Parashqevi Simaku

Parashqevi Simaku Was Born In Kavaje Albania And As Achild Sang With The Local Theatre Group. By The Time She Was 9 She Was Winning Children’s Festivals Singing On National Television. A Few Years Later She Took The Top Prize In Her First “Fesivalit Kenget” National Competition In Singing . At Age 15 She Became Professional And Was The Featured Singer At The Theatre Aleksander Mojsiu In Durres. Working With Some Of The Best Known Composers In Her Country She Recorded Many Folk And Contemporary Hits. She Went On To Win Many Competitions And Garnered The Country’s Top Recognition In Music The “Naim Frasheri Award”. She Became The First Artist To Create Music Videos In Albania. Her Recordings Have Been Distributed Into The Millions. Simaku Represented Albania’s Culture Abroad Singing For Dignitaries And Her Native Fans Across Europe. Already A Professional Singer Simaku Earned A Degree In Dramatic Arts From College Of Fine Arts In Tirane. But Fame And Early Achievements Did Not Satisfy This Uniquely Driven Artist. Immigrating To New York City To Further Her Creative Expression Simaku Performed Her Native Folk Music And American Classics Along The East Coast. After Three Years She Moved To Los Angeles Refining Her Songwriting And Collaborating With Various Producers Including Richard Perry Barbra Streisand Carly Simon And LeMel Humes Whitney Houston . In 1996 She Wrote And Recorded “Noi Siamo Uno” “We Are One” With Producer Steve Snow And The Song Was Included On The Moonshine/Virgin Release Purified. In 1999 A Tip From Producer Oliver Leiber Paula Abdul Led To Her Recording Vocals On The Forces Of Nature Soundtrack For Dreamworks Which Resulted In Her Being A Member Of The Screen Actors Guild. Later That Year Simaku Returned To Packed Stadiums In Albania And Kosove During Her Tour Entitled “Songs Of My People” For The Kosovar Refugees. Now Having Relocated Back To New York City Working Alongside Her Husband Producer/songwriter Robert Nolfe From Louisiana Simaku Has Been Crafting And Recording Songs Rooted In Undiscovered Exotic Folk. The Resulting Album Echoes From Iliria Is An Original Eclectic Yet Culturally Significant Blend Mixing Albanian Folklore International Flavors And American Modernism. read less