About Jane

DUBLIN, BARCELONA, HAMBURG

Jane O'Brien was born in Dublin and has spent the last thirteen years living in Barcelona and Hamburg. In this time she has sung in a wide variety of line ups from an all women's a-capella group in Barcelona to trip hop and Irish folk in Hamburg. She started writing her own songs in the mid nineties and has had her own band in various formations since 1998. Since then she has enraptured audiences around Germany with her crystal clear voice, her heartfelt and soulful performance and her honest and often witty lyrics.

FIRST PERFORMANCE AT THE AGE OF 4

The Dubliner, Jane O'Brien's first public performance was at the tender age of four when she wandered away from her parents enjoying an afternoon drink in a Co. Wicklow hotel, and found her way onto the stage in the hall where a wedding was in full swing. Her parents later found her by following the sound of a small girl belting out "Two little boys" over the PA. Jane O'Brien's first professional band was the seven woman a-capella group "Stupendams", based in Barcelona. Here, the women, a mixture of Spanish, British and Irish, performed a wide range of music, from pop to madrigals to swing, at concerts and festivals all around Catalunya and northern Spain.

MOVE TO HAMBURG, GERMANY FOR LOVE

In 1990 she moved to Hamburg, Germany for LOVE. As a solo jazz singer in the legendary Dennis Swing Club in Hamburg she began to make contacts in the music scene, while singing with most of the well known jazz musicians in the city. In the following years she co-founded several music projects producing pop, folk and trip-hop. In 1995 with four German/"Irish" traditional musicians she founded the band "Boreen". Until the end of 2001 they wowed audiences big and small all over north Germany with a traditional blend of fast tunes, slow airs and songs about lovers who returned too late and husbands who returned too soon. In 1997 they produced the CD "Enchanted ways".

GATHERING A WEALTH OF MUSICAL EXPERIENCE

In 1995 Jane was approached by the composer and programmer Uwe Haas. Together they formed the trip-hop project "S.T.A.R.". Along with singing, O'Brien wrote the lyrics and melodies and in 1996 the CD "Simply Travelling Around Reality" was released under the PIAS Germany label with distribution by Rough Trade. Finally in 1998 having gathered a wealth of experience and a few debts she began a period of contemplation on the trials and tribulations of partnerships and the joys of having male musicians try to shape her career. She emerged determined to go it alone, decided to call herself "Jane O'Brien and Band", and went in search of the Band.

JANE O'BRIEN AND BAND

Late in 1998 "Jane O'Brien and Band" performed for the first time to very enthusiastic audiences. The line up was Anne Wiemann from Germany on saxophone and flute, Lucia Wojdak from Poland on cello and Ralf Kamphuis from Germany on vibraphone. In 2001 they produced the CD "Strawberry Soufflé". In April 2002 Jane's son Simon was born. After a two year break she is back with an exciting new sound. She is backed by two top class musicians, Dorothee Schüler on drums and Paul Baeyertz on piano. Together they provide a danceable blend of pop and jazz.

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