Nessa Morgan

Vanessa "Nessa" Morgan, who also performs as Neska, is a New Zealand-born, Australian R&B singer and songwriter. She has released two albums, Sex & Poverty (May 2004) and Neska (2008). She was based in the United States from 2005 to 2010.

Nessa Morgan
Birth nameVanessa Morgan
Also known asNeska
BornWellington, North Island, New Zealand
OriginSydney, New South Wales, Australia
Genres
Occupation(s)Musician
InstrumentsVocals
Labels
  • Gotham/BMG
  • Probono
Associated actsArkestra

Biography

Morgan is a Māori singer-songwriter and was born in Wellington, New Zealand.[1] Her family moved to Sydney when she was 3-years-old. She was brought up in a musical family, her father was a singer in a funk band. She has three siblings and the family relocated to Newcastle, where she attended school.[2] From the age of 15 she worked with her parents in a trio, Arkestra.[2]

At 24, in 2002, Morgan started writing her own music.[2] She was signed to Gotham/BMG and her debut album, Sex & Poverty, appeared in May 2004.[3][4] The album was recorded at the House of Blues in Los Angeles,[5] it was produced by Don Was,[6] which peaked at No. 98 on the ARIA Albums Chart and No. 10 on their Hitseekers Albums Chart.[7] Its lead single, "Simple Kinda Woman", appeared in October, which peaked at No. 11 on the ARIA Hitseekers Singles Chart.[8] Morgan supported Alicia Keys at a concert at the Enmore Theatre, in October.[5][9]

In March 2005 she appeared on SBS TV's music variety quiz show, RocKwiz' episode 8, and besides being a celebrity contest she performed her song, "Simple Kinda Woman", and a duet with Ross Wilson on a cover version of "Take Me to the River".[10] The latter was released on CD for a Various Artists' compilation album, RocKwiz Duets, in August 2006,[11] and an associated DVD, RocKwiz Duets: Two for the Show.[12]

Morgan relocated to the United States where she established an independent label, ProBono Records, in Atlanta in 2005. She re-imaged herself as Neska and released a self-titled second album in November 2008. Marcie Konsoulas of Planet Urban reviewed the album, "What happened to the simple kind of woman who wants a simple kind of man? Her raw proud Aussie demeanor has been overcast by a bad-girl sex kitten image that not only doesn’t do her justice but is also far from believable. Her sound is no longer unique and would get lost amongst all the standard U.S. R&B singers."[5]

Its first single, "Like It Like That" (July 2007), was nominated for best R&B single at the Urban Music Awards.[13] "Like It Like That", also reached No. 11 on the Hitseekers Singles Chart.[14] Konsoulas further observed, "The sultriness that appeared on the first album has been replaced with tackiness with lyrics like 'spank my ass and pull my hair' and that's just on the first single."[5] By March 2010 the singer had returned to Sydney and reverted to performing as Nessa Morgan.[15]

Discography

Albums
  • Sex & Poverty (May 2004) – Gotham Records / BMG Australia (GOTH04012)[16] AUS: No. 98[17]
  • Neska (November 2008) – Probono Records (PROBONO010)[18]

Singles
  • "Simple Kinda Woman" (October 2004) – Gotham Records / BMG Australia (GOTH04052) AUS Hitseekers: No. 11[8]
  • "Like It Like That" (July 2007) – Probono Records (PROBONO010) AUS Hitseekers: No. 11
  • "Helpless" (2010) – Morgan Entertainment Group

References
  1. Stewart, Paul (11 February 2005). "Hard roads suit Nessa". Herald Sun.
  2. "Artists :: Nessa Morgan". Australian Music Online. Australia Council for the Arts. Archived from the original on 20 September 2007. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  3. Cooke, Dewi (6 August 2004). "Soul with Conviction". The Age. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  4. "Nessa Morgan Sex & Poverty (BMG)". Herald Sun. 27 May 2004.
  5. Konsoulas, Marcie (10 November 2008). "Album: Nessa Morgan – Neska". Planet Urban. Archived from the original on 7 December 2008. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  6. Nicholson, Sarah (7 August 2004). "Looking through life's window". The Courier-Mail.
  7. Thomas, Tara (19 July 2004). "Week Commencing ~ 19th July 2004 ~ Issue #751" (PDF). The ARIA Report. Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) (751): 2, 6, 17. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 August 2004. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  8. Thomas, Tara (29 November 2004). "Week Commencing ~ 29th November 2004 ~ Issue #770" (PDF). The ARIA Report. Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) (770): 8, 18. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 December 2004. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  9. "Alicia Keys at Enmore Theatre (Enmore)". Last.fm. 25 October 2004. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  10. "RocKwiz – Season 1, Episode 8: Episode 8". TV.com. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  11. "Releases RocKwiz Duets by Various Artists". MusicBrainz. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  12. RocKwiz Duets: Two for the Show, Renegade Films/SBS Independent, 2006, retrieved 14 February 2018
  13. Adie, Kilmeny (23 October 2008). "Morgan pushes it good". Illawarra Mercury.
  14. Wallace, Ian (6 August 2007). "Week Commencing ~ 6th August 2007 ~ Issue #909" (PDF). The ARIA Report. Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) (909): 11, 19. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 August 2007. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  15. "Nessa Morgan". Unearthed. Triple J. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  16. Morgan, Nessa (2004), Sex & Poverty, Gotham Records : Distributed by BMG Australia, retrieved 14 February 2018
  17. The ARIA Report, Issue 752
  18. Morgan, Nessa (2008), Neska, Probono Records, retrieved 14 February 2018
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