Naomi Striemer

b. 1983, Canada. Striemer grew up on a hobby farm in rural Malagash Point, Nova Scotia and completed much of her education at home. The family relocated to Florida, USA in her mid-teens, which is where she first began to seriously pursue a music career. An early development contract with Epic Records attempted to market her as a teen pop singer, but a projected album release fell victim of label restructuring and when Striemer was released from her contract she resumed an independent path. The experience prompted her to spend more time writing her own music. After returning to Canada in 2003, she recorded a demo CD of her material and began performing low-key gigs at bookstores around Ontario. Toronto entrepreneur Steven Nowack heard her performing at one of these gigs and agreed to finance the recording of her debut album, in the process setting up the S Records label. Veteran producer Narada Michael Walden was enlisted to produce the album, which also included a guest appearance by guitarist Carlos Santana on the stand-out track ‘Cars’. Released in Canada at the end of 2006, the varied mix of ballads and melodic pop rockers on Images helped propel the album into the national charts.