IVY CHANEL
“"She has a voice of thick cream"”
The SoulHouse
US born of African-American, French and Native American heritage Ivy Chanel has established herself on the International music scene as a singer-songwriter, producer, dancer, vocal coach and now author of considerable talent and repute. She first started singing at the age of 5 and, as with so many great performers, in her early years honed her craft singing in her choir as lead vocalist back home in Sharon Hill, PA. Since then her soulful, melodic, voice has been heard in numerous high profile settings around the World, and her musical collaborators include the likes of Grammy award-winning Scratch Professor, Curtis Richardson, Q-tip, MBE Soul legend singer Omar and Mo Pleasure (Michael Jackson, Earth, Wind & Fire). She has appeared with her brother, the legendary DJ Cash Money, as well as sharing the stage with the likes of Roy Ayres, Stevie Wonder and John Legend. She has worked throughout the UK, USA, UAE and Europe and includes performances for President Clinton and Tony Blair on an impressive cv.
Now resident in the UK Ivy is no stranger to the scene here, having won Best Compilation 2005 Award at the UMA’s (Ivy’s vocals feature on the lead single ‘It’s a Music Thing’ – Union Black) and sung as an honoree member of the IDMC Gospel Choir (2013 UK Mobo Awards Nominee/Best Gospel Act). In 2012 she released ‘Wind Blows’ which hit number 1 on Amazon’s UK New Release Chart and was included on Giles Peterson’s ‘Brownswood Bubbler Seven’ compilation album. As a vocal coach her talents were recognised by Simon Cowell, who is a big fan of Ivy’s voice and tutoring skills. She has worked with numerous performers on X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and The Voice both in the UK and in the equivalent shows in mainland Europe. Club and Festival dates include Sadlers Wells Theatre, Café de Paris, Jazz Café, Koko’s (London), Lovebox, Scala, Nottinghill Music Network Party and The Haven Charity Event, St. Giles in the Field and she was the lead singer of Mo Pleasure's Band at the 2017 Urbino Jazz Festival in Italy. Currently, she is one of the lead singers for C + C Music Factory, Mo Pleasure’s Band, Miss Hoodoo and The Delta Boys, The Milestones Band and of course her band, which is featured here at the Club this evening. You get the idea, she's very good, very respected and very busy (she's flying in from Budapest in the morning to do the gig here tonight...)! Ivy's heritage is a big part of who she is as an artist, and she represents her Native American roots as strongly as her African American ones, introducing her audiences to one of the oldest, but least represented, nations in the entertainment industry. As she says “There’s so much more to our story, past and present. I wish to be a conduit for greater awareness and understanding”. Accompanying Ivy tonight will be her, unsurprisingly, A list band of: Max Lauder-drums, Raffy Bushman-keyboard, Max O'Donnell-guitar, Louis Munro-bass, Tuca Milan-percussion and Nathan Lewis & Ben Owusu-vocals. Oh, and keep an eye out for her new vocal lesson book “You Better Sang – Beginners” and forthcoming album “Up in the Air”. Highly recommended.
“Chanel is utterly charming with an endearing love for her craft. As one would perhaps expect from a sought-after vocal coach, her vocal control and ease was tremendous. She has a voice of thick cream” The SoulHouse