Sonique (artist)
Encyclopedia
Sonia Clarke known more commonly by her stage name Sonique, is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 singer
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...

, musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....

 and disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...

. She is well known for her successful career in dance music
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...

. She was the lead vocalist on two S'Express
S'Express
S'Express were a British dance music act from the late 1980s, who had one of the earliest commercial successes in the acid house genre."Theme from S'Express", based on Rose Royce's "Is It Love You're After", was also one of the earliest recordings to capitalize on a resurgence of sampling culture...

 singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

. She won the 2001 BRIT Award
Brit Awards
The Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...

 for British female solo artist. She was treated for breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...

 and given the all clear in 2010.

1968–85: Early life

Sonia Clarke was born and raised in Crouch End
Crouch End
Crouch End is an area of north London, in the London Borough of Haringey.- Location :Crouch End is in a valley between Harringay to the east, Hornsey, Muswell Hill and Wood Green to the north, Finsbury Park and Archway to the south and Highgate to the west...

 to parents of Trinidadian
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...

 descent. She has credited her later music success from listening to her mother's record
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...

 collection of mostly R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...

 artists
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....

. The first record she ever purchased was Donna Summer
Donna Summer
LaDonna Adrian Gaines , known by her stage name, Donna Summer, is an American singer/songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Summer is a five-time Grammy winner and was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach...

's "I Feel Love
I Feel Love
"I Feel Love" is a song by Donna Summer, taken from her 1977 concept album I Remember Yesterday.The song constituted the "future" segment of the album, which represented a stylistic progress through time...

". When Sonique was sixteen her mother re-married and moved back to Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...

. She refused to move with her mother and two siblings and instead stayed in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 moving into the YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...

.

1985–91: Early music career

At the age of seventeen, a youth worker commented that she had a nice voice
Human voice
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...

 and suggested she utilize it. She put together a reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...

 band called 'Fari' in which she ended up writing all the music. After Fari disbanded she set about getting a recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...

.

Sonique released the single "Let Me Hold You", published by Cooltempo, in 1985. The single hit the Top 40 on the UK Dance Chart
UK Dance Chart
The UK Dance Chart is a chart compiled by The Official Charts Company from sales in record stores and digital downloads. Although the chart does not currently receive any airplay on the radio or television, the chart can be viewed on the BBC Radio 1 and The Official Charts Company website.Digital...

.

In 1990, she was credited for the track "Zombie Mantra" on the album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

, Set the Controls for the Heart of the Bass
Set the Controls for the Heart of the Bass
Set the Controls for the Heart of the Bass is a 1990 album by Bassomatic. The title and title track are derived from the Pink Floyd song "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun".-Track listing:# In the Realm of the Senses...

, the debut record of William Orbit
William Orbit
William Orbit is an English musician, composer and record producer, perhaps best known to most for his work on Madonna's album Ray of Light. He has also co-produced several unreleased Madonna songs originally recorded for other albums...

's project Bass-O-Matic. Soon after she teamed with DJ Mark Moore
Mark Moore
Mark Moore is a British dance music record producer and DJ. He was founder of the pop/sampling pioneers S'Express, and runs the London nightclubs, 'Electrogogo' and 'Can Can'.-Biography:...

 in S'Express
S'Express
S'Express were a British dance music act from the late 1980s, who had one of the earliest commercial successes in the acid house genre."Theme from S'Express", based on Rose Royce's "Is It Love You're After", was also one of the earliest recordings to capitalize on a resurgence of sampling culture...

. The dance-pop
Dance-pop
Dance-pop is dance-oriented pop music that originated in the early 1980s. Developing from post-disco, it is generally up-tempo music intended for clubs with the intention of being danceable or merely dancey...

 duo
Duet (music)
A duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...

 charted
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....

 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

 with singles such as "Nothing to Lose
Nothing to Lose (song)
"Nothing to Lose" is a single by Canadian band Billy Talent's debut self-titled album. The song was not released for special digital download or as a CD single or vinyl record. The song is about a suicidal teenager...

". She maintained a friendship with Mark Moore after S'Express disbanded and shortly afterwards, he gave her the gift of a set of turntables and a mixer with which she began experimenting.

1997–2001: DJ career

For three years she accompanied both Mark Moore and her childhood friend Judge Jules
Judge Jules
Judge Jules is a British dance music DJ and producer, known for his DJ activities and popular radio show which achieved global success.-Education:...

 to their gigs. She eventually signed to London-based label Serious Records, where her first single was "I Put A Spell On You" produced by Chris Allen and ex-Wang Chung keyboardist Graeme Pleeth. She was DJ-in-residence at Club Manumission in Ibiza
Ibiza
Ibiza or Eivissa is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. With Formentera, it is one of the two Pine Islands or Pityuses. Its largest cities are Ibiza...

 between 1997 and 1999.

In 1998, she came to the attention of UK promoters/label Fantazia and was asked to mix one of the discs on their album Fantazia British Anthems Summertime. The album was certified gold
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...

 in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

.

Sonique also sang on the album "Hear My Cry
Hear My Cry
Hear My Cry is the debut studio album by British disc jockey and singer Sonique, released in February 15, 2000. The album has now sold over half a million albums in the UK alone.- Track listing :#"It Feels So Good"#"I Put a Spell on You"...

" in 1998. When it was re-released in 2000, the hit single "It Feels So Good
It Feels So Good
"It Feels So Good" is the second single by singer, DJ Sonique, first released in 1998 , and then again in 2000, where it spent three weeks at number one in the UK in May of that year...

" topped the UK chart for three weeks in May. After 14 weeks in the Top 40, it became the UK's third best-selling single of 2000. In 2001, after the success of "It Feels So Good" she announced that she planned to retire from the world of DJing to focus on her singing career. After finishing the album Born to Be Free
Born to Be Free
Born to Be Free is an album released by British DJ and recording artist Sonique in 2003. The album contains the singles "Alive" and "Can't Make Up My Mind".-Track listing:#"Alive"#"Hold Me Now"#"Can't Make Up My Mind"#"Magic"#"Love Washes Away"...

, Sonique did return to DJing on a few special occasions.

2002–06: On Kosmo

In 2004, Sonique announced she was working on a new album called On Kosmo
Sonique on Kosmo
On Kosmo is an album recorded by British musician/DJ Sonique during 2004 and released, after much delay, in 2006 in the UK and Germany.-Track listing:#"Why"#"Thank You"#"Sleezy"#"Save Myself"#"Over"#"My Dream"#"I Don't Even Know"...

. The first single was "Another World", which reached number 57 in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 when released in 2004. "Why
Why (Sonique song)
"Why" is a single by British DJ and singer, Sonique. Released on CD in Germany on 30 May 2005, the track peaked at number 90.-Track listing:#"Why" #"Why" #"Why" #"Why" #"Why"...

" (released Spring 2005), reached number 90 in Germany.

"Alone" was selected as the third single with which the album would be launched, but when the album got pushed back from the expected release date of February 2006, the single was cancelled. When the new release date of 29 September 2006 was announced, the track "Sleezy" was chosen as the single with which the album was to be released. However, "Sleezy" was also cancelled when the release date was pushed back once again. When On Kosmo was finally released, on Monday 13 November 2006, it failed to chart significantly in the UK. Nevertheless, Sonique was shown as a celebrity guest at The World Music Awards 2006 in England.

2009–present: A New Era

In 2007 when promotional work finished for her previous album On Kosmo Sonique announced she would continue touring Europe despite the flop of the album. She has been working on some new material, but has not yet completed a full new album but has said it should be out in the summer of 2009. A teaser from some of the new material she has been working on 'leaked' online on 5 October 2008 entitled "Better Than That". Due to the positive reception of this 'leak' the track was posted available to download on various legal mp3 download sites.

She was diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2009, for which she underwent surgery at a London clinic. Following her operations, Sonique opted to receive 5 months of chemotherapy
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....

 in an effort to prevent a recurrence. She was given the all clear in 2010 and celebrated by appearing on a cover version of the Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...

 song Girls Just Want To Have Fun
Girls Just Want to Have Fun
Girls Just Want to Have Fun may refer to:In music:* "Girls Just Want to Have Fun", the first major single released by singer Cyndi Lauper on She's So UnusualIn film:...

which was released to raise fund for the Cancer Research UK
Cancer Research UK
Cancer Research UK is a cancer research and awareness charity in the United Kingdom, formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and the Imperial Cancer Research Fund. Its aim is to reduce the number of deaths from cancer. As the world's largest independent cancer...

 charity.

The single "World of Change" was released on 23 October 2009 and official video was posted by Sonique's label on youtube.

2011- Brought the release of the ZYX album "Sweet Vibrations", which contains the previously released singles: "Better Than That" and "World of Change".

Albums

Year Album UK US AUS
1998 Fantazia British Anthems... Summertime (mixed by Sonique)
2000 Serious Sounds of Sonique - In the Mix & on the Mic (live recording)
Hear My Cry
Hear My Cry
Hear My Cry is the debut studio album by British disc jockey and singer Sonique, released in February 15, 2000. The album has now sold over half a million albums in the UK alone.- Track listing :#"It Feels So Good"#"I Put a Spell on You"...

6 67 50
2003 Born to Be Free
Born to Be Free
Born to Be Free is an album released by British DJ and recording artist Sonique in 2003. The album contains the singles "Alive" and "Can't Make Up My Mind".-Track listing:#"Alive"#"Hold Me Now"#"Can't Make Up My Mind"#"Magic"#"Love Washes Away"...

184
2006 On Kosmo
Sonique on Kosmo
On Kosmo is an album recorded by British musician/DJ Sonique during 2004 and released, after much delay, in 2006 in the UK and Germany.-Track listing:#"Why"#"Thank You"#"Sleezy"#"Save Myself"#"Over"#"My Dream"#"I Don't Even Know"...

2011 Sweet Vibrations

Singles

Year Title Chart positions Album
UK
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

U.S.
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

U.S. Dance
Hot Dance Club Play
The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs...

CAN
Canadian Singles Chart
The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays....

IRE
Irish Singles Chart
The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...

AUS
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...

NZ GER
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

SWE
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

SWI
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

AUT
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

1985 "Let Me Hold You"
single only
1990 "Nothing to Lose" (as part of S'Express)
32
9
Intercourse
1991 "Find'em, Fool'em, Forget'em" (as part of S'Express)
43
1998 "I Put a Spell on You
I Put a Spell on You
"I Put a Spell on You" is a 1956 song written by Screamin' Jay Hawkins, whose recording was selected as one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. It was also ranked #320 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.Although Hawkins'...

" (Original)
36
Hear My Cry
"It Feels So Good
It Feels So Good
"It Feels So Good" is the second single by singer, DJ Sonique, first released in 1998 , and then again in 2000, where it spent three weeks at number one in the UK in May of that year...

" (Original)
24
2000 "It Feels So Good
It Feels So Good
"It Feels So Good" is the second single by singer, DJ Sonique, first released in 1998 , and then again in 2000, where it spent three weeks at number one in the UK in May of that year...

" (Re-issue)
1
8
1
1
2
21
7
2
3
2
2
"Sky
Sky (song)
"Sky" is a trance-house song and the third single by singer and DJ Sonique, released in 2000.-Chart positions:* #18 * #2 * #10 Sky has sold over 192,000 copies in the UK-Cover versions:...

"
2
10
7
10
18
48
11
13
18
8
2001 "I Put a Spell on You
I Put a Spell on You
"I Put a Spell on You" is a 1956 song written by Screamin' Jay Hawkins, whose recording was selected as one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. It was also ranked #320 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.Although Hawkins'...

" (Re-issue)
8
28
18
70
28
44
2003 "Can't Make Up My Mind"
17
Born to Be Free
"Alive
Alive (Sonique song)
"Alive" is a single by DJ/singer, Sonique released in September 2003. The track reached number 70 in the UK, spending one week in the Top 75 Singles Chart.-Track listings:#"Alive" #"Alive"...

"
70
39
80
33
2004 "Another World" (with Tomcraft
Tomcraft
Tomcraft is a German DJ and producer. He is specialized in progressive house and progressive trance and is better known for having created the tracks "Loneliness" and "Prosac", working alongside Eniac....

)
57
75
Sonique on Kosmo
2005 "Why
Why (Sonique song)
"Why" is a single by British DJ and singer, Sonique. Released on CD in Germany on 30 May 2005, the track peaked at number 90.-Track listing:#"Why" #"Why" #"Why" #"Why" #"Why"...

"
90
2006 "Sleezy"
2009 "Better Than That"
Sweet Vibrations
2009 "World Of Change"
2010 "Only You" (with Paul Morrell)
2011 "What You're Doin'" (with Paul Morrell)

See also


External links

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