Nadine Shah – the Mercury Prize-nominated singer on headlining the Festival of Sound

From a tender age, Whitburn’s Nadine Shah was destined for the stage. “I had a really good singing voice but my parents had no idea. I’d go to my granny’s house and she’d play me Shirley Bassey records. I’d learn them and I’d go home and my mam would have no idea it was me singing upstairs, she thought I was just playing records,” Nadine recalls. She equates her introduction to music to that of Laura Hoff, the character from the film Little Voice, the story of a girl who learns to imitate the great singers. “In fact, Brenda Blethyn is in it,” she excitedly exclaims, and with that we unlock our first Ramsgate connection. “I haven’t met Brenda yet but I’m working on it.” Nadine’s eyes light up and she becomes giddy with excitement when we talk about Ramsgate. It can’t be too common for the Thanet coast to be mentioned so fondly in a Geordie lilt. It is this linguistic energy, voice and accent that is integral to her sound as an artist. Immediately recognisable and unmistakably unique in its range, timbre and vibrato. “My mam had great taste in music like The Shirelles and The Shangri-Las and my dad would sing Sufi songs,” recalls Nadine. “My dad had a beautiful singing voice. So if it’s a muscle I’ve gotten it from him and the love and passion for it is from my mother.” In the years since Nadine has grown to become one of the UK’s most influential artists in her genre, with such accolades as a Mercury Prize nomination, an honorary fellowship from the University of Sunderland, a BBC Radio 6 Music show and four albums under her belt. The most recent has been the critically acclaimed Kitchen Sink, which will be performed in full for a lucky few hundred ticket holders at Winterstoke sun shelter as part of this year’s Festival of Sound. “I’ll be playing Kitchen Sink in full and then a few of the hits thrown in at the end,” says Nadine with a grin. “We’re doing it at the Barbican, Edinburgh Festival and Winterstoke, three lovely places to do it. I don’t think I’ll have the opportunity to do that [play the album in its entirety] again unless it’s in 20 years’ time. You never get that luxury but they’re letting me do it here, which is nice.”

The festival has overcome the adversity of the last 18 months not only to survive but to continue to develop and establish itself as a leading festival for the sonic arts, securing a headline act of Nadine’s stature. This is not a music festival in the traditional sense; it is so much more. Through events such as the Busk at Dusk, Sonic Trail and the Screaming Alley performances, it is evident that this is a communitycentric and regenerative festival that evokes the spirit of the town. Nadine explains the sense of place that she has found here: “Everybody here has a story. I was nervous about moving initially, but I’ve met brilliant people here who are massively successful in their field.” She remembers the particular moment when it clicked for her: “I came for a weekend and he [husband Matthew] had a beautiful flat on Paragon. I fell in love with the place. My move was cemented when we were able to go to pub gardens and I met a bunch of amazing people, one of them being Andrew Gibson [festival director] and he started performing spoken word poetry. I said to my partner, ‘If that is the standard of pub poetry I’m going to love it here.’” Ramsgate’s rich history and deep-seated association with artists is something we are all proud of, but Nadine is particularly entranced by it: “I love hearing about the people who used to stay here. Like the Granville, Oscar Wilde stayed there. Who knows what he wrote there. All the history that’s steeped in this place, mainly the poets and painters, it’s awesome.” It is a testament to the event’s integrity that, in a time when many festival organisers are being criticised for a lack of diversity and non-male representation in their headline slots, Ramsgate can have a British woman of Pakistani and Norwegian heritage as their ambassador. And indeed the location of the performance on 4 September at Winterstoke Gardens is not lost on Nadine, founded as it was by none other than Ramsgate’s first female mayor, Dame Janet Stancomb Wills of East Court, a great philanthropist and patron of the arts. “I mean I would like Dame Stancomb’s house,” Nadine jokes. “I’m also delighted to see there is a BritishBangladeshi female mayor here as

NADINE SHAH:

A “BADASS” FESTIVAL

Writer Andrew Flood

Photographer Jaron James

Swapping South Shields for East Cliff, Nadine Shah is one of Thanet’s more recent musical habitants. The acclaimed singer songwriter is this year’s Ramsgate Festival of Sound headliner and its new ambassador. She tells the Recorder why she has fallen head over heels for her new hometown, what to expect from her show at Winterstoke Gardens and all about her upcoming work with the Pie Factory charity

well, and she owns the local tandoori restaurant. She feeds you and she listens to you – what a combination.” Despite feeling the allure of the past and all its grandeur, Nadine is very much in touch with the present. Inspiring and lifting her peers along with the next generation is integral to her outspoken nature and caring instinct. Through her ambassadorial role with the festival she will be engaging in classes and workshops with Pie Factory, the charity group

for young musicians in Ramsgate. “There’s going to be a bunch of workshops. I’m going to bring my producer Ben Hillier (Elbow, Depeche Mode, Natalie Imbruglia) down with me. I love working with vocalists on their lyrics and technique. It’s a great opportunity because Ben is a superstar producer and so he can bring something else as well.” Supporting Nadine at Winterstoke will be local musician Josh Flowers. “I met Josh here and listened to his music straight away. He’s massively passionate about making a collective of sorts down here with musicians,” says Nadine. “Where there isn’t that competitive vibe but more everyone helping each other out. This is what I find refreshing about Ramsgate, everybody here is willing to help each other out.”

Nadine has firmly rooted herself to the south-east coast, and with a new album on the horizon it sounds as though Ramsgate is providing more than adequate inspiration for the creative juices to begin flowing. In the meantime we have a unique performance to look forward to at the Winterstoke Gardens on what is coming close to its centenary, and ten days of music to enjoy during the festival. “It’s not just your local town fete,” Nadine enthuses. “There’s actually really good, quality stuff on. It’s avant-garde, it’s badass!”

“All the history that’s steeped in this place, mainly the poets and painters, it’s awesome”

The Ramsgate Festival of Sound runs in venues across town from 27 August to 5 September. For more information and to book tickets visit ramsgatefestival.org See over for a selection of

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