Born in Maputo, Mozambique and growing up on music stages around the world, Isabel Novella is blessed with God’s greatest gift: the voice to sing. As well as being an amazing singer-songwriter, she has a stage presence to die for. Unique in style and performance, Isabel has carved her own niche as a performing and recording artist. Straddling between soul-bossa jazz, marrabenta-bossa, upbeat reggaeton and Afro soul; Isabel has coined a new sound for herself - ‘pop-world soul’.

Isabel Novella’s international exposure as performing artist is evident in her recordings, reflecting an artist who records as if she is performing for a live audience. The sounds of blackness and the beautiful melodies that make African music as harvested through church, weddings and ritual ceremonies permeate throughout her music as she experiments with trance-like melodic chants as if to evoke the dances of the ancients. From a very tender age Isabel Novella developed a passion for the arts and by the age of five she had already participated on TV, radio programs and festivals.

She composed her first song at the age of ten. By the time she was 14, Isabel had started singing professionally, on backing vocals in various groups in Mozambique, South Africa, and The Netherlands. Since 2005 Isabel Novella has performed with Neco Novellas (her family band) in more than 50 world music and jazz festivals in Holland, France, Germany, Bulgaria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Cape Verde and South Africa. About her music, Isabel Novella says: ‘First and foremost I want to reach and touch as many people I can with my music and message. The languages easily come to play when I write my lyrics as I like to combine Portuguese, English and dialects from home.

I believe you don’t always have to understand the lyrics to be moved by the song, and I want people also to feel what I do. I grew up listening and being inspired by different styles of music, from roots music like the typical traditional African rhythms to the western styles (soul, jazz, funk, classic, world…) When I create my music my mind easily jumps all over those different styles and I find myself combining them. You can dance/sing/cry/think/feel or just listen and enjoy!’