It may be a little hard to believe, but Nirvana’s classic album Nevermind recently turned 25 years old (yes, really!). The band, led by much-missed frontman Kurt Cobain, ignited the fire within and inspired a whole new generation of musicians, and that inspiration still exists today.
Lucinda Belle, a former child prodigy who hails from the UK, is one such individual who has been inspired by the grunge rockers — so much so that she’s reinvented their iconic track “Smells Like Teen Spirit” for feature on her new EP Urban Lullabies.
Bringing together and utilizing her passions for jazz, soul, R&B, gypsy jazz, blues, hip-hop, reggae and rock, heavily influenced by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James, Verdi, Ravel, Amy Winehouse and Adele who she’s grown up listening to, the collection features four unique cover versions from a wide range of artists, all of whom have greatly impacted the world we live in most notably via the music scene.
An Oscar nominee for the song “Going Nowhere” from the 2014 film For No Good Reason and often referred to as “the girl with the harp”, Belle is proud of the way in which she is redefining people’s thoughts on what has widely been regarded as an often outdated instrument, saying:
The girl with the harp is who I made her. I want to present a different perspective of what can be done with the instrument. When you’re a harpist, people assume you perform with orchestras. For me, singing and playing the harp wasn’t so much me about me being a ground-breaker; it was more me just being who I am.
You can check out the video for her cover of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” below, and, for more information on Lucinda Belle, visit her website, give her page a like on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.