Ariel Archer

Ariel Archer writes songs that are stories about characters in extreme situations and states of mind and performs them with passionate committment and innate theatricality.

The artist grew up in Greenwich, London, listening to her parents' Joni Mitchell, Janis Joplin, Leonard Cohen and Roxy Music records. She lead the primary school church choir and hymns in assembly, going on to play fiddle in a ceilidh band. At secondary school, she preferred composing songs on the keyboards in the music rooms to playing cello with the school orchestra.

Ariel formed a touring theatre company which fused electronica with contemporary dance, receiving some critical attention. Those shows, in proscenium arch theatres, evolved into performing songs with a live band and going into the studio.

Starting out, she performed in venues such as the Notting Hill Arts Club and the Union Chapel with the likes of Isabel Waidner and C64. As band members came and went, she would perform with just a backing track.

Ariel reaches for an immersive, soaring, dynamically wide-ranging sound, like an incantation or a prayer, and on her self-produced debut album 14 English Outcasts she has found it.

Her sound and style have drawn comparisons with cerebral artists such as Brian Eno, David Byrne, Laurie Anderson and Natasha Khan. In terms of vocal delivery, hers is more in the gutsy, soulful vein, leading to comparisons with Annie Lennox, Florence Welch, Anne Wilson and Grace Slick.

2011 was a busy year for Ariel, with the release of her fanfunded debut e.p., the featuring of 'Supernova' in hit UK TV show Made in Chelsea, and the digital release of her debut album at the close of the year.

2012 looks set to be an exciting one, with UK-wide live shows and the recording of her second album.