Biografia
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Data de nascimento
21 Dezembro 1981 (idade 42)
You search, feel, try, climb and fall back a bit…and then you arrive somewhere. Somewhere in your life as an artist, who are you? Yourself? At the beginning of 2011 Janne Schra was ready to say: this is who I am. It was preceded by an extensive voyage of discovery.
Janne had her big break in 2006 as lead singer of the band Room Eleven with their debut album Six White Russians & A Pink Pussycat. This album and the sophomore Mmm…Gumbo? (2008) sold in excess of 100.000 copies. The band toured in Europe, Canada, Japan and South Africa, recorded an album in New York, performed at major jazz festival like the Montreal Jazz Festival and won a Silver Harp Music Award. In 2009 they performed in a sold-out Carré Theatre after a successful national theatre tour. In short, Room Eleven was a whirl-wind and Janne had to find shelter to be able follow a different route to discover which direction she wanted to take. Janne went to Stockholm by herself. Somewhat disguised as Schradinova (her pseudonym as a painter) she released the eccentric album India Lima Oscar Victor Echo You. This album and the subsequent live-shows were warmly received by critics and public alike and she reached new audiences. But this band, much more experimental than Room Eleven, included a lot of volume. Janne found it a challenge to bring subtlety to her vocal performance.
It became increasingly clear the Janne needed this. For instance, when she performed a sensitive version of Mysteries by Beth Gibbons on a popular Dutch TV Show. Definitely, when she sang a live duet with American singer-songwriter M Ward. It was a magical moment where all the pieces came together. During this period Janne kept remembering the time when she, however timidly, performed her songs accompanying herself on the piano. She wanted to revisit that intimate feeling.
In 2012 Janne was encouraged to do a theatre tour and immediately knew she would create a show using her own name. She got the chance to accompany herself on guitar and piano because of the new group members. She also knew that her voice needed enough space.
Shortly before the tour, violinist Sietse van Gorkum advised her to do some try-out shows with his Red Limo String Quartet. It felt so good that they decided to simply add guitar and percussion. With this ensemble they will make a theatre tour in the fall of 2012. The new group (consisting of multi-instrumentalists and vocalists) embrace Janne’s voice and music.
When the musical direction became clear Janne started writing songs that now form her new album, "Janne Schra". The stories behind the songs each have their own world. But the common denominator is more tangible; hard work, experiencing joy and the fear of losing it again. The track Eyes on the Prize (besides being the only cover song it is also the only duet, with M Ward) illustrates this seamlessly.
Janne wrote a couple of songs with producer Tobias Fröberg (Ane Brun a.o.) who owns a studio in astonishingly beautiful Gotland. Whatever happened, she wanted to record a couple of songs with him. The majority of the songs were recorded by Martijn Groeneveld (Blaudzun a.o.) in the equally magical Mailmen Studios in Utrecht with pre-production by Tore Florim and musical advice and suggestions from all the musicians.
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