We Got The Beat: The NOISEttes
Saturday, January 3rd, 2009
My latest iTunes download was the 2007 album What’s the Time, Mr. Wolf? by The NOISEttes. Fronted by the astonishingly fashionable Shingai Shoniwa, The NOISEttes have a sound that’s an amalgamation of punk, soul, blues, and good ol’ rock and roll. Their music is dark, heavy, sexy sexy sexy and I just had to have it!
Shingai Shoniwa sings like a songbird raised by Billie Holiday and Siouxsie Sioux and godmothered by Beth Gibbons of Portishead. She patrols the stage like a Runaway (Joan Jett, Lita Ford, Cherie Currie, Sandy West) and the way she rips on the bass would make Ann & Nancy Wilson of Heart proud.
They’ve been likened to the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s and the White Stripes but the dynamic collaboration of guitarist Dan Smith and drummer Jamie Morrison, who complete the trio, has the Noisettes in a category that teeters on Afro-Punk and indie-rock at it’s finest.
But let’s get back to Shingai’s eye for fashion. This girl is hot. The fiery frontwoman flaunts feather-and-war-paint stage attire mixed with elements of the London punk scene, all while pulling from her Zimbabwan roots, where tribes express themselves in the way they dress.
Music, outfits, and big earrings—all the makings of a fashion icon.
Check the shots of Shingai’s style below:
More on Shingai Shoniwa, The Noisettes and the Afro-Punk movement after the jump!
