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Issa (pronounced eeee-sah) (formerly known as Jane Siberry, born October 12, 1955 in Toronto, Ontario), is a Canadian singer-songwriter. In Canada, she is most famous for her early 1980s new wave hits such as "Mimi on the Beach", "I Muse Aloud" and "One More Colour". Internationally, she is best known for her 1993 album When I Was a Boy.
Career history Siberry was studying 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. Following the commercial failure of her 1995 album Maria, 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 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 on mp3 format in order to eliminate plastic waste. Issa 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. 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. 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. Discography Tracks on compilation albums Siberry has also contributed tracks to a number of movie soundtracks and compilation albums: Trivia | ||||||||
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