Showcase - July/August 2006
By Karen Bliss

Nick-e
Who: Nick-e
What: sultry stuff
Where: Newmarket, ON
To Contact: www.nickeonline.com.

In the "thank you" section of her debut EP, Mosaic, Toronto soul singer Nick-e declares, "Wow! It's finally here. It's been a four-year labour of love, hate and all that good stuff rolled into one." So what did she roll in this six-song collection recorded mostly at Toronto's Kitchen Sync Digital Audio? Well, the first two songs are simply sultry. The title track, which is reminiscent of a less jazzy Sade, features piano and cello, then "It Feels Good" puts some snap (quite literally) into the smooth vibe. One can tell Nick-e, whose real name is Nicole Pratt, can sing - she's been doing it since the age of three - but one really wants her to bust out and show that she can roar. Instead, the next song, "Numb", is totally leftfield, a menacing, mostly programmed track on which she delivers a trip-of-the-tongue vocal. Then, she gets jazzy on "I Say" and "If You Were Here" - employing real instruments such as horns, congas, and upright bass before -ending with the moody electronic-based "Turn Me Around". Nick-e, who won the Mark Caporal Songwriting Award and Great Big Music Studio's best vocal performance award while studying recorded music production at London, ON's Fanshawe College, produced the EP herself.

and the girl is GOOD! My girl Nick-e performed at "Ciao Edie's" last night in "The Skiffle In My Ear" showcase. The performance started around midnight (yes, yes i DID go out very late at night on a work night!! ;p) and featured 4 other singers. Luckily, nick-e started first and so i was able to enjoy her and some of the others and didn't feel guilty about leaving without hearing her. I was very pleasantly surprised to see that i knew the bartender working at ciao edie's. his name is joseph, and i knew him as a waiter at the most exquisite restaurant, "honey kaffe." however, i was disappointed to hear that honey kaffe decided not to renew it's lease and has thus since closed down. boooo. i really loved their food! so if you hear about nick-e, check her out!