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'her mesmerizing voice and magnetic stage presence should encourage many to follow where she leads... about to hit the big time' THE GUARDIAN

"Soul-bearing songs of great beauty from the best British vocalist to emerge in an age" THE INDEPENDENT

'Just occasionally, one has the chance to catch an artist on the verge of a breakthrough. Those of us who watched Norah Jones on her first UK date at a small Soho club could not have known that within a few months her voice would assail us from every radio in the land. But it was clear that there was something special about her... Julia Biel could be in line for a similarly meteoric rise.' THE INDEPENDENT (review of London gig)

Turning down the offer of a record deal in her early twenties when she was spotted singing along to MTV whilst working as a waitress in a cocktail bar was a quick decision for Julia Biel. "I honestly couldn't understand why you would bother doing music unless you were expressing yourself. It was one of those deals where the vocalist is brought in as just a front for the backroom boys - even though I had absolutely no idea how to go about making music on my own and the whole thing terrified me, I was on an unavoidable mission to find out. I've gotta face it - I've never been one to go for the easy option for the sake of making a quick buck... " she grins.

Several years later, having been entered for the Perrier Awards by a friend, she took everyone by surprise, including herself, by winning the title of Perrier Vocalist of the Year 2000 as a total unknown. And she was promptly taken under the wing of various members of the renowned F-IRE Collective (some of the UK's most progressive jazz musicians), attracted to working with her expressive voice. Not quite ready to go it completely alone, her musical connection with guitarist Jonny Phillips quickly blossomed and a songwriting partnership developed that ultimately led to the release of Julia Biel's debut album 'Not Alone'. "The only musicians I really knew were in the F-IRE Collective so it seemed natural to get them involved when we were putting together the band. Looking back at it now, I realise it was actually something of a supergroup. I was incredibly lucky to be playing with those guys especially at that stage, they taught me so much." (Drummer Seb Rochford, bassist Tom Herbert and cellist Ben Davis have all since been nominated for the prestigious Mercury Prize with their own bands Polar Bear, The Invisible and Basquiait Strings).

Released independently in 2005, the self-produced debut album 'Not Alone' came out on her own label Rokit Records to widespread acclaim, sold over 3,000 copies and led to extensive touring throughout 2006, including headline dates in such venues as London's Pigalle Club, St. George's Bristol, Leeds College of Music, The Komedia Brighton and Pizza Express Dean Street. A featured role in a Nokia advertising campaign and a nomination as a 'Rising Star' in the BBC Jazz Awards 2006 capped what was a very significant year in Julia Biel's early career. Since then, Julia has largely disappeared from public view to write her new album of self-penned material and produce it together with Idris Rahman (known for his rootsy reggae/afrobeat project SOOTHSAYERS/ for being the clarinettist brother of the famous UK jazz pianist Zoe Rahman). So with her release schedule meanwhile confined to guest featured vocals (POLAR BEAR's third album and touring with SOOTHSAYERS) and collaborations (with legendary musician/producer Ben Watt, ex-EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL) the new album is highly anticipated.

And what of the new album? ''Well, it was time to step up and go it alone so the songwriting partnership with Jonny is resting for now. I've written the bulk of it on my own and it feels incredibly liberating... " she says clearly relishing the creative freedom. And the sound? "Well... you'll have to come and see the show! I'll give you a clue though - because 'Not Alone' was so acoustic, in its own small way, this is feeling like something of a Bob Dylan moment for me - y'know when he changed his sound from acoustic to electric... That's been a big shift and it's definitely right for the songs I'm writing on my own at the moment and the influences I have - unlike his Bobness I've not had any boo-ing yet though so things are looking good," she quips cheekily.

With a live act that now centres around Biel as a multi-instrumentalist (she plays piano and rhythm elec gtr), the line-up is augmented with Sebastian Rochford on drums, Jasper Hoiby on bass and Marco Piccioni on electric guitar.

here's a video for "Paradise" from the 'Not Alone' album, video filmed and produced by The TerrorBull Twins.