Naama Hillman “Bruce Springsteen is on fire”, her dad informed her, “says so in the paper.” Naama was horrified. “Is he alright?” she asked. Naama, you see, got into music young.

Today, Naama may still be a Springsteen fan, but she is also a singer/songwriter cut entirely from her own cloth. Her voice exudes a quiet strength. Her melodies are fresh and memorable. On her upcoming second album, she has the confidence to shake off the shackles she had imposed on herself for her debut. “I wanted it to be a bit rougher this time”, she says. "I didn’t want to limit myself". Many friends and fellow musicians, Morcheeba’s Paul Godfrey amongst them, have helped to add instrumental depth and detail to an album of rare subtlety, beauty and – yes – fun.

As a teenager, Naama was a Sonic Youth fan. One day, a friend gave her an Edie Brickell album, another day, she found Suzanne Vega’s “99.9 Fahrenheit”. Suddenly the Sonic Youth rush of feedback in her mind had an entirely different tinge. She arrived in London, supposedly for a one month visit. She stayed. This vast urban expanse gave her a new sense that anything was possible. Writing your own songs, for instance, and performing them. Her material swiftly brought progress from open-mic's to headlining gigs in some of London's top venues. Once, she recalls, Lemmy (of Motorhead) was in the audience. “Yeah!” he grunted during a particularly raucous passage. Her debut album “Living Room” was released on Rusty Records, leading to successful shows in Israel as well as concerts in the USA and Ireland. Her 2006 EP “In Between the Lights” was made available for free download on her website, leading to considerable web fame.

“2008 will prove to be a great year for Naama” ThePlugg.com