When was the last time an up-n-coming female solo artist moved you with the intensity of her voice? Made you stop in your tracks and just listen?Natasha Kole boasts an arresting voice that commands attention. Her fusion of rock and trip hop, led by a hypnotic voice is a welcome respite from the banal music of pop stars that clutters the airwaves. She is currently in pre-production with producer Joshua Kessler(Bushwickstudio.com) on her debut album where she is creating a new sound that combines ambient instrumentals, drum n bass beats, hypnotic vocals and gritty rock n roll lyrics.On stage, Kole is captivating, making a connection with each member of the audience. As she prepares to tour behind her debut, Natasha is gathering up talented musicians to perform with her under the name KOLE, and to support her passionate vocals with lush instrumentals.Rock music inspired me from an early age, says Kole of her primary influence. I went to see Heart when I was eight years old, and it was just done.Writing music became an escape for the self-described introvert. The burgeoning young rocker was given an electric guitar at the age of nine and learned to strum the chords of her favorite tunes.The inspiration for my music came from dealing with death and tragedy, she says, and learning how to survive on my own. Learning how to accept myself as a woman and at the same time, accept men for how they will always be (that is until I change them one by one- Ha!).Between surviving an often-painful childhood and a relationship that almost kept her from achieving her dream, the road that led Kole to where she is now was a rocky one. The journey made her stronger, though, and became fuel for the fire in her voice, fodder for her bittersweet lyrics.On Am I Ok Now, Kole earnestly wonders what it would take to make her whole again. They say let go of your past / Am I OK now, she sings, and as the song progresses, backed by a trance beat, her voice shifts from asking a pleading question to stating a confident I think Ill be ok just not today.Koles poignant lyrics are the crux of her music. I go for the mystery and the shock value, she says of her writing style. While songwriting is a cathartic experience for Kole, she also understands the importance of making her songs relatable.I write about my view in any given lesson I am stuck in at that time, she said. My lyrics come from frustration, from anger, from joy and from love. It is important to me to let people make the songs their own soundtrack to whatever it is they are going through in that moment.The lilting, Enjoy the Fall, shows Kole tapping into her hard-earned confidence, and provides a get up and get over it anthem for her listeners. While her first chorus: Im gonna fall / Its how I pick myself back up / Its how I move on / I gotta pick myself up / To enjoy the fall, is sung in the first person, Kole later turns the focus around, singing You gotta pick yourself back up / To enjoy the fall.The guitar-driven Call Me Crazy finds Kole turning towards the rock side with a boot-stomping beat. Acidic lyrics like I bite down on my lip / and I start to bleed / I guess this is what it feels like to be free, belted out by Koles alternately fierce and crooning voice show the singers sonic range.With her seamless melding of rock and trip hop and biting lyrics layered over atmospheric instrumentals, Kole is ready to deliver a wakeup call to a dormant scene.They say my time / Is of the essence, she sings on Enjoy the Fall. Im gonna blow their minds / In a thousand pieces. With the words sung with depth and passion no listener would doubt it.By: Alyssa Rashbaum (MTV News, VIBE.com, SPIN.com)
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