Indiana

Taking her stage name from her love of Raiders of the Lost Ark, electro-pop singer/songwriter Indiana puts a pop shine on moody influences like Gary Numan, Portishead, and James Blake. Growing up in Nottingham, England, it was her sister who had a passion for making music; it wasn’t until after Indiana’s father died when she was 17 that she discovered she also had a gift. When her sister stored her piano at Indiana’s house, she began teaching herself how to play and write songs, but she didn’t release any of her music until her relationship with her boyfriend was on the rocks. After uploading her songs to YouTube, she was discovered by Grammy-nominated producer/composer John Beck, with whom she collaborated on the 2012 song “Blind as I Am,” her first music under the name Indiana. She followed it later that year with an ethereal cover of Frank Ocean’s “Swim Good,” and released her official debut single, “Bound,” early in 2013. She rounded out the year with the release of the Mess Around EP that October and began 2014 with the Solo Dancing EP, the title track of which entered the U.K. Singles Chart at number 14. Her debut album, No Romeo, arrived that August. ~ Heather Phares