Jaca will open her heart to entertain the Solfest crowd
Last updated 14:44, Monday, 05 May 2008
CARLISLE singer-songwriter Jaca is set to rock the stage at Solfest with the music that healed her heart.
- Video: watch Jaca
The diminutive lass with a soulful style has turned heartbreak into tuneful refrain, and will play her new material on the Drystone stage at the festival near Aspatria in August.
Following in the tradition of many a music legend, Jaca took inspiration from romantic entanglements to follow up her first album of 2006, Kalpa.
“It was a horrendous year emotionally – perfect for making music,” she said. “I was angry and I was bitter – and that is obvious in the songs. I'm so glad I had the piano to get it out of my system.”
But the pain paid off lyrically and on listening to her music, Solfest organiser Alan Whittaker booked Jaca, 27, for the lineup, saying she was “a bit special”.
“I'm so excited, not just about playing Solfest but about being there as well – it really is a magical place.”
A scary school recital at a tender age almost put Jaca off performing live for life: “I tripped over someone's legs when I walked away and she made a huge fuss. That was it – no one would hear me play again for nearly 15 years.”
But luckily for her growing fan base, she brought her music out to play two years ago and has since been a regular at Denton Holme’s Source Café.
The intimate atmosphere of the venue lends itself perfectly to her candid lyrics and quirky song structures, which sit well with fans of Regina Spektor and Tori Amos.
“I know I'm doing it right, because not many people like my music, but those who do, love it,” she said. Asked whether she has been tempted to stray from the one girl and her piano arrangement, she said: “Every time I gig I wish I had a band to carry my keyboard, or that I played something a bit more mobile.
“But then I remember that it is the best instrument in the world and all is forgiven.”
News & Star have been lucky enough to score the video to Goodbye my Friend recorded live at St Cuthbert's Church in Carlisle.
“It was really kind of [Rev Canon] Richard Pratt to let me use the church. I couldn't have asked for a better setting. I'm not religious myself, but the person the song is written about had great faith in a God as well as in mankind.”
With darker days firmly behind her, what does the future hold for the chanteuse?
“I am blissfully happy. Actually, I haven't felt the need to touch the piano in weeks. But the need will be coming back around soon, as sure as there will be smiling faces at the Tarns in August.”
