Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The near regal stance of Nina Fian as she performs at Zanzibar is akin to being asked to look at the majesty of Everest for the first time or to look deep into the heart of the Australian aboriginal tribes and try and describe just how beautiful and awe-inspiring Uluru is as a notion, an idea in which a thousand singing spirits can be heard lamenting the loss of Time.

The Austrian musician is striking in every way, musically and professionally and as the voice lingers in the Liverpool still air, infuses past the lifted glasses of June celebration and wanders off with purpose in search of the Vienna Opera House, that striking sensibility illuminates the demand and passion she expects quite rightly to deliver.

The heat of the day had perhaps tempered many sensibilities across the city and the land in general; the thought of so much so sun and heat an almost alien quality to the people of these islands and it can be seen to turn heads, to make the concentration wither in such times. As Nina Fian stood beneath the ever intrusive lights and the sight of a venue about to be entranced by a gorgeous voice, that sense of purpose was to be exposed beautifully and she rose to the occasion with a sense of composure far beyond what was surely expected of her, especially with some circumstances not working particularly in her favour.

To listen to Nina Fian is to be entranced and as songs such as Hope, Escape, New Beginning and the gothic like and stunning The Fallen Angel play out across the sea of souls before her, the feeling of understanding pain and joy was to soon wash over those who made their way down to Zanzibar and who battled the crowds mingling with purpose ahead of Hegarty’s E.P. launch.

Sometimes in life you know you have listened to a true star, a soul in which to connect with through the imagery of her lyrics and the precise nature in which such artistry requires; to be in the presence of Nina Fian is one such find.

Ian D. Hall