Issa (Formerly known as Jane Siberry)

The Canadian songstress with the gorgeous voice and fascinating, unpredictable and decidedly offbeat stage presence has gone through a massive life change since she last played Victoria. This past June, Siberry changed her name to Issa and rid herself of most of her earthly possessions. She disposed of her house, her car, her electric guitar, her master recordings and everything else except a handful of cardboard boxes, in which she keeps such items as her Miles Davis collection. Although the decision to rid oneself of all material possessions might seem wildly eccentric to some, this carefree way of living is a comfortable fit for the enigmatic 50-year-old singer-songwriter, whose catalogue spans pop, jazz, electronica, traditional hymns, children's lullabies and experimental sound collages (including snippets from yoga classes, voicemail messages and cab rides). During a career that was launched with the release of Jane Siberry in 1981 and No Borders Here in 1984, but really took off in 1993 with her breakthrough album When I Was A Boy (featuring a duet with k.d. lang on Calling All Angels), the quirky artist now known as Issa has written about flying cow... more...