About Me
Brief synopsis, and story so far...
Born London September 1971. Premature, at St. Teresa's Hospital, Wimbledon to be precise. Music in the blood, Steinway piano in family sitting room, turned down a place at St. Paul's Cathedral Choir School, where grandfather Sir Percy Sillitoe sang as a boy, opting instead for public school and a music scholarship.
From 1982-1985 much in demand as a boy soprano performing major operatic roles with both English National Opera and The Royal Opera House.
In between worldwide tours, recorded cult choirboy classic "On Wings of Song" for EMI/Classics for Pleasure, aged 12.
Teenage subversions led to an interest in folk-pop, psychedelia, and acid house... somewhat at odds with classical pianoforte studies and A-levels! Nevertheless, first dabbles in vocal samples, synthesizers, sitars and electronica in early 1990´s, signed to hip London Records (Internal) with the short-lived but memorable "United Sound System" hippy-disco collective. Moved from London to Oslo in 1994 to continue musical voyages with new friends in the north of Norway, notably technocrat Per Martinsen...releases as "Illumination" on own label +47, with various licenses in the dance underground and then onwards to major labels SonyBMG and Universal. Furthermore incessant clubbing, luxury Café del Mar transglobal Djing, producing, remixing, indeed it was an intense Illumination remix of Norwegian indie-pop band "Velvet Belly" that had the strange desired effect in that Nicholas fell in love with the voice of vocalist Anne Marie Almedal and not too long afterwards fell in love, love...got married, had children and escaped to the quietude and coastal harmony of Kristansand, Southern Norway.
Nicholas currently focuses his attention on composing and producing music for film, television, and commercials, notably with the pleasure and privilege of working for distinct Norwegian arthaus directors Erik Skjoldbjærg and Marius Holst. He is still active with the polyphonic powerhaus of Illumination and it´s alter-ego Chilluminati, last album releases "The Poppy Rocks" (SonyBMG) and "The Chilluminati remixes" (Jazzland/Universal), both in 2004. Take a search on google, myspace, imdb.com, or iTunes to find out more in either English or Norwegian.
Right now, in between scoring two television series currently in production, he is also co-producing and writing with Anne Marie Almedal on delightful new recordings for her forthcoming album. Full circle, with the creative wheel spinning round, Nicholas is coming home to the sound of muted pedal pianoforte, acoustic guitars, cellos, voice, and valves, aided and abetted with pencils, manuscript paper, hard disks and products nicely designed by Apple in California.He mainly works at "Lydbølgen" studios in a disused factory space with amazing natural reverbs together with gracious engineer Øystein Aamodt, and regularly travels between Kristiansand, Oslo and London. Otherwise, a happy existence at home with family enjoying folk songs and good ambience on the iTunes, walking on by the forest to the water´s edge, gazing out towards the North Sea and beyond, wondering... where on earth am I? (March 2006)
