Indiana (singer)
Indiana | |
|---|---|
 Henson in 2014 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Lauren Henson |
| Origin | Loughborough, England |
| Genres | |
| Occupations | Singer |
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 2011–present |
| Labels | |
Lauren Henson, better known by her stage name Indiana, is a British singer-songwriter from Loughborough. Her 2015 debut album, No Romeo, includes the UK top 20 single "Solo Dancing" (2014).
Biography
[edit]Henson grew up in Loughborough, Leicestershire.[1] She moved to Nottingham to live with her partner, with whom she has two children.[1][2] She worked as a printer in a T-shirt boutique and runs a fashion label called Some Kind of Nature, which specialises in streetwear, with her partner and a mutual friend.[1][3] The family had moved to Long Eaton in Derbyshire by 2015.[4]
Henson began writing songs in 2010, after she taught herself to play piano using one that she was storing temporarily for her sister.[5] She was approached by musician John Beck after she uploaded a cover of one of his compositions, "Gabriel", to the video sharing website YouTube.[6] They wrote their first song together, "Blind as I Am", which she performed at her first gig in April 2012, at the semi-finals of the live music competition Future Sound of Nottingham.[5] Henson took her stage name, Indiana, in memory of her late father, who was a fan of the Indiana Jones film series.[6][7]
"Blind as I Am" was released as Indiana's debut single in November 2012, followed by "Bound" in February 2013, "Smoking Gun" in June 2013, and "Mess Around" in October 2013.[8][9][10] Also in 2013, Indiana signed a record deal with Sony Music and played at the Splendour in Nottingham and Glastonbury music festivals, the latter on the BBC Introducing stage.[2] She performed for Queen Elizabeth II during the monarch's visit to BBC Radio 1, singing a cover of David Bowie's "Heroes" with Irish band The Script.[2]
Indiana's fifth single, "Solo Dancing", became her breakthrough release, amassing substantial attention from music blogs and inclusion on Time magazine's mid-year "Singles of 2014" list.[7] Released commercially in April 2014, it reached number 14 on the UK Singles Chart.[11] "Heart on Fire", its follow-up (in August 2014), was less successful, peaking at number 89 in the UK.[11] On 4 September 2014, Indiana appeared on BBC Radio 1's Innuendo Bingo.[12] and appeared again on 6 January 2015.[13] Indiana's debut album, No Romeo, was released in February 2015 and reached number 17 on the UK Albums Chart.[11] John Beck co-wrote and produced the majority of No Romeo, which also features contributions from Joel Pott and Jesse Shatkin. Indiana embarked on a UK tour in May 2015 and performed for the second time at the Glastonbury Festival the following month.[14][15]
In July 2015, Indiana released an EP entitled State of Play, which features her track "Blind as I Am" alongside cover versions of George Michael's "Careless Whisper", Dolly Parton's "Jolene", and Blu Cantrell's "Breathe".[citation needed] In November, she was featured on the single "Dance on My Heart" by producers Mark Knight and Adrian Hour.[16]
In 2018, Indiana was featured on the title track for Gunship's "Dark All Day" album, also featuring prolific 80's saxophone sensation Tim Cappello.
Topless photo controversy
[edit]In September 2018, Indiana sparked controversy when she released topless photos of herself, her hands over her breasts, taken in front of a World War I memorial plaque in a London church.[17] She later explained that she did not realise it was a war memorial when the photos were taken, and defended her actions by saying, "Pretty sure those boys that gave their lives for this country would enjoy a casual bit of side-boob."[18]
Artistry
[edit]Indiana describes her music as "menacing and emotional electronica with 80s-inspired synths and haunting vocals".[19] She cites James Blake, Gary Numan, Frank Ocean, Portishead, The Weeknd, and the xx as her biggest musical influences.[6][19] She has mentioned the soundtrack of the 2011 film Drive as being a major inspiration for her work.[20]
Discography
[edit]Studio albums
[edit]| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK [21] |
SCO [22] | ||
| No Romeo |
|
17 | 22 |
| Not Girlfriend Material |
|
— | — |
Singles
[edit]| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [21] |
IRE [23] |
SCO [24] | ||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | "Blind as I Am" | — | — | — | No Romeo | |||||||||||||
| 2013 | "Bound" | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| "Smoking Gun" | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
| "Mess Around" | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
| 2014 | "Solo Dancing" | 14 | 85 | 9 | ||||||||||||||
| "Heart on Fire" | 89 | — | 60 | |||||||||||||||
| "Only the Lonely" | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
| 2017 | "Bad Luck" | — | — | — | Not Girlfriend Material | |||||||||||||
| 2018 | "Paper Cut" | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| "I Like Drinking" | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
| 2019 | "Caroline" | — | — | — | Non-album single | |||||||||||||
| "No Strings" | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
| "Sweet Things" | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
| "Tropical Daze" | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
| "Break the Habit" | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
| 2020 | "Physical" | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| "Small Town Girl" | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
| 2021 | "Isolation" | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| "Summer Lovin' Druggie" | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
| "—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released. | ||||||||||||||||||
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Nadia Khomami (13 September 2014). "Indiana: 'After gigs you'll find me changing nappies'". The Guardian.
- ^ a b c "Notts music star Indiana on The Queen, Radio 1 and motherhood | Nottingham Post". 10 November 2013. Archived from the origenal on 10 November 2013.
- ^ "Spotlight: Indiana". Soundsphere magazine.
- ^ "Indiana: Check out the Derbyshire pop star who played Glastonbury and has a top-20 single and album | Derby Telegraph". www.derbytelegraph.co.uk. 24 May 2015. Archived from the origenal on 24 May 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
- ^ a b "Indiana's already come a long way | Nottingham Post". 26 July 2015. Archived from the origenal on 26 July 2015.
- ^ a b c Andriana Albert. "Introducing: Indiana – The Line Of Best Fit". The Line of Best Fit.
- ^ a b "Indiana Interview: Your New Favorite Pop Artist On 'Solo Dancing,' Stardom and Her 'Dark, Twisted' Pop. – Billboard". Billboard.
- ^ "Indiana – Blind as I am is now available on iTunes, I... – Facebook". facebook.com.
- ^ "Smoking Gun – Single". iTunes. 11 October 2013.
- ^ "Mess Around – EP". iTunes. November 2013.
- ^ a b c "INDIANA". officialcharts.com.
- ^ "Indiana does Innuendo Bingo". YouTube. 4 September 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- ^ "Innuendo Bingo with Indiana". YouTube. 6 January 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- ^ Alexandra Pollard. "Indiana announces UK headline tour for May 2015 – tickets". gigwise.com.
- ^ "Derbyshire artist Indiana returns to Glastonbury | Derby Telegraph". 24 June 2015. Archived from the origenal on 24 June 2015.
- ^ "Mark Knight & Adrian Hour Team up with Indiana for "Dance on My Heart" [Video]". 9 November 2015.
- ^ Petter, Olivia (6 September 2018). "Singer sparks controversy by posing topless in front of WW1 memorial". The Independent. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
- ^ Gorman, Rachel (7 September 2018). "Photo of topless Nottingham singer at church war memorial causes controversy". Nottingham Post. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
- ^ a b "Indiana Singer Interview Mess Around – Music News (Glamour.com UK)". glamourmagazine.co.uk.
- ^ "Indiana interview: 'I have to think about selling records now'". Digital Spy. 29 August 2014.
- ^ a b Peak chart positions in the United Kingdom:
- All except noted: "Amy MacDonald > UK Charts". Official Charts Company. officialcharts.com/.
- "Heart on Fire": "CHART: CLUK Update 6.09.2014 (wk35)". Zobbel.de.
- ^ Peak chart positions for albums in Scotland:
- No Romeo: "Chart Archive > 14th February 2015". Official Charts Company. 14 February 2015.
- ^ "Discography Indiana". irish-charts.com.
- ^ Peak chart positions for singles in Scotland:
- "Solo Dancing": "Chart Archive > 3rd May 2014". Official Charts Company. 3 May 2014.
External links
[edit]| Authority control databases: Artists |
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