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Nadine Shah

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Tyneside songwriter with a deep, dry contralto and a sharp political eye, working post-punk textures into art-rock — the Mercury-nominated 'Holiday Destination' made the case.

Nadine Shah grew up in Whitburn, South Tyneside, the daughter of a Pakistani father and a Norwegian-born mother, and began her recording career after moving to London. Her voice is a low, unadorned contralto, and her records pair it with spare, rhythm-forward arrangements assembled with producer Ben Hillier: brooding basslines, saxophone, and guitar figures closer to post-punk than to conventional singer-songwriter fare.

Her albums include Love Your Dum and Mad, Fast Food, Holiday Destination, Kitchen Sink and Filthy Underneath. The writing has taken in grief and mental health, the treatment of refugees, and the expectations placed on women in their thirties, generally handled with dry humour rather than sentiment. She has also become known as a frank and funny presence in interviews and on radio.