During Nikka Costa’s set on WERS in October 22, only an acoustic guitar accompanied her voice. However, the amount of energy in the studio equaled that of a live show. She started off the set with her classic “Everybody’s Got Their Something,” and her lyrics were simple yet very relatable. Costa had engraved everyday life and everyday emotions to her songs so that anyone could listen to her music and easily say, “Hey, that is my story!”
Costa’s voice had very comfortable and relaxing qualities to it. Her syncopated yet controlled falsetto made the set sound so much fuller than a simple acoustic act. Before I knew, everyone in the studio started swaying to the sound. Her songs had a strange power to make people move.
Nikka Costa is an American singer-songwriter, but she did not make her debut in America until 2001. However, she released numerous albums outside of US before her appearance in the states. Europe, South Africa, and even Australia already have been Costa’s stage since 1981. She says that her international background opened her eyes not only to various kinds of music but also to different ways of living.
“Being through all these places you also learn that people are the same everywhere,” Costa explained. “I’m writing about love, human conditions, or just wanting to get up and dance. Everybody feels like that no matter where they are.”
Costa’s latest record Pebble to a Pearl is her first album released by an independent label, Stax Records. She was signed to Virgin Records for seven years prior to Stax, but Costa is enjoying her freedom outside of the corporate America.
“[Virgin Records] is not really about arts or music,” Costa commented on her decision of moving onto an indie label. “In that way it was very stifling creatively because it really wasn’t about the creative process at all… So I was really happy to get out of that system and have the chance to do what I wanted to do musically.”
Pebble to a Pearl is the extract of her enthusiasm and passion for life and music. With the release of the album, she started her own record label Go Funk Yourself, clearly embracing her love for funk music. Costa hopes that people can see her genuineness and integrity through her first record done on her own. Given her energy and spiritedness, I have on doubt that people will keep swaying and dancing to the stories she tell through her songs.
Copyright 2008
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