Janita

[ WWW.FINPOP.NET ]

THE FINNISH POP CULTURE PORTAL

Music
Interview : Janita

When and how did you became a musician?
I started singing before I started speaking and music was clearly always in my blood. I also started playing piano as soon as my fingers moved and when I was 5 I gave my first piano concert (that must have been interesting... I'm no Mozart by any means: )) But yeah, I would say I've been a musician ever since I was a kid. My actual singing career started at the age of 13.

What musicians or artists did have a major influence in your life / work?
Oh, so many! Early on, I was obsessed with Michael Jackson -- I had the life-size MJ-bedding, which, in hindsight is slightly kinky... I was a total fan, but of course mainly because of the music, which to this day is exquisite and still totally relevant. Others that have truly influenced me include Meshell Ndegeocello, Bill Withers, Astrud Gilberto... Honestly the list is endless, feels kinda silly to just mention a couple.

How could you define your style of music?
My music is a soulful mix of R&B, pop and jazz-influences. It's lyrically a combination of things I've gone through in my life and musically a combination of things that I've been listening to. Thus, eclectic!

During the years how has your musical style changed?
When I started out my career I was a teenager and was singing pop music. I went around Finland with two dancers and a backing track and not surprisingly had a marvelous time! With my second album though I had already started maturing and finding my own musical style and switched to an acid-jazzy style. In the next few years I went through various stages of pop and R&B, but I think what has really been a turning point for me musically was when I started writing my own songs. That happened when I wrote my earlier album "I'll be Fine" with Tomi Sachary -- I had only dabbled in song-writing before then. That album and my new one Seasons of Life are very personal and heartfelt and although the music style hasn't necessarily changed dramatically through the years, I feel like there are more layers now.

How do explain these changes?
As an artist and a person you change constantly, become interested in different things, are influenced by different music. Right now I'm listening to a lot of rock -- don't know if that has any consequence to my music in the future...

What are topics you treat in your songs?
Love mostly and different aspects to it. It's an amazing subject, because there is constant inspiration, at least for me. I also write about life and life's lessons. I am an overly sensitive human being and though it sometimes feels like a curse, that sensitivity comes in very handy whilst writing songs.

What is your favorite song in your repertoire and why?
My personal favorite is "I Only Want You" because despite it's smoky and jazzy vibe there is some humorous content in the lyrics, which I think is refreshing. I'm not just crying after a love lost, I'm being sarcastic about it... Also, I enjoy performing that song live, because it really lends it self to singing your ass off.

Do you actually prefer performing your music live or in a studio?
They're totally different, I enjoy both. But obviously with performing, there's always an adrenaline rush involved and it's about so much more than singing -- you have to connect to the audience and entertain. I think I'll have to say I enjoy the live aspect more, just because you can get instant gratification and don't have to wait two years to hear the reaction. : )

During the process of making a song, what is the moment that you prefer?
I usually write lyrics first, which means I write poems, which then end up being songs after a lot of twisting and switching of wording. I hate having to leave out some great lyrical stuff just because it doesn't fit into a melody... but that's how it goes -- song-writing is like a puzzle that you piece together. What I love is when it all finally fits: melody, lyric and and feel. The moment that you notice that "wow, this actually works!" I get a huge rush out of that.

A stupid question but... what is among all the songs you've been listening in your life the BEST song?
Well, that's a tough one! It changes you know, I'll probably answer this one differently depending on the day... but there's definitely something really special about Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me", it has made me cry a bunch of times. There's a song that I wish I'd have written!

What is your opinion, as a musician, regarding internet?
I think it's great! I'm on myspace (myspace.com/janitaartist) and I must say I have found many artists that I enjoy through there -- ones that I probably wouldn't hear of otherwise. I have even made friends with fellow artists through myspace. Sure, the music business has changed a whole lot due to the internet and a lot of record labels have suffered losses because of file-sharing. So not all aspects are good, but I do like being able to buy music through i-tunes even in the middle of the night if I want to. I personally make an effort to buy songs instead of downloading them for free, I hope that others do too.

What are your projects ?
I'm releasing my album Seasons of Life on May 16th in the States and then in Europe probably closer to the fall. I'll be doing gigs all year at least in the States.

What "image" do you have of French music?
I listen to a lot of Serge Gainsbourg, who I think is brilliant. I recently started studying French, so I enjoy listening to him speak over his music and trying to learn something from it -- his pronunciation is beautiful. I also listen to MC Solaar, Les Nubians, Vanessa Paradis, Air... I'm open to suggestions!

Is there one French song that you prefer? If so, what song is it?
I love Serge Gainsbourg's Comic Strip-album, it's tough to pick just one song... so I won't. : )

Interview by Vincent Lefrançois - 2006