wives In Tehran" with Serge Devant was released on his album Wanderer.
Ali's first release in 2010 was the track "Try", a collaboration with German producer Schiller, chosen as the lead single from his album Atemlos, the music video premiered on YouTube in February 2010.
In April 2010, Ali released "Fantasy", the fourth single from Embers. The Morgan Page remix of "Fantasy" was nominated in the Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical category at the 53rd Grammy Awards. The music video for "Fantasy" was set to the Page remix, which served as a prologue to Ali's next project - Queen of Clubs Trilogy: The Best of Nadia Ali Remixed. The trilogy marked Ali's decade-long career and her 'unrivalled contributions to club culture'. Speaking about the project, Ali mentioned that she wanted a remix compilation, which spanned from her one-half as iiO, to her solo album and her collaborations. Explaining the name of the concept, she said she wanted to incorporate the fact that she grew up in Queens and that her music is predominantly played in nightclubs. Using that inspiration, she decided to use the playing card "Queen of Clubs" as the title, a move she described as "audacious" but something she felt she could prove because she had the substance.[32] The package was broken into three releases: Ruby Edition (August 2010), Onyx Edition (October 2010) and Diamond Edition (December 2010). It featured collaborations with, and remixes by, several prominent DJs and producers. Notable ones included Armin van Buuren, Tocadisco, Schiller, Gareth Emery, Avicii, Morgan Page, Sultan & Ned Shepard, DJ Shah, TyDi, Myon & Shane 54, Andy Moor, Dresden and Johnston, Afrojack, the Scumfrog, Alex Sayz, Starkillers and Max Graham.
Her first track with iiO, "Rapture" was re-released as a single from Queen of Clubs Trilogy with remixes by Tristan Garner, Gareth Emery and Avicii. The single was licensed to Armada Music and Ministry of Sound for worldwide release. A new music video for the track was shot based on the "Queen of Clubs" theme and released on January 24, 2011.
Throughout 2010, Ali's collaborations with DJs and producers were released. These included remixes of her upcoming collaboration "That Day" with Dresden and Johnston, which were released on compilation albums. The next, "The Notice" with Swiss duo Chris Reece was released on July 13 on all digital retailers. Ali was featured on the track "Feels So Good" on Armin van Buuren's fourth album Mirage. The track was announced as the fifth single from the album, due to be released on June 17, 2011. She is also a featured guest on his Armin Only tour.
During 2011, Ali will be releasing tracks with several DJs and producers. The first of these was "Call My Name" with the duo Sultan & Ned Shepard, released by Harem Records on February 9. "Call My Name" has been a club success, charting at No. 5 on Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Chart. The second "Pressure" with Starkillers and Alex Kenji was released on February 15 by Spinnin' Records. On May 23, her next collaboration, "Free To Go" with Alex Sayz was be released by Zouk Recordings. Ali will also be featured on Morgan Page's upcoming third album. Other collaborators include BT, Sander van Doorn, Dresden and Johnston and Sidney Samson. She is also writing songs for Tocadisco, Avicii, Hardwell, Sultan & Ned Shepard, EDX and Pete tha Zouk.
As of May 2011, Ali is working on her sophomore studio album and an experimental acoustic project. The first single from her upcoming dance album will be called "Such Love", with a release date to be announced in summer 2011. The music video for the single was shot in Hawaii in April 2011.
Ali is perhaps most strongly known for her "enchanting singing voice", "lyrical depth and eloquence" and the "omnipresent quality" in her delivery. Reema Jadeja from MOBO described her work as "masterfully encapsulating euphoric and melancholic, Ali’s signature music style sees Eastern mystique caressed with intelligent electronica and fortified with soul". The songs on Embers were likened to Madonna's work in her prime and a "modern re-intepretation" of Stevie Nicks. Ali has been influenced by an eclectic mix of artists, which she credits to her Eastern background and upbringing in Queens. She listed alternative, folk, country, Indian and Pakistani music as her biggest influences. Her vocals and songwriting influences, she said, are Stevie Nicks, Sade, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Madonna, Bjork, Sarah McLachlan, Bono and Sting.
An 8 year old Ali started volunteering to sing at any opportunity she could get after a friend heard her humming a Madonna song at school and complimented her on her talent. While continuing singing as a hobby and for the thrill of performing and receiving no formal vocal training, she had also started writing poems and songs for her friends by the the time she was 15. As a teenager her interest in dance music developed after visiting nightclubs in Manhattan and inspired her to dream that she would one day be featured on one of the records playing in the club.
Ali started working in the New York offices of Versace when she was 17, where she attracted attention by singing at the Christmas parties. By the time she was 20, she had quit Versace and started working as a bartender and was aspiring to start a music career when a former colleague from Versace introduced her to producer Markus Moser, who was looking for a female singer to collaborate on some of his original dance music production. The two teamed up with Moser working on production, while Ali wrote the lyrics and vocals for the songs. Her first song was the single "Rapture", which she wrote in 30 minutes based on an encounter with an Australian nightclub patron. Released in 2001, the single became a commercial success charting at No. 2 on UK Singles Chart and Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play Chart. The success of "Rapture", Ali said, caused the formation of iiO as the music they were initially working on was quite different from dance music and were asked to come up with a project name to promote the single. They originally named the duo Vaiio after the Sony VAIO laptop Ali own then and used to write the lyrics on. They later dropped the "va" on the advice of their label to avoid any problems in the future with Sony. The duo toured internationally and released several more singles, including "At the End", "Runaway", "Smooth", and "Kiss You". Their first studio album, Poetica followed in 2005.
Ali left the group in 2005 to pursue a solo career, while Moser continued to release iiO material featuring her on vocals. Most notably, these releases include the 2006 single "Is It Love?", which reached No. 1 in America on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Chart, the 2007 remix album Reconstruction Time: The Best Of iiO Remixed and the 2011 studio album Exit 110.
Her decision to pursue a career as a singer was not initially encouraged by her Pakistani parents who were academically inclined and wanted her to pursue a more stable career. She has said since then they have evolved and are one of her biggest supporters. Speaking of her identity as a Pakistani and Muslim woman, she has said it is very important to her to set an example that they are able to contribute positively and capable of taking their career into their own hands. Explaining further, she said that she feels it as her responsibility to any women who are sometimes stereotyped to show that they can contribute to arts or any professional field. She has said that over the years, she has met South Asian women who have told her that her story has inspired them to pursue something they loved.
After leaving iiO, Ali toured extensively and collaborated with prominent DJs and producers. The first, "Who Is Watching?", was a collaboration with Armin van Buuren, which appeared on his 2005 album Shivers. Followed by "Something to Lose" in 2006, a duet with singer-songwriter Rosko, produced by John Creamer & Stephane K and released by Ultra Records. The track was licensed to Roger Sanchez's Release Yourself, Vol. 5, as well as Sharam Tayebi of Deep Dish for his Global Underground debut Dubai.
Ali started working on her debut solo album soon after leaving iiO, a process which took her four years. She attributed the delay to her busy tour schedule and the fact that she was still learning and "trying to establish her identity as a songwriter and co-producer". The first single from the album was "Crash and Burn", released in June 2008. The single became a club success peaking at No. 6 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play Chart.
In February 2009, she released the second single, "Love Story" from the yet unnamed album. The single topped Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Chart in April 2009 and was nominated for the Best Progressive/House Track at the 2010 International Dance Music Awards. Ali was featured on MTV Iggy in March 2009, where she recorded three live acoustic videos, performing "Rapture", "Crash and Burn" and "Love Story".
The third single "Fine Print" was released in July 2009. Ali announced that the single preceded the release of her debut solo album Embers. The single peaked at No. 4 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play Chart.
Embers was released in September 2009. Co-produced by Sultan & Ned Shepard, Alex Sayz and Scott Fritz, Ali self-released the album on her own label, Smile in Bed Records. Embers generally received positive reviews, Chase Gran from About.com called it a "well rounded album, with gourmet songs". Gail Navarro from Racket magazine complimented Ali on her songwriting saying, "It wasn’t just her sultry sound mixed in together with that enchanting singing voice; her songwriting got me hook, line and sinker". Speaking about the self-release of the album, she has cited her creative independence and the pressure of deadlines as the main reasons why she created her own record label. She chose to release her singles and albums digitally citing the nature of the electronic music audience and the traditional method of distribution deals in the United States.
Ali released two collaborations in 2009, the first "Better Run" with Tocadisco was released on his album TOCA 128.0 FM, and "12 Wives In Tehran" with Serge Devant was released on his album Wanderer.
Ali's first release in 2010 was the track "Try", a collaboration with German producer Schiller, chosen as the lead single from his album Atemlos, the music video premiered on YouTube in February 2010.
In April 2010, Ali released "Fantasy", the fourth single from Embers. The Morgan Page remix of "Fantasy" was nominated in the Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical category at the 53rd Grammy Awards. The music video for "Fantasy" was set to the Page remix, which served as a prologue to Ali's next project - Queen of Clubs Trilogy: The Best of Nadia Ali Remixed. The trilogy marked Ali's decade-long career and her 'unrivalled contributions to club culture'. Speaking about the project, Ali mentioned that she wanted a remix compilation, which spanned from her one-half as iiO, to her solo album and her collaborations. Explaining the name of the concept, she said she wanted to incorporate the fact that she grew up in Queens and that her music is predominantly played in nightclubs. Using that inspiration, she decided to use the playing card "Queen of Clubs" as the title, a move she described as "audacious" but something she felt she could prove because she had the substance.[32] The package was broken into three releases: Ruby Edition (August 2010), Onyx Edition (October 2010) and Diamond Edition (December 2010). It featured collaborations with, and remixes by, several prominent DJs and producers. Notable ones included Armin van Buuren, Tocadisco, Schiller, Gareth Emery, Avicii, Morgan Page, Sultan & Ned Shepard, DJ Shah, TyDi, Myon & Shane 54, Andy Moor, Dresden and Johnston, Afrojack, the Scumfrog, Alex Sayz, Starkillers and Max Graham.
Her first track with iiO, "Rapture" was re-released as a single from Queen of Clubs Trilogy with remixes by Tristan Garner, Gareth Emery and Avicii. The single was licensed to Armada Music and Ministry of Sound for worldwide release. A new music video for the track was shot based on the "Queen of Clubs" theme and released on January 24, 2011.
Throughout 2010, Ali's collaborations with DJs and producers were released. These included remixes of her upcoming collaboration "That Day" with Dresden and Johnston, which were released on compilation albums. The next, "The Notice" with Swiss duo Chris Reece was released on July 13 on all digital retailers. Ali was featured on the track "Feels So Good" on Armin van Buuren's fourth album Mirage. The track was announced as the fifth single from the album, due to be released on June 17, 2011. She is also a featured guest on his Armin Only tour.
During 2011, Ali will be releasing tracks with several DJs and producers. The first of these was "Call My Name" with the duo Sultan & Ned Shepard, released by Harem Records on February 9. "Call My Name" has been a club success, charting at No. 5 on Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Chart. The second "Pressure" with Starkillers and Alex Kenji was released on February 15 by Spinnin' Records. On May 23, her next collaboration, "Free To Go" with Alex Sayz was be released by Zouk Recordings. Ali will also be featured on Morgan Page's upcoming third album. Other collaborators include BT, Sander van Doorn, Dresden and Johnston and Sidney Samson. She is also writing songs for Tocadisco, Avicii, Hardwell, Sultan & Ned Shepard, EDX and Pete tha Zouk.
As of May 2011, Ali is working on her sophomore studio album and an experimental acoustic project. The first single from her upcoming dance album will be called "Such Love", with a release date to be announced in summer 2011. The music video for the single was shot in Hawaii in April 2011.
Ali is perhaps most strongly known for her "enchanting singing voice", "lyrical depth and eloquence" and the "omnipresent quality" in her delivery. Reema Jadeja from MOBO described her work as "masterfully encapsulating euphoric and melancholic, Ali’s signature music style sees Eastern mystique caressed with intelligent electronica and fortified with soul". The songs on Embers were likened to Madonna's work in her prime and a "modern re-intepretation" of Stevie Nicks. Ali has been influenced by an eclectic mix of artists, which she credits to her Eastern background and upbringing in Queens. She listed alternative, folk, country, Indian and Pakistani music as her biggest influences. Her vocals and songwriting influences, she said, are Stevie Nicks, Sade, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Madonna, Bjork, Sarah McLachlan, Bono and Sting.
