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Jane Siberry

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Jane Siberry

Issa (pronounced eeee-sah) (formerly known as Jane Siberry, born October 12 1955), is a Canadian singer-songwriter known for such new wave hits as "Mimi on the Beach", "I Muse Aloud" and "One More Colour", as well as her adult contemporary hit "Calling All Angels" from her 1993 album When I Was a Boy.

On August 30 2005, Jane Siberry was awarded the 2005 Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton Award in music by the Canada Council for the Arts.[1]

Career history

Born in Toronto, Ontario, Siberry was studying music and microbiology at the University of Guelph when she released her debut album, Jane Siberry in 1981 (see 1981 in music). The album was relatively successful for an independent release, but the follow-up, No Borders Here was critically acclaimed and included the underground hit "Mimi on the Beach".

The Speckless Sky (1985, see 1985 in music) was a commercial and critical success, and Siberry moved to a major label in time for The Walking (1988, see 1988 in music), which was a critical success but popular failure. The Walking was released on Reprise Records internationally, but remained on Duke Street Records in Canada. Reprise would become her Canadian record label as well with her next album, Bound By the Beauty in 1989.

In 1993 (see 1993 in music), Siberry worked with Michael Brook and Brian Eno on When I Was a Boy. That album's most famous song, the k.d. lang duet "Calling All Angels", first appeared in Wim Wenders' Until the End of the World, and was later re-recorded for the Pay It Forward soundtrack. The song was also subsequently used in the Six Feet Under episode "The Rainbow of Her Reasons", sung by several characters around the body of a deceased friend. The song also featured in CSI New York, season 3, episode 12.

Following the release Maria (1995, see 1995 in music), Siberry founded her own independent label, Sheeba Records. She has released all of her subsequent material on that label. Her public profile has been lower since she became an independent artist; however, she retains a devoted cult following.

All of Siberry's independent albums have presented material organized around a particular theme, such as Christmas music, songs about communication, or traditional spiritual music.

Her latest album is Shushan the Palace: Hymns of Earth (2003, see 2003 in music), an album of pop interpretations of Christmas hymns.

Siberry's music is most commonly compared to artists such as Kate Bush, Joni Mitchell and Laurie Anderson. Her personal musical influences include Van Morrison and Miles Davis.

In 2005, Siberry pioneered a self-determined pricing policy through her website[2] on which the purchaser is given the choices of: standard price (about $0.99 USD/track), pay now - self-priced, pay later - self-priced, or "a gift from Jane". Her music is now only available in mp3 format in order to eliminate plastic waste. In an interview with The Globe and Mail, Siberry confirmed that since she had instituted the self-determined pricing policy, the average income she receives per song from Sheeba customers is in fact slightly more than standard price.[3] [4]

Issa

[original research?]

Early in 2006, she closed her Sheeba office, then sold and gave away nearly all of her possessions -- including her home and instruments. She presently retains one travelling guitar, but none of the other instruments featured on her albums and in her concerts. In 2006, she told The Globe and Mail that she had kept a very few precious possessions, including her Miles Davis CDs, in storage.

On June 3 2006, somewhere in northwestern Europe, Siberry changed her name to Issa. She revealed her new name to the public on June 24 2006. She has also indicated, however, that her older music will remain available for sale under the name Jane Siberry; only her new material will be released as Issa. She indicated to The Globe and Mail that she chose the name Issa as a feminine variant of Isaiah.[4]

On July 4 2006, she gave a lecture at University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, on the topic of "Cracking the Egg: A Look from the Inside," opening with a poetic meditation on science and life -- and then opened the floor up to questions from the audience. She talked about her recent adventures in decommodifying her life, her change in name, and her new conception of herself as an artist. While she has been recording new music lately, at present she has no plans to release music conventionally on CD as she has in the past, preferring perhaps to release a song at a time through her website or to share new music in concert.

In 2006 and 2007 Issa has documented the process of recording some 30 new songs in her journal, posted on her MySpace page and on issalight.com. The songs are not yet available.

Discography

Tracks on compilation albums

Siberry has also contributed tracks to a number of movie soundtracks and compilation albums:

Trivia

  • Although there is a common belief that she is a lesbian,[6] and her music has appeared on a compilation CD targeted to a lesbian audience,<ref name="lesbian2">Rhino Entertainment, Various Artists,

Women Like Us: Lesbian Favorites, Rhino.com online store, [

References

  1. ^ Canada Council for the Arts, news release, 30 August 2005, [1]. Template:En icon Template:Fr icon
  2. ^ Jane Siberry's Sheeba.ca website with a self-determined pricing policy, [2].
  3. ^ Jane Siberry Opens a Window On a Better Download World", Electronic Frontier Foundation, November 28 2005. Retrieved 2007-08-14.
  4. ^ a b Gill, Alexandra (2006-09-30). "Just a Knapsack and Her Manolos",The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2006-04-03.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference lesbian2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Popmatters.com, Scott McLatchy, Jane Siberry, The Speckless Sky (1985), 15 July 2005, [3].
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