Idha

Idha
Birth nameIdha Övelius
Born (1972-05-22) 22 May 1972 (age 52)
OriginSödertälje, Sweden
GenresIndie pop, folk rock
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar
Years active1994–1997
LabelsCreation

Idha Anna Maria Övelius (born 22 May 1972, Södertälje, Sweden),[1] known professionally as Idha, is a Swedish singer/songwriter. She released two albums in the 1990s on Creation Records: Melody Inn and Troublemaker.[2]

Idha was married to guitarist Andy Bell, co-founder of Ride and former bassist with Oasis,[1] as well as co-founder of Beady Eye, with whom she had two children, a daughter named Leia and a son named Leon. Bell co-wrote some of the songs on her debut album, Melody Inn, while former Small Faces member Ian McLagan contributed keyboards to the album.[2] Her 1994 EP A Woman in a Man's World featured guest appearances from both Evan Dando[2] and Stephen Duffy.

After a quiet couple of years, Idha returned in 1997 with her second album Troublemaker, again featuring Bell, alongside Tony Barber (of Buzzcocks) and Alan White.[2] While her first album largely consisted of country-tinged, acoustic folk-rock, the second had a much fuller sound with the addition of horns and strings.[3]

Idha lives in Stockholm, Sweden with her two children. She retired from the music industry in 2000. Since 2009 she has been working as a structural engineer at Stockholm based firm Hidemark & Stintzing Architects.

  1. ^ a b Larkin, Colin (1998) The Virgin Encyclopedia of Indie & New Wave, Virgin Books, ISBN 0-7535-0231-3, p.218
  2. ^ a b c d Strong, Martin C. (2003) "Idha", in The Great Indie Discography, Canongate, ISBN 1-84195-335-0
  3. ^ Larry, Chris "Idha - Troublemaker Review", Allmusic, Macrovision Corporation