Julia Biel

Born| London, England
Genres| Jazz
Occupation(s)| Musician, composer, songwriter
Instrument(s)| Vocals, piano, guitar
Labels| Rokit, Khanti, Brilljant Sounds
Website| www.juliabiel.com

Musical artist

Julia Biel is a British jazz singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist.

## Early life

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Biel was born in London on 22 February 1976.[1][2] She was brought up in Sutton, then studied French and German at the University of Oxford.[1] There, she was in a band with Idris Rahman. [1] She was a pianist first, then developed her singing.[1]

## Later life and career

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Biel won the Perrier Young Jazz Vocalist of the Year in 2000, which brought her more attention.[1] She then joined the F-IRE Collective.[2] In 2005 she made her recording debut as a leader, with the album Not Alone.[2] She also appeared on the Polar Bear album Dimlit.[1] Her compositions appear on the Unity Collective EP Love in the Dead of Night and on recordings by guitarist Jonny Phillips.[1] She also featured on and co-wrote Ben Watt's "Guinea Pig" and "Bright Star" alongside Watt and the German producer Stimming.[2]

Her second album, Love Letters and Other Missiles, was released in 2015[3] and led to her being nominated in the Best Jazz Act category for the MOBO Awards.[2]

She performs accompanying herself on piano or electric guitar with backing from bass and drums and tours extensively in the UK and abroad.[4]

## Discography

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### As leader

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* 2005: Not Alone (album)
* 2014: Nobody Loves You Like I Do (EP)
* 2015: Love Letters and Other Missiles (album)
* 2015: Licence to Be Cruel (remixes EP)
* 2018: Julia Biel (album)
* 2020: Black and White, Vol.1 (album)

### As guest

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With Polar Bear

* 2004: Dimlit
* 2007: Polar Bear

With Soothsayers

* 2012: Human Nature
* 2018: Tradition

With others

* 2004: Oriole – "Song for the Sleeping"
* 2004: Unity Collective – Love in the Dead of Night
* 2008: Ben Watt ft. Julia Biel – "Guinea Pig"
* 2010: Stimming, Ben Watt & Julia Biel – "Bright Star"
* 2015: Alaev ft. Julia Biel - "Light as a feather"

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g Larkin, Colin (2006), "Biel Julia", Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-531373-4, retrieved 17 January 2019
2. ^ a b c d e Kellman, Andy. "Julia Biel". AllMusic.com. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
3. ^ "Albums of the Week (March 27-April 2)". Evening Standard. 27 March 2015.
4. ^ Künzler, Hanspeter (24 April 2015). "Julia Biel: "Love Letters and Other Missiles": Eine Frau von Welt". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in Swiss High German).

## External links

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* Official website

Authority control databases: Artists |

* MusicBrainz

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