WOMAD

Abbie Cardwell

From Australia

Triple J Unearthed winner Abbie Cardwell captivates with her seductive voice, percussive guitar style and luscious grooves.

Biography from http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/unearthed/bands/s573073.htm, January 2004:

In 1994 at the age of eighteen Abbie Cardwell began her musical journey in her hometown of Adelaide, South Australia, as vocalist with an ecclectic punk-rock outfit Puck.
This was her introductory learning ground. The Electric Guitars and Deafening Drum kits of Puck were eventually left behind as she discovered the joys of a new acoustic trio Blue Jay. This featured Abbie on lead vocals, her older brother Jeb Cardwell on acoustic guitar and vocals and Yuri Banens on acoustic bass. This acoustic bluesy-cruisy-jazzed-back-street-coffee-shop music exposed Abbie's vocals more than before as she now had room to experiment vocally without fighting to be heard over the amps and bad P.A Systems in Pubs. She embraced the business side of music and became Blue Jay's manager. Live Music Festivals opened doors and a new audience became aware of her presence.
Nominations for Best Female Vocalist and Songwriter in the South Australian Music Industry Awards gave her even more incentive to branch out and find her own 'sound'. After years of managing Blue Jay it was a relief to concentrate solely on her own music; with this came the exciting challenge of learning the guitar!
Over several months Abbie developed her unique self-taught fingering guitar style. The guitar was used as the frame, whilst her voice was the picture.
Her influences such as Rickie Lee jones, Nina Simone, Al green and many more were now put into use.