NIINA
SINGER/SONGWRITERLOS ANGELES
samples
“So I’ve been singing forever— longer than I’ve been speaking…
I fell in love with words when I was eleven. In class we read a poem about an icebox and plums (“This Is Just To Say” by William Carlos Williams) and I was fascinated by how just a few well-chosen words could paint an entire picture, could evoke so much using so little. I grew up listening to and loving The Beatles, Ella Fitzgerald, Norah Jones and Joni Mitchell — I harmonized with them on my way to school, or as I fell asleep. At thirteen I learned three chords, wrote my first song, “Chasing Butterflies,” and I haven’t stopped writing music since.
Making things — a song, a poem, a figurine made out of a gum wrapper—makes me happy, makes me whole. Music is my meditation – sometimes I write to escape, but mostly I write to tune in: I love how I can turn something painful, like heartbreak or loss or uncertainty, into something meaningful and lasting.
I’d love to share my music with you.
I’m Niina ~ I’m a singer-songwriter and poet from Los Angeles. I have the most supportive family, amazing friends, and a wonderful wizard of a producer, Andrew Williams. Thanks so much for visiting– wander around, listen and look – I want my page to be an experience for you, and provide a little glimpse into my life.”
“Buoyed by her own harmonies and judicious guitar arpeggios, [Niina] makes such small romantic details feel sumptuous and grand with the help of producer Andrew Williams. On ballads such as “The Moon Can Stay,” she breaks hearts with little more than sparse piano accents, the faraway swoon of violins and her wistfully ethereal vocals.”
“[Niina] has played sold out shows in the Los Angeles area at Hotel Café, Americana Lounge at the Record Parlour, The Mint, and the E-Spot Lounge. Following her most recent show, music journalist Chris Willman (Billboard, Yahoo) wrote ““[Niina] Shallman has a song called ‘Never Years Old,’ and maybe that describes the balance you arrive at when you combine a fresh face and voice with an old soul. She’s young enough to still qualify as precocious, but the songs feel more lived in and felt than studied, which sets her apart from most other young singers you could think of who’ve absorbed the same classic influences. The music is emotional, melodic, and luxuriant, like a warm bath on a slightly sad day. When she sings ‘The Moon Can Stay,’ you’ll think: So can you.”
