Amiel

Amiel, quiet perfectionist, blew into a studio in 1996 at the tender age of sixteen, equipped with a natural gift for melody and a mesmeric voice. Her sweetly charged vocals and distinctive sound and lyrics helped to belt Josh Abraham's (aka ‘Puretone’) international hit ‘Addicted to Bass’ to the top of the charts in Australia. This was followed by a #2 debut and eight week stay in the UK top ten plus a #1 on the Billboard dance chart in the US. Abrahams remembers of the first time he worked with Amiel: “My mouth fell open at how talented she was”.
Amiel wrote and recorded her first song at age nine in a heartfelt effort to help spread ecological awareness. By age eleven she had landed a leading role alongside Russell Crowe in the 1991 feature film ‘The Silver Brumby’. “I always knew that all I wanted to do was perform.” Amiel says simply of her early introduction to the world of entertainment. Collaboration with Abrahams and the success of Addicted to Bass resulted in a solo recording contract at nineteen. Finding Abrahams to be a source of inspiration, Amiel engaged her mentor to produce her debut album.
The debut single from the album Audio Out ‘Lovesong’ was a perfect introduction to a collection of diverse pop songs that seduced as much as they confronted. In it’s first week of release Lovesong was #1 most added at radio. A favorite across all genres and audiences, it shot to #1 on the Aria Singles Chart and #6 on the National Aria Charts. It achieved Certified Platinum sales and the award for the most played Australian composition on radio in it’s year of release.
After a year of promoting Audio Out in Australia, a Certified Gold, 5 times Aria nominated album, and a follow up Gold and #1 most added single under her belt, Amiel embarked on promoting the album in Japan. Debuting at #6 on the combined charts and #3 on the international charts, pushed on by Lovesong, the #2 most popular radio song in the country at the time, Audio Out firmly established Amiel in the hearts and minds of Japanese audiences as “the brand new mode of female pop” (SMJP Japan).
“I’ve never seen myself as tied to a particular genre and been happy that my taste tends to lead me right across the musical spectrum,” explains Amiel. “When I started making Audio Out I did struggle with many questions. Through trial and error I learned that the only thing that mattered was what I believed in, the feel of the songs. If a track doesn’t feel good to me there is simply no way force it.”
Shortly after shooting the video for the first single on the streets of New York, Amiel began the promotional trail again in Australia and Japan. Everything was full steam ahead. Unbeknown to Amiel or to her record company in Japan, behind the scenes another big change was taking place. Just as her first single hit the shelves, FMR announced they had been acquired by Warner Music. Everything halted as the company was slowly assimilated by it’s new entity. Some six months later the dust did finally settle. The newly re-booted Warner Music had been for the most part, defined. Unfortunately "These Ties" had been left somewhere far behind. Amiel and Warner both agreed that it was no longer her ‘new album’… to try and pick up where they had left off- half way through a release- would be almost impossible.
Amiel was determined not to try to go back in time. She had new songs on the way and, being true to herself, declared that they had to be her driving force now.
Amiel and Warner decided to work on an interim project. “I wanted to find a fun and positive way to use these songs." Calling on some of Australia and NZ’s finest hip hop and dance producers, a handful of the tracks from These Ties were remixed to become the ‘Be Your Girl EP’.
The single ‘Be Your Girl’ versus Sydney breaks star ‘Bass Kleph’ quickly became a much-loved addition to Amiel’s repertoire, serving “to remind us of her awesome talent” (The Daily Telegraph). Topping the dance charts in Oz, Be Your Girl is now slated for a UK release later this year.
During 2006 Amiel had also turned her creativity to a different cause. ‘Make Poverty History’ (MPH) was finding it’s legs in Australia and the momentum was quickly building. Amiel began volunteering as a media spokesperson for the campaign and then went on to become a close mentor and consultant to the directors of MPH’s first grand scale musical event.
Currently writing and producing tracks for her next album with her brother and long time collaborator ‘Whisper’, Amiel has taken the production even further into her own hands…as headstrong, individual and defiant of genre as ever. She is excited about her new songs which are still unmastered. “They are the most me of anything I have produced yet. Sonically they reflect my taste, my heritage. I couldn’t really say what style they are. it’s kind of blend of different things... as is my way.”
So where is Amiel at now? She sums up the learning curve to date succinctly: “We all have to find a way ignore all the ego and follow our hearts- without becoming total control freaks in the process. Ride the waves, the ups the downs and trust that if you are true to yourself then life will take care of you. It’s up to each of us to discover who we really are and what we stand for… for an artist what they create is an illustration of that. I feel very fortunate to have been given that outlet”.
As the world turns it’s attention more concertedly toward issues such as conservation, poverty and health, Amiel is again reminded of what first compelled her to write music. Amiel continues to thrive on the belief that through the expression of art and the simple communication of common human experience, the media can inspire and educate people to unite and act on the things that matter most to us all as a whole.
To read the full Bio, go to amiel.com.au