Mem Nahadr

Mem Nahadr (/nəˈhɑːd/ nə-HAHD), also known as M. Nahadr and simply "M", is an American performance artist and multi-octave vocalist having access to the whistle register and best known for the performance of the song "Butterfly", composed by Yoko Kanno and lyricized by Chris Mosdell for Cowboy Bebop. In the recording studio, Nahadr writes, records, performs, and produces all of each project's music. She is co-produced by Grammy Award Winner, James P. Nichols. She is also an author, composer, poet, filmmaker, and human rights activist.

Mem Nahadr
Nahadr in Paris
Background information
Genres	R&B pop rock jazz fusion neo soul pop new-age opera
Occupations	Singer songwriter record producer arranger filmmaker pianist librettist composer musical director music supervisor executive producer label president
Instruments	Vocals piano percussion
Years active	1997–current
Labels	Madwoman Multimedia
Website	memnahadr.com

Early life

Mem Nahadr was born of African-American parents, with the genetic condition known as albinism. Her parents discovered her love and natural understanding of music during a parent/teacher meeting at the age of five. She was discovered creating coherent improvised passages from her own imagination, on the class piano as the meeting was held at the opposite end of the classroom.

Career

In 1999, Mem Nahadr created a music label to promoted her music and protect her interests. She named this company MADWOMAN MULTIMEDIA, as an acquaintance once commented, "You always work like a Madwoman!". She is the sole artist on this label.

In 2008, she presented her first off-Broadway theatrical production, Madwoman: A Contemporary Opera. co-produced by Grammy winner James P. Nichols, and Harvard LOEB Theater director, Claude E. Sloan, Jr.

Nahadr, being an albinistic African American, was requested in 2004 by National Geographic Magazine to have a portrait made of her by renowned photojournalist Robert Clark, to be included in an article on genetic inheritance, ideas of diversity and acceptance of difference. Later that year, the portrait and some of Nahadr's artistic work were included in the magazine's "Best of the Year" collection of images.

Another portrait of Nahadr travels internationally in the Positive Exposure exhibition (featuring many people with albinism and other genetic conditions) by notable fashion photographer and human rights activist Rick Guidotti. The collection was launched at the Smithsonian Institution during the Mapping of the Human Genome Celebration in 2000.

In 2009, Nahadr released her fifth studio album entitled EclecticIsM internationally, to critical acclaim. AMG/Billboard gave it 4 stars, while BBC Music presenter Kevin Le Gendre called it "The soul album of the year for its challenge to the genre itself".

In 2010, Nahadr was asked by legendary poet and playwright Ntozake Shange to compose a musical work for the soundtrack to the feature film adaptation of her iconic Broadway classic For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf. This film was released by Lionsgate Entertainment, Hollywood, California.

Award-winning journalist Kevin Le Gendre included Nahadr extensively in his 2012 book Soul Unsung: Reflections on the Band in Black Popular Music.

Also in 2012, Nahadr embarked on a worldwide pilgrimage in order to study sound and healing techniques worldwide, from the U.S. through Europe to Asia. The project was entitled, LoM.

In March 2013, Nahadr began the creation of a new opera entitled FEMME FRACTALE - An Opera of Reflection, for the theater. James P. Nichols and Claude E. Sloan, Jr supported this presentation with co-production and state-of-the-art technical and creative design.

In April 2015, the second opus of her operatic work FEMME FRACTALE was released in audio form and began to be performed in theaters internationally again to critical acclaim. James Nadal from All About Jazz stated: "This record pushes the boundaries of where vocalization can go. This aptly named 'Opera of Reflection' is a determined and energetic project, depicting how positive energy can be channeled into music that is palatable yet vanguard, and realized with a cosmic message of confidence. Mem Nahadr is very much the modern woman who is savoring her role as a visionary artist, creating futuristic music for a contemporary audience that appreciates the effort it takes to accomplish something so imaginative."

In 2017, the third opus entitled FEMME FRACTALE 432 - An Opera of Reflection - The Celestial Resonance Opus 3 was submitted to The Recording Academy for Grammy consideration, and made the voting ballot in 13 categories over five musical genres.

Also in 2017, the aforementioned project on healing techniques through sound, entitled LoM was inevitably released.

In 2019, Nahadr began work on her third opera. This new work is entitled M.E.M. - "Mon Electro-Magnetisme": An Opera on Attraction.

Discography

Albums

• 1999: Madwoman: A Contemporary Opera
• 2012: Eclecticism 432
• 2015: Femme Fractale: An Opera of Reflection
• 2017: FF 432 - An Opera of Reflection... The Celestial Resonance OPUS 3
• 2017: LoM 528 - GOLD
• 2024: Mon Elextro-Magnetisme: An Opera on Attraction

Singles

• 2010: I Found God In Myself - Ntozake's Song
• 2012: The Underground Aria 432 - CLUB MIX
• 2024: Another Like Me - from the Soundtrack of the Motion Picture "Indelible"
• 2024: M's Butterfly - Remix from the Soundtrack of the Motion Picture "Cowboy Bebop"

Album appearances

Album	Year	Artist(s)	Record Label
"C'est Fou"	1997	Le Collage	Worldly Vibe
"Simple... Isn't It?"	2003	Earth People	Undivided Vision Records
"Mem"	2008	Mem	Mewai
"Two The Top"	2017	Onaje Alan Gumbs - featuring Mem Nahadr	Commercial Free Jazz
"Samsonite Gypsies"	2018	Samsonite Gypsies	SG Records

Theatre

Year	Show	Role	Theater
2008	Madwoman: A Contemporary Opera  !	The Madwoman	Nuyorican Poets Cafe August - October 2008
2015	Femme Fractale - An Opera of Reflection  !	Femme	UForge Gallery October 2015

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Title
2001	Cowboy Bebop: The Movie	Performer	"Butterfly"
2010	For Colored Girls	Producer - Composer - Performer	"I Found God In Myself - Ntozake's Song"
2014	Indelible	Composer - Performer	"Another Like Me"
2016	Javelin: Soul Mining	Actress	Ms Lloyd

External links

• Official site, www.MemNahadr.com
• Mem Nahadr at IMDb
• Murph, John (2009). "M. Nahadr's Eclectic Artistry", TheRoot.com.