by Chelsea Wilson
Chelsea Wilson is Melbourne’s newest soul blues vocalist, releasing her debut EP Bitterness in October 2010.
Inspired by five true stories of love and pain, the EP documents five emotional tales of heartbreak with true soul sensibility. Recorded with Melbourne’s finest soul musicians, including Lance Ferguson (guitar), Jake Mason (organ) Ivan ‘Choi’ Khatchoyan (drums) and Ben Christensen (bass,) ‘Bitterness’ basks in the vintage sounds inspired by legendary records labels like Chess, Stax and Daptone.
Chelsea began performing at age 3, pursuing dancing and acting until accidentally landing a singing role in a theatre production at age 14, when a fellow cast member couldn’t perform in the set key. But it was falling in love with jazz a year later that really inspired Chelsea to become a professional singer.
With Jazz as her first love, Chelsea studied at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, completing her Bachelor of Popular Music Degree in 2005. Within a month of graduating, Chelsea headed overseas to sing in Hiroshima, Japan, which led to a three-year overseas singing career. Performing an extensive repertoire of jazz, bossa nova, soul and blues, Chelsea performed in Japan, Thailand, the UAE, the USA, The Caribbean, and Indonesia. With a strenuous gigging schedule, Chelsea worked 6 nights a week, performing over 282 shows a year in jazz bars, lounges and 5 star hotels.
After completing 7 International residency contracts, Chelsea returned to Melbourne determined to begin performing her own material and singing her own story. Awarded the Arts Victoria ‘Victoria Rocks’ Recording grant for original work, Chelsea will launch her debut original project at the Toff in Town on October 21st.
The launch will include songs from the EP and her upcoming album ‘Worst Kind of Blue’ (to be released 2011) along with some timeless tunes from the likes of Mitty Collier, Etta James and Koko Taylor. There’s a 7-piece band in tow, featuring Jake Mason on organ, Daniel Ferrugia on drums, Dom Bello on guitar, Ben Christensen on bass, Phil Noy on Baritone Sax, Rohan Wallis on Trumpet, Christophe Genoux on tenor sax and the Harmonettes (Mariel, Malia and Anna) on backing vocals.
www.myspace.com/chelseawilson
www.chelseawilson.com.au
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