Lindi Ortega: http://www.lindiortega.com/

I have to admit (simply because those who know me, know it’s true) that I’m not a fan of female singers, there are a couple of exceptions in  Joplin, King, Harris, Parton, Hynde and that’s about it really. So imagine my suprise when Tom (mainman behind Liverpool based promotions team Harvest Sun) slipped me a little four track cd from a Canadian artist called Lindi Ortega ‘Take it home and play it Jj’ he said, then adding ‘Trust me, you will love it!’ well damn right I loved it…

Having played all the tracks from the cd on my radio show I was intrigued by how this quite sublime vocalist would perform stripped of studio production and full backing band in a simple room with just an acoustic guitar and minimal sound. The simple truth is she simply floored it, hitting the stage with a swagger and sway that just owned the room. Within the first two songs she had everyone eating out of her hand, she looked great, she just oozed sex appeal (what Prince would call ‘Filthy Cute’) and in the flesh was more akin to Suzanna Hoffs than Dolly! That in itself should tell you all you need to know, but I will add that she had those ‘Little Red Boots’ on as well, yet all of that was very ‘Pretty’ window dressing and as fabulous as it was could she deliver the songs?

She delivered and so much more, her guitar playing was sublime, upfront enough to grab attention while adding in colour when needed and the vocal delivery was concise and crisp even going so far as to be better with a rawness live than on record. Lindi even did a version of ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ which was outstanding, sang with a conviction that even the man in black would have embraced. She did not sing ‘Black Fly’ which is my fave track of hers, but that makes me want to see her again with a full band asap.

I even stayed till the end and paid money for a full length album and I have not done that for a long time, and I ain’t done that for a female artist ever, that’s how good Lindi is. In a world of Florence, Jesse, Pixie and more, Lindi is the real deal… Red, Red I want Red! Jj:2012

Somewhere in an old 1960’s apartment building in the city of Toronto, Canada, a well worn pair of cherry red cowboy boots wait by the door. About a half foot from those boots sits a guitar case, brightly decorated with glittery stars and images of Mexican painter, Frida Kahlo.

A little down the hallway and towards the bedroom, a Johnny Cash record is spinning away. On the bed is a journal with a bird on the front cover and the saying “Go Slow, Life in Progress”. Sitting on the floor with a bottle of merlot and a red flower in her dark hair is where we find Lindi Ortega. It’s rather obvious from her appearance that Miss Ortega, with her ruby lips and Mexican/Irish background, is the kind of gal that would stand out in a crowd, but she prefers to be standing in front of one.

Ortega released a four song EP in 2009 on Interscope/Cherrytree records called THE DRIFTER EP. It was met with critical acclaim. Toronto’s ‘Eye Weekly’ gave it a glowing four star review and called it “The perfect EP” and “A terrific teaser”. UR Chicago Magazine remarked that Lindi’s voice “undulates with absolute splendour”. In her time at Interscope Lindi was able to lend her vocals for the Diplo and Switch track “Good Enough”, also featuring Collie Buddz for the Major Lazer EP “Lazers Never Die” (2010).

She’s no stranger to the stage, having toured across Canada and the United States, Ortega has performed for all kinds of audiences. She opened for the UK band Keane in North America, as well as a successful Midwest run with movie star Kevin Costner and his band The Modern West.Lindi has also applied her delicious vocals as a backup singer for Brandon Flowers (The Killers) since August 2010.

Lindi Ortega completed a new full length record produced by Ron Lopata and released on Last Gang Records on June 7th of 2011. Check out the clip for ‘Black Fly’ on You Tube. Lindi has already been proclaimed, “One of the most important new artists of the year,” (Tom Lanham, The SF Examiner)

With her arresting vocals and unique brand of alt country, a genre she describes as “a roadside motel love affair between old school outlaws and country darlings”. The record will be a collection of songs that aims to speak to the desperado in all of us. Be sure to keep an ear out for that sweet vibrato and an eye out for those little red boots because it won’t be long before Canada boasts of a brand new country darling.