Indiana (singer)

Indiana
Birth name Lauren Henson
Origin Loughborough, England
Genres
Occupation(s) Singer
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • piano
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

Henson grew up in Loughborough, Leicestershire.[1] She moved to Nottingham to live with her partner, with whom she has two children: Etta (born in 2013) and Harvey.[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 piano-playing with a piano 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.[16] In November, she was featured on the single "Dance on My Heart" by producers Mark Knight and Adrian Hour.[17]

Artistry

Indiana describes her music as "menacing and emotional electronica with 80s-inspired synths and haunting vocals".[18] She cites James Blake, Gary Numan, Frank Ocean, Portishead, The Weeknd, and the xx as her biggest musical influences.[6][18] She has mentioned the soundtrack of the 2011 film Drive as being a major inspiration for her work.[19]

Discography

Albums

Title Details Peak chart positions
UK
[20]		 SCO
[21]
No Romeo 17 22

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions Album
UK
[20]		 IRE
[22]		 SCO
[23]
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" — — —
"—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Nadia Khomami. "Indiana: 'After gigs you'll find me changing nappies'". the Guardian.
  2. 1 2 3 http://www.nottinghampost.com/m-weirdo-Indiana/story-20052759-detail/story.html
  3. ↑ "Spotlight: Indiana". Soundsphere magazine.
  4. ↑ http://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/time-heard-crowd-singing/story-26554947-detail/story.html
  5. 1 2 http://www.nottinghampost.com/Indiana-s-come-long-way/story-15933985-detail/story.html
  6. 1 2 3 Andriana Albert. "Introducing: Indiana - The Line Of Best Fit". The Line of Best Fit. line feed character in |author= at position 10 (help)
  7. 1 2 "Indiana Interview: Your New Favorite Pop Artist On 'Solo Dancing,' Stardom and Her 'Dark, Twisted' Pop. - Billboard". Billboard.
  8. ↑ "Indiana - Blind as I am is now available on iTunes, I... - Facebook". facebook.com.
  9. ↑ "Smoking Gun - Single". iTunes.
  10. ↑ "Mess Around - EP". iTunes.
  11. 1 2 3 "INDIANA". officialcharts.com.
  12. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzhUjjre0Hk
  13. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2IG5oC3tbs
  14. ↑ Alexandra Pollard. "Indiana announces UK headline tour for May 2015 - tickets". gigwise.com.
  15. ↑ http://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/8203-Indiana-Returns-Glastonbury/story-26722704-detail/story.html
  16. ↑ "Ultimate Music - Indiana "State of Play – EP" - Available on iTunes!". Ultimate Music.
  17. ↑ http://www.youredm.com/2015/11/09/mark-knight-adrian-hour-team-up-with-indiana-for-dance-on-my-heart-video/
  18. 1 2 "Indiana Singer Interview Mess Around – Music News (Glamour.com UK)". glamourmagazine.co.uk.
  19. ↑ "Indiana interview: 'I have to think about selling records now'". Digital Spy.
  20. 1 2 Peak positions in the United Kingdom:
  21. ↑ Peak positions for albums in Scotland:
  22. ↑ Hung, Steffen. "Discography Indiana". Irish Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung).
  23. ↑ Peak positions for singles in Scotland:
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