Artist : Mania

Biography

That was the start of Mania. Two girls, Niara and Giselle, with completely diverse backgrounds: the former loud and lairy, the latter contained and considered (comparably so, anyway)

Mania met a few years ago at Xenomania, under the artistic direction of Brian Higgins, the creative house/home of a team of songwriters which have produced some of the most addictive chart tracks on the radio.

Niara Scarlett, had hung around with Xenomania for three years contributing to Girls Aloud?s ?Sound Of The Underground? and Sugababes ?Hole In The Head?, ?Round Round? and ?In The Middle?.

Giselle Sommerville was concentrating on writing her own songs but was stuck in a girl band. She?d known Higgins from way back and began collaborating with Xenomania two years ago while at music college in Brighton.

?I wrote with Niara one day and I knew instantly that she was into the same stuff that I was into,? says Giselle. ?We wrote some good tunes together. That?s how we met, we struck a chord.?

?Both of us knew we?d have a career in writing?? continues Giselle, before Niara, as usual, butts in. ?I knew that I had a wicked voice and that I HAD to be a singer,? she says, in typically balls-out fashion. ?We weren?t sure we wanted to be in a group, we both wanted to be solo artists, but her voice and my voice together, you can?t really lose, you know what I mean??

They realised they had certain things in common so they started to write together to fill time. Though from very different backgrounds, the pair came together over a shared love of black music like Erika Badu, Jill Scott, India and The Chimes. Though they both had other influences, it was always powerful, soulful singers that inspired them and focused their efforts.

?We had co-written so many wicked songs that most artists just could not sing, so that?s where this project came from,? continues Niara. ?Some songs are just too wicked, too massive!?

Mania do home-grown pop with panache, ranging from left field lullabies to frisky fucked-up funk. ?We?re gonna blow people?s socks off, you know what I mean, ?cos I?m blown away myself,? says Niara of Mania?s live sound which is enhanced by a four-piece band.

Rewind to Sussex in the early nineties and Giselle was busy listening to The Cure and Guns ?n? Roses until she was taken to a Soul II Soul concert in Brighton. From then on it was about buying vinyl in Rough Trade or Camden market and blagging into the Ministry of Sound on a Saturday night. ?I?ll never forget India performing ?I can?t get no sleep? in that big room. She made me want to sing. I played that record over and over again.? She moved to Shepherd?s Bush, trained as a beauty therapist, did a sports massage course and then pushed off to India. After travelling she bumped into Brian again and the rest you know.

Meanwhile Niara was in Kentish Town, surrounded by ?about ten brothers and five sisters that I know of, but I know there?s more out there. My dad?s Jamaican,? she says by way of explanation.? As a kid her mother would play Marvin Gaye, Lover?s Rock and Bob Marley while her brothers would be blasting swingbeat and New Jack Soul. Niara had yet to become obsessed with Mary J Blige and En Vogue.

Her first gig, was with hardcore heroes Ratpack and, in a ten year song-writing and performing career that?s encompassed soul, house, jungle and pop, she?s worked and written with MJ Cole, Cinematic Orchestra, Roots Manuva and countless others. She was put in touch with Brian, joined his team of writers and, finally, met Giselle.

?Our music crosses quite a few genres.? starts Giselle ?It?s just good music,? interrupts Niara. ?Whether you like it or not our songs are going to come back into your head. That?s what?s been missing for a long time. There?s been so much shit ? you get a beautiful girl with a lovely smile, but actually she can?t sing, she doesn?t write and the fucking music is shit.? ?This band just gives me goosebumps,? she says, ?I get so excited. I?m like, ?hold me back!??