Nianell

Fiery-Haired and Angel Tongued With Africa having been duly placed on the entertainment industry map at recent Academy Awards, the world has been provided with irrefutable evidence that the creative talent that our continent has to offer is indeed a world-class force to be reckoned with.

Nianell was born between the urban sprawl of Windhoek and Swakopmund, in the tiny little Namibian town of Omaruru .She grew up in the capital city Windhoek, and after school, she majored in music at Pretoria Technikon earning a diploma in light music. She has also studied music through London's Trinity College. Her rich, 3 and a half octave vocal range ensured that she was awarded numerous musical accolades, including the prestigious Crescendo prize for tone setting, and she has performed in England Ireland, Belgium, Germany, Latvia and France. But Nianell laughingly assures us that her rise to musical recognition has not always been smooth sailing. "I've been through the ins and outs of being a muso! Once I'd moved to Johannesburg I worked playing piano and singing in hotels. It was good experience and gave me the chance to develop and grow confident in performing my own material."
Falling outside the boundaries of mainstream pop or rock, Nianell's music is difficult to categorize but falls into the more general classification of Adult Contemporary. There are elements of folk, pop, R&B, country, classical and even Celtic, all fused into her own personal and unique style that has made her one of the most eclectic and exciting artists in the world of music today

Here are some facts about Nianell that she would like to share with you.

Omaruru (the quaint Namibian town she was born in) is so small that she was the only baby in the hospital the day she was born.

Combining her love of music with her deep connection with children (she actively supports several children's rights initiatives) she taught music at a primary school for a short while.

Every successful artist needs a `rock` and her husband Andrew Thompson shares her passion for music as well as a love for dogs (they have two Staffies- Dylan and Tasmyn.) Their anniversary is 27 April (Freedom Day), they chose this wedding date because Nianell believes "there is a new freedom to be found and experienced in marriage."

She writes and composes all her own music and plays the piano and the acoustic guitar.

A self-proclaimed passionate workaholic, she owns a registered company called Nianell Enterprises (Pty Ltd), which has funded the recording and making of all her albums Who Painted the Moon?; Angel Tongue and Life's Gift.

According to Portland, USA's, Adult Contemporary Music Research Letter, 4 songs off the Who Painted the Moon? album tested at the highly recommended level. The songs were As One, Isn't It, Who Painted the Moon, and Take Me Home.

Five songs from Who Painted the Moon? and four songs from Angel Tongue have been play listed on almost every radio station in South Africa and Namibia, including Highveld Stereo, Jacaranda, KFM, East Coast Radio, 5FM, RSG, Algoa, OFM, and Radio Wave, to name a few