Biography
Cannonball Jane serves as the four-track alias of Sharon Jane Hagopian, an elementary school music teacher based in suburban Connecticut who devotes her spare time to refining an upbeat fusion of Beck-style sardonic electro hip-hop with the bright, energetic charm of vintage U.K. indie twee pop acts such as Talulah Gosh. She entered the world as part of a musical household in Ohio and first began piano instruction during fifth grade. Subsequent study covered flute, voice, and guitar, and during the pursuit of her music education degree she launched serious experiments in multi-track recording. After finishing college and while building her teaching career, Hagopian produced intricate four-track arrangements of her solo one-woman-band material, combining keyboards, drum machines, obscure samples, guitar, flute, and layered vocals. In time she finished the album Street Vernacular, issued by the British indie imprint Fortuna Pop! in 2006. The follow-up EP Knees Up! appeared in fall 2007 and included two remixes of the single “Take It to Fantastic” crafted by the Beastie Boys’ Ad-Rock alongside British indie pop veteran DJ Downfall.