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Nikki Matheson Invisible Angel (cdRoots code: nm-1) The Canadian-born singer, composer and musician has travelled many a musical mile, and performed with some great artists, including Gabriel Yacoub. Her new solo CD finds her moving between languages and traditions on 13 tunes recorded over 10 years and on 2 continents, joined by Colin McCaffrey, Jeremiah McLane, Gabriel Yacoub, Yannick Hardouin, and a host of other great musicians. Listen to some samples: Patchwork High on a Mountain Whisper I Love You Invisible Angel Quand viendra-t-elle Just one in a small few Your Love for My Tears

“Nikki Matheson further deepens the level of emotion with her extraordinary harmonies.” -- SingOut! “Imagine a voice that combines originality and depth, and the enigmatic beauty of the bare rocks of the Scottish highlands...” -- Paris Free Voice “The most interesting singer of her generation.” -- Dave Van Ronk About the artist Nikki Matheson was born in Toronto to a French-Canadian mother and Scottish father but the bi-lingual, musically omnivorous household soon relocated to the greater New York area. After attending university in the USA and France, she was drawn into the Manhattan folk scene where, mentored by Dave Van Ronk and jazz-diva Janet Lawson, she honed her instrumental chops on piano, guitar, Irish pennywhistle and bass clarinet, refined her vocal and songwriting skills, and performed along side other up-and-coming musicians (Suzanne Vega, Shawn Colvin, Christine Lavin, Richard Shindell). She was soon touring the USA, Canada, Europe and Japan with assorted bluegrass, new acoustic and swing jazz ensembles, notably with Rhythm and Romance, a band she formed with banjoist Akira Satake. Following formal voice and production studies, a move to Paris led to collaborations with Gabriel Yacoub, who had just re-formed his seminal 70s-era folk-rock group, Malicorne, chanson legend Georges Moustaki and art-rocker CharElie Couture, among others. From 1997-2000, Nikki was employed by the Norwegian Concert Institute in a program designed to instruct youngsters in English and the history of American traditional music. She sang the role of “Guinevere” on “Excalibur” (Sony -- 1999), an ambitious, Gold-selling project featuring Breton icons Tri Yann and Dan Ar Braz, along with Rodger Hodgson (of SuperTramp), Fairport Convention, Didier Lockwood, several other major acts, and the Prague Symphony Orchestra. Meanwhile, she composed original scores, penned English lyrics for Indonesian sensation Anggun, Blues-singer Nanette Workman, sat in on Irish singer Susan McKeown’s “Bushes And Briars”, and contributed a track to the Parents’ Choice Silver-Medal-winning “Celtic Dreams” CD (Ellipsis Arts - 2004). Now a resident of Vermont, she recently earned a Masters’ Degree, teaches French at a local university, and performs regularly, opening for the likes of Patrick Street or sitting in with The Klezmatics. Musicians on the recording: Caleb Bronz: drums Claude Samard: dobro, pedal steel Colin McCaffrey: guitar, piano, mandolin, viola Gabriel Yacoub: acoustic steel guitar Greg Anderson: bouzouki Jean-Pierre Arnoux: drums, udu potée Jeremiah McLane: accordion Manu Le Houëzec: soprano sax Mathieu Fromont: harmonica Michael Close: cellos and string arrangement Modou Ndione: djembe and djoun-djoun Nicolas Mingot: guitar Richard Shindell: vocal and 12-string acoustic guitar Tim Cummings: pennywhistles, small pipes Viktor Krauss: bass Will Galison: harmonica Will Patton: mandolin Will Patton: tenor resonator guitar Yannick Hardouin: bass

Other recordings you might like: Gabriel Yacoub - de la nature des choses Karen Mose - Vingefang Mor Karbasi / Daughter of the Spring