Nedelle

Nedelle's sound has been described as existing somewhere between Ella Fitzgerald and Everything But the Girl, with vocal harmonies reminiscent of The Shirelles. At times tender and romantic, at others lovelorn and drained, and sometimes downright sexy, Nedelles music mixes classic blues sentiment with modern pop stylings. Here she combines jazz melodies and lush production; the result is something new and quite special.

Republic of Two features eleven of the first songs she ever wrote, which she produced and archived with vintage audio gear of the highest fidelity. Her voice comes across as intimate and sincere, mirroring her personality. The music is sparse when she whispers of isolation, and the arrangements are emphatically layered when she sings of losing love and affection. Every song hints at serious introspection undergone by Nedelle in her 22 years, but none of the songs seem feigned or melodramatic. Rather, there¹s a maturity that belies her limited life experience, making them truly engaging. This quality is translated to her live performance, noted the East Bay Express, "The songs on the CD are comfortably drowsy and rhythmically flirtatious. Live, they light up and burn like wall-to wall coals on the floor."

Nedelle grew up singing to herself and her musical family in the sleepy town of Vacaville, CA. Her father was a jazz drummer and mother a classical pianist. She learned to play violin at an early age, taking lessons from age seven. Along the way, she picked up piano and guitar, feeling them to be better instruments for composing and arranging her own songs. Her own musical moments are intermixed with memories of listening to her father's record collection and her mom's impromptu recitals. She now calls Oakland home, where she's part of a budding new pop scene. Her name is a union of her grandmothers's names: Neda and Eleanor. And like her music, which seamlessly combines elements of jazz, R&B, and pop, it is without pretense and sounds perfectly natural.

A product of a father who was a jazz drummer and a mother who was a classical pianist, indie soul singer Nedelle Torrisi, or Nedelle, grew up playing a variety of instruments, including violin, piano, and guitar. She eventually started composing and arranging her own material, which eventually led to her Republic of Two debut, which was released in May of 2003. She makes Oakland, CA, her home. From the Lion's Mouth followed in 2005; the next year, she appeared on the Curtains' album Calamity, and teamed with that band's founder, Chris Cohen, for another project, Cryptacize. ~ David Serra, All Music Guide