Editorial Reviews While Nijole grew up singing and acting in the Lithuanian language, her ears were drawn to certain exotic elements in American rock found in such hypnotic songs as Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit", Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir", or the David Bowie "Lodger" album, all of which have a Middle Eastern influence and which inform Nijole’s music. Her studies of Jazz and 20th Century Music Composition helped give her the vocabulary for what she was hearing, resulting in strong memorable melodies with haunting chord progressions. Since then, Nijole’s been singing, songwriting, and performing with various groups in the Midwest and L.A., as well as acting in performance art and avant-theatrical shows and college films, and teaching singing at her own studio The Vocal Point, at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute, and briefly for the Disney Channel. Recently, Nijole sang the theme for the DVD release of "Timothy Leary's Dead". Her favorite female vocalists are Norway’s Anneli Drecker (Bel Canto), Russia's Milla Jovovich, Scotland's Eddie Reader, Canada's Loreena McKennett, India's Najma, Morocco's Amina, and Egypt's Natasha Atlas.
Music Review:
Music Review
J. Haydn; J. Albrechtsberger; A. Albrechtsberger: Duets & Trios for Strings
Ogermann: Works for violin & orchestra
Music: Complete Radio One Sessions (BBC) [Live]
Party Groove: Motorball, Vol. 3
Mesa Sti Nichta Ton Allon [Import]
Live at Don Quijote--Padre e Hijo
About the Artist
Nijole (nee-YOH-luh) Sparkis is a true Lithuanian-American artist – born and raised on Chicago’s South Side in a tight-knit Lithuanian community, she combines her American pop music instincts and song structure with the Lithuanian love of singing and choral harmonies she grew up with. (Lithuania is the country that staged the Singing Revolution in 1991.)
Album Description
Nijole (nee-YOH-luh) writes sensual melodic songs with mystical landscapes, exotic twists, and lyrics to uplift and inspire. Accompanying her delicate lead vocals, she performs layers of Lithuanian background vocals, hinting of the choirs she grew up with in Chicago. The production of Fritz Heede features gifted players on ethnic percussion, stringed instruments, flutes, violins, as well as classical cello, electric guitars and synthesizers. Overall, "Parallel Universe" is a powerful journey for the heart and soul.