Biography Courtesy of BMG Records for the "Counting Down the Days Release" (February 2005)
Natalie Imbruglia is back with a sensational, brand new studio album; ‘Counting Down the Days’, released April 4th on Brightside Records.
Stuffed with contemporary pop anthems as well as tender, beguiling and utterly winning ballads, the album eloquently showcases Natalie’s talents as both a songwriter and wonderfully expressive vocalist. Natalie co-writes 10 of the 12 tracks on the album including the infectious first single, ‘Shiver’, released March 21st.
“I am so happy and truly proud of this album,” says Natalie. “With me it’s always about feeling genuinely comfortable with the music I am working on as well as with the people and producers around me and on ‘Counting Down the Days’ I worked with some amazing people and I am so pleased with this record.”
Natalie’s last album, ‘White Lilies Island’, was released in November 2001 and featured the singles, ‘That Day’ and ‘Wrong Impression. ‘White Lilies Island’, followed the massive worldwide success of 1997’s ‘Left of the Middle’ album and the phenomenally successful single ‘Torn’.
Initial writing for, ‘Counting Down the Days’ began in 2002. Enough material, according to Natalie was assembled for two albums and the recording process was really a matter of refining ideas and identifying the direction Natalie wanted to take the album in.
“The process is always very organic. I didn’t go in with too many set ideas, except that I wanted it to reflect the place I am in at the moment and to have fun with it. My mindset with this album was all about enjoying myself and feeling confident in my own abilities. Hugh Goldsmith was instrumental in helping me find the direction of the album and assembling a wonderful team.”
Hugh Goldsmith is one of the most respected A & R men/label bosses in the UK. He has formed a new record company, ‘Brightside’, in association with Sony/BMG after considerable success with the ‘Innocent’ label he founded at EMI/Virgin.
The team assembled includes producer Ben Hillier who worked on Blur’s album, ‘Think Tank’, writers/producers, Ash Howes, Martin Harrington, Daniel Johns, Eg White and David Koston aka Faultline, who collaborated with Natalie on one of her favourite tracks on the album, ‘Honeycomb Child’.
Other album highlights include the triumphant ‘Counting Down the Days’, ‘Satisfied’ , ’Slow Down’, ‘Come on Home’ and ‘Starting Today’ – a song, as the title implies, about new beginnings, and of course the addictive first single, ‘Shiver.’
Natalie was born in New South Wales on February 4th, 1975. Her father is Italian and her mother Australian. She began her career in television at the age of 17, in the hugely popular soap ‘Neighbours’. It was through this programme, in which she appeared until 1994, that she first made a name for herself.
In 1997, whilst living in the UK she recorded her first album, ‘Left of the Middle’, which was a massive global success, selling more than six and a half million copies worldwide. ‘Torn’, her first single, made her an overnight star and brought worldwide fame. With the help of Phil Thornalley (of The Cure), she developed her own particular style, which captivated the whole of Europe.
In November 2001, she released her second album, ‘White Lilies Island’ which she wrote while touring and travelling back and forth between the UK and the United States.
In 2002, her music featured in the film, ‘Stigmata’, in which she sang a song composed by Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins. In December 2002, Natalie took part in the Rumba Festival in Australia and New Zealand. The same year Natalie also became one of the faces of L’Oreal and took her first steps in the world of cinema, starring alongside Rowan Atkinson and John Malkovich in the Working Title Feature film, ‘Johnny English’.
Natalie is looking forward to the year ahead, promoting and touring ‘Counting Down The Days.’
