Jane Germain showed up on the music scene in the 90's, with the release of the acclaimed debut, "The Honeymoons Over" (with the Dreamers) followed up the next year with the album "Surrender".
Listeners were introduced to an Australian songwriter by birth, and Chinese by heritage who brought a self-styled vibrancy to the diverse music she whipped together - blues, folk, funk and anything else that seemed expressive and alive.
The songs she wrote and sang were about feelings old and new, and the music was inventively rhythmic as it was melodic.
Jane continues to take her music in new directions without losing the influences that are so much a part of her identity. Her latest compositions emphasize free, brushstroke-like improvisations, which have been inspired by her recent experiences with other cultures and musicians and her life in China. With this constant yearning to take her music beyond convention, Jane has collaborated with many internationally renown musicians, including the Mongolian traditional folk musicians Hanggai on the track “Model Young Manâ€, and Beijing er-hu (2 stringed Chinese violin) player Yang Tian Chuan on the title track “Chinese Whispers†and “When You Come Around Hereâ€
Images from the recording sessions
Jane first toured through China in 2001, introducing her songs to the Chinese people, and returned for her "Middle Kingdom Tour" in September/October 2004. She toured the Guangdong Province in January 2006 with performances in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and returned in May/June 2006 to Beijing with a tour covering 16 dates. She returned to China again in December to collaborate with her Chinese friends.
Her new album, Chinese Whispers (released on MGM) further develops the ideas and emotions that have long compelled Germain. And with her ever upbeat sense of fusion and generosity, her music continues to ignore the stylistic restrictions that can leave pop music stale. Chinese Whispers also features accompaniment from some of Western Australia's top musicians, including the highly acclaimed multi-instrumentalist Ian Simpson (Paul Kelly's Stormwater Boys), John Reed (Kavisha), Adam Gare (Uncle Bill, Sensitive New Age Cowpersons), Dave Brewer (Diamond Dave & the Doodaddies, Lucky Oceans) Joe Whittle and Ben Franz (The Waifs).
Jane returned to China in May 2008 with banjo player Ian Simpson at the invitation of the Beijing Midi Festival (China’s biggest rock festival) followed by a tour with dates covering a series of concerts in Beijing and Shanghai.
(more at www.janegermain.com )
Order Chinese Whispers online
