LauraTargett

Laura Targett

Singer/songwriter, violinist, artist, mother, human being in progress…
Biography

Laura Targett is an acclaimed musician with a personal music style that crosses multiple genres, coloured by her background in celtic, gypsy and other folk traditions, her love of music from around the world, and her early classical training.

More recently she has emerged as a songwriter and singer with an evocative and unique voice. These original songs are intimate, direct and poetic, infused with a fragility and strength that defies genre, expressed through skilled musicianship.

While Laura’s soon to be released debut album and her live performances are being described as neo-folk, indie-pop or just quirky, the overall sense is of a woman sharing her experience of life through song, with a vulnerable and deeply honest authenticity.
Three of Laura’s songs were nominated for the MusicOz awards finals.

Born and bred in the woodlands of the UK, she spent her childhood playing the fiddle at every opportunity, studying classical recorder, and listening to her parent’s music collection on vinyl, from Irish folk music to Joan Armatrading, Stevie Wonder and the Beatles.
After serving her musical apprenticeship playing with various bands in the local pubs as a teenager, she spent a few years travelling, from busking the streets and subways of some of the world’s cities to touring with an Irish dance show and performing at arts and music festivals between hemispheres.

She then relocated to Australia and became absorbed in the vibrant and eclectic music scene here.
Life lived to the full over the last few years, including becoming a mother, motivated and inspired her to start writing, share her experience of life, and discover the commonalities we all share below the surface of our differences.With a strong foundation and training in traditional Irish, other traditional folk styles, classical and Middle Eastern music, her repertoire extends to contemporary and experimental performance including electronica, electro acoustic and “world music” fusion. As part of her life as a artist she regularly performs as a fiddler with diverse and eclectic line-ups, from Israeli wedding bands, to Dubstep electronic projects, to Classical violin duets, to Flamenco, “Gypsy”, Middle Eastern and trad Irish bands as well as playing string backing for contemporary singer/songwriters.

She has performed at music festivals globally, including Woodford, Port Fairy Folk Fest, Splendour in the Grass, Byron Bay Blues fest (Australia), Jerash Arts fest (Jordan), Broadstairs Folk Fest (UK) and many others, and has received awards for her compositions and performances in Australia and Internationally, including the Wiltshire Young Folk Award (UK), and composition awards at the Port Fairy and National Folk Festivals.

Her diverse performance credits include: collaborations with Australian legends Kerrianne Cox, Greg Sheehan, Circle of Rhythm, and members of Israeli supergroup, Sheva, touring with Irish dance show, Celtic Reign, as well as guest appearances with international artists including Toni Childs, Nano Stern (Chile), Tim Edey and Brendan Power (UK), Seamus Begley and Jim Murray (Ire), Flook (UK) and Kev Carmody and Blue King Brown (Au).

She also works as a session musician, and is a sought after violin teacher and workshop leader for her skills as a fiddler and her specialties in traditional fiddle styles.

She has released 2 collaborative albums through Vitamin Records (Wild Strings and Ali Baba), and is currently working on her debut solo album, “Fragile”, featuring her vocals and original compositions, which will be released 2014.