Biography
Canadian art-pop chanteuse Jane Siberry operates beyond the usual limits of folk and pop, fashioning otherworldly and singular compositions rooted in abundant imaginative reserves. She surfaced in the early 1980s and pursued broad appeal through off-center successes such as "Mimi on the Beach," "I Muse Aloud," "One More Colour," and "Calling All Angels." Over subsequent years she incorporated jazz and Celtic strains into her worldly sonic palette—one that calls to mind Laura Nyro, Kate Bush, Toyah Willcox, Suzanne Vega, and Laurie Anderson—while sustaining complete autonomy and issuing her output on the independent Sheeba Records imprint.
Born October 12, 1955, in Toronto, Ontario, Siberry took up piano in childhood and absorbed the classical and operatic influences that would later set her professional output apart. While completing a microbiology degree she began appearing at the neighborhood coffeehouse where she also waited tables; she ultimately applied her gratuities to finance her 1981 self-titled debut album, a spare collection that highlighted her otherworldly vocal excursions across the irregular rhythmic turns and striking emotional contrasts that defined her abstract, atmospheric approach.
Three years later she returned with No Borders Here, a more confident, filmic set anchored by the underground Canadian success "Mimi on the Beach." The critical and commercial impact of the evocative 1985 release The Speckless Sky drew Warner/Reprise attention, leading to 1988’s The Walking—a daring major-label debut built from dense, extended sonic canvases and understated, layered melodies. Despite widespread press praise the album made no chart impression, prompting her follow-up, 1989’s Bound by the Beauty, to adopt more commercial priorities through streamlined production and concise songcraft.
Her next project, the 1992 career survey Summer in the Yukon, consisted mainly of earlier tracks yet introduced one fresh recording: a radical remix of Bound by the Beauty’s “The Life Is the Red Wagon” that proved illuminating, its effortless conversion into a club-oriented dance number underscoring the singer’s musical flexibility. Consequently 1993’s When I Was a Boy, produced in part by Brian Eno and Michael Brook, became her most wide-ranging and ambitious statement to date, while 1995’s Maria found her performing alongside a jazz quintet.
Disillusioned with major-label concessions, Siberry established her own company, Sheeba, in May 1996; Teenager, her initial self-released album, appeared the following month. A live trilogy—Christmas: Music for the Christmas Season, Trees: Music for Films and Forests, and Lips: Music for Saying It—documented three nights at New York’s Bottom Line and reached the public in 1999. The melodically beautiful Hush arrived the next year, presenting a striking array of traditional American and Celtic pieces. City (2001) gathered uncommon material and featured partnerships with Joe Jackson, Nigel Kennedy, Ghostland, and additional collaborators. Rhino released the double-disc overview Love Is Everything: The Jane Siberry Anthology the year after, and in 2003 Siberry issued another characteristically distinctive holiday collection, Shushan the Palace: Hymns of Earth, interpreting Christmas liturgical hymns by classical composers.
In 2006 Siberry executed a significant shift, disposing of nearly all her belongings and adopting the name Issa, the feminine form of Isaiah. She clarified that all prior work would remain credited to Jane Siberry while future releases would appear under Issa. The first installment of a projected trilogy titled Three Queens, 2008’s Dragon Dreams, marked the initial material issued under the new name. With What Shall I Keep Warm?, arriving in 2009, was credited jointly to Issa and Jane Siberry after the artist concluded midway through recording that the name change had “run its course”; 2011’s Meshach Dreams Back, which concluded the cycle, became the first proper Jane Siberry album in eight years. The crowdfunded Ulysses’ Purse, subsequently reworked as Angels Bend Closer, surfaced in 2016.
Born October 12, 1955, in Toronto, Ontario, Siberry took up piano in childhood and absorbed the classical and operatic influences that would later set her professional output apart. While completing a microbiology degree she began appearing at the neighborhood coffeehouse where she also waited tables; she ultimately applied her gratuities to finance her 1981 self-titled debut album, a spare collection that highlighted her otherworldly vocal excursions across the irregular rhythmic turns and striking emotional contrasts that defined her abstract, atmospheric approach.
Three years later she returned with No Borders Here, a more confident, filmic set anchored by the underground Canadian success "Mimi on the Beach." The critical and commercial impact of the evocative 1985 release The Speckless Sky drew Warner/Reprise attention, leading to 1988’s The Walking—a daring major-label debut built from dense, extended sonic canvases and understated, layered melodies. Despite widespread press praise the album made no chart impression, prompting her follow-up, 1989’s Bound by the Beauty, to adopt more commercial priorities through streamlined production and concise songcraft.
Her next project, the 1992 career survey Summer in the Yukon, consisted mainly of earlier tracks yet introduced one fresh recording: a radical remix of Bound by the Beauty’s “The Life Is the Red Wagon” that proved illuminating, its effortless conversion into a club-oriented dance number underscoring the singer’s musical flexibility. Consequently 1993’s When I Was a Boy, produced in part by Brian Eno and Michael Brook, became her most wide-ranging and ambitious statement to date, while 1995’s Maria found her performing alongside a jazz quintet.
Disillusioned with major-label concessions, Siberry established her own company, Sheeba, in May 1996; Teenager, her initial self-released album, appeared the following month. A live trilogy—Christmas: Music for the Christmas Season, Trees: Music for Films and Forests, and Lips: Music for Saying It—documented three nights at New York’s Bottom Line and reached the public in 1999. The melodically beautiful Hush arrived the next year, presenting a striking array of traditional American and Celtic pieces. City (2001) gathered uncommon material and featured partnerships with Joe Jackson, Nigel Kennedy, Ghostland, and additional collaborators. Rhino released the double-disc overview Love Is Everything: The Jane Siberry Anthology the year after, and in 2003 Siberry issued another characteristically distinctive holiday collection, Shushan the Palace: Hymns of Earth, interpreting Christmas liturgical hymns by classical composers.
In 2006 Siberry executed a significant shift, disposing of nearly all her belongings and adopting the name Issa, the feminine form of Isaiah. She clarified that all prior work would remain credited to Jane Siberry while future releases would appear under Issa. The first installment of a projected trilogy titled Three Queens, 2008’s Dragon Dreams, marked the initial material issued under the new name. With What Shall I Keep Warm?, arriving in 2009, was credited jointly to Issa and Jane Siberry after the artist concluded midway through recording that the name change had “run its course”; 2011’s Meshach Dreams Back, which concluded the cycle, became the first proper Jane Siberry album in eight years. The crowdfunded Ulysses’ Purse, subsequently reworked as Angels Bend Closer, surfaced in 2016.
Albums
Singles
