Nicola was born in Paddington, London and now lives in SW London. Her Mum trained and worked as an actress in repertory theatre before starting a family. Her Dad played drums in a jazz band, trained as an actor and moved on to working as a scriptwriter and finally TV director/producer, including a stint as a floor manager on “Ready Steady Go” in the ’sixties – “… he was a music addict, always had commercial radio playing in the car and in the house… he’d sit beside me at the piano making up duets, him at the bass end me at the top … I remember our living room being scattered with test pressings, white labels .. putting them on and jumping around to them as a kid, feeling very privileged, it all felt very exciting to me .. “.
Her parents divorced when she was 3 yers old and on the long car journeys between homes her Dad would make up rhymes and tunes in the car with her and her sisters and he showed her some basic piano chords and tunes. On her 9th birthday he bought her first guitar and she started making up songs, disappearing to her room for hours with the songbooks of Carole King, The Beatles, and Motown. Her Dad died suddenly when she was 14.
Throughout her twenties she worked as a backing vocalist, sometimes playing guitar and keyboards, gigging around London’s live music circuit and making studio recordings with several different bands ….. which eventually gave her the confidence to write and record her own demos using a 4-track portastudio, Juno-30 keyboard, acoustic guitar and RX11 drum machine.
On the strength of these home demos, she was signed to F.Beat/Demon Records and her first album “A Bowl of Chalk” was released in 1993, published by Rough Trade Music. Her voice and songwriting abilities attracted guest musicians Danny Thompson on bass (Kate Bush, David Sylvian) & Neil Conti on drums (David Bowie, Prefab Sprout). The resulting album was stripped-down, acoustic, showcasing a collection of honest and heartfelt songs. She became a regular face on London’s folk/acoustic circuit and went on to perform live with her band at the Guildford and Cambridge Folk Festivals and Phoenix Festival.
“There’s something indefinably magical in her delivery and in the very human troubled personal conflicts in her exceptional lyrics … a remarkable debut” (Colin Irwin, Folk Roots)
Shortly after the album’s release, the record label folded and Nicola, inspired by the music of Portishead and Massive attack at this time, sought a collaborator in the pages of Melody Maker. Her response to an advert placed by Chrysalis Music led to a meeting with Saul Freeman (ex-Thieves/McAlmont) and the formation of Mandalay. On completion of Mandalay’s first demos they were courted by the majors but opted instead to sign to David Steele’s independent Organic Records. Mandalay’s first single release “Flowers Bloom” got single of the week in Melody Maker.
“Nicola’s voice is extraordinary, a sort of static shiver … as chillingly beautiful as liquid nitrogen sculpture.” (David Stubbs, Melody Maker)
Shortly after this release, David Steele was asked to head up Richard Branson’s new label V2 Records and took Mandalay with him.
Mandalay’s debut album “Empathy” was released to critical acclaim, co-produced with Guy Sigsworth (Bjork, Madonna, Bebel Gilberto) it featured drummer and percussionist Steve Jansen (Japan) and the beautiful ethereal sounds of Jon Hassell on trumpet (Brian Eno, Harold Budd).
“one of the most surprising understated albums in eons … illuminating and optimistic. A muted beauty.” (Andrew Emery, Vox)
“passionate and honest … moody mood music of the highest order … a fine debut” (Phil Strongman, The Mix)
“Mandalay remain apart form pale imitators with emotionally rich, delicate dance pop” (Esquire)
Mandalay’s live lineup included Andy Gangadeen on drums (massive attack, faithless) and they became a regular favourite at The Big Chill festivals.
“Troubled fluid, gorgeous oils and waters creating a river of sound that leaves you aching for more” (Melody Maker Live Review)
On hearing “Empathy”, Madonna sited Mandalay as her favourite band and chose the first single “This Life” to be featured on the film soundtrack for her film. “The Next Best Thing”. “This Life” was also chosen to feature on the soundtrack to the hit British film “This Year’s Love”
“a fusion of classical music, electronics and dance beats. Nicola Hitchcock’s strange, emotive vocals seem to come from someone on the edge of a meltdown. The musical canvass paints a picture of a musical Ice Age to come.” (NME singles review)
Many other Mandalay songs were featured on cult TV series’ including “La Femme Nikita”, “Six Feet Under” and “CSI MIami”.
The third single “Beautiful” appeared on a number of chillout albums of the time including the world famous compilation series’ “cafe del mar (vol 6)” and Hedkandi’s “Serve Chilled”. As a result Mandalay were invited to headline at the Cafe del mar 2oth anniversary celebrations in Ibiza in 2000. A sunset remix of “Beautiful” was recorded and mixed by Lenny Ibizarre, the leading chillout DJ/musician on the island. The song “Beautiful” went on to win a major advertising campaign (Estee Lauder, featuring Liz Hurley) and was chosen for the title track of German film “Der Eisbar”. More recently “Beautiful” was covered by Sarah Brightman and released as the lead single for her hit album “Harem”.
Mandalay’s 2nd album “Instinct” was co-produced with Andy Bradfield (Everything But the Girl, Future Sound of London, Bjork) and Yoad Nevo (Jem)
“.. draws inspiration from jazz and classical music to create resolutely elegant, affecting pop …. lush and expansive, Instinct’s musical world is perfectly realised” (MK The Guardian).
The first single from this album “Deep Love” was remixed by Nitin Sawhney and Mandalay went on to support Nitin on his UK/London dates. Performances at Ibza’s chillout festivals followed including “Las Dallias” and “Dreamdaze” culminating in a headline performance at The Big Chill UK, Sanctuary Stage.
A third album “Solace” followed, released exclusively in the US comprising a mix of tracks from Mandalay’s two existing albums (both previously unavailable in the US) together with an 11 track remix album with contributions from Wagon Christ, Alex Reece and Charlie May. This marked the beginning of a growing success in America where “Solace” Soundscanned over 44,000 copies.
By this time problems were escalating within the Mandalay camp and disagreements on business rather than musical issues proved irresolvable. The duo split in 2001.
During Mandalay’s demise, Nicola was approached by DJ Tiesto who chose her song “In My Memory” to remix for his forthcoming album. It became the title track and lead single for his album.
In the years following Mandalay’s demise Nicola was inundated with requests for collaborations and she began working on tracks from avant garde composers Hector Zazou, Ryuichi Sakomoto, Lenny Ibizarre and the underground artist & DJ Chris Brann (Wamdue Project, P’taah etc). The resulting album “Passive Aggressive” stands a collection of her favourite collaborations from this time and is the first release on her own label Tempted.
” …. Plaintive, melancholy and full of feeling; Nicola’s songs have an honesty that you can feel in her voice even before you hear it in the words. The singing here is soft, close up, often little more than a whisper. The uncluttered arrangements on this CD add to the intimacy, at times just drums, bass and minimal pianos or electronica. The more intense musical structure of ‘I Forgive Me’ combines with sweet vocals to create a sense of brooding, a weight that carries over into the following track ‘Cloudy Skies and Rain’ where the drums are stronger and looser than most of the album. There is a beautiful surreal quality to the final track ‘Morning’ featuring Ryuichi Sakomoto’s subtle piano, enhanced by an achingly melancholic string arrangement from Hector Zazou”
An exclusive edition of Passive Aggressive was subsequently released in the US by Barnes & Noble including two previously unreleased tracks (currently available as free downloads on this website to those on mailing list).