To survive as a truly independent artist requires one to think inventively of ways to finance the continuation of one's career. This last year saw Jane create the Siberry Salon tour--a mini venture where she crafted three day-workshops that took place in very intimate spaces (that's PR speak for "your living room") for a select group of people. Consisting of two performances, a workshop, and dinner over the course of a weekend, these Salons were an opportunity for her fan base to break down the separation between artist and audience. "From all of those salons," she says, "I've made connections with people who've actually stepped forward and have really broken the ice in so many places and given help in so many ways. The salons had all kinds of interesting ramifications and people have had a chance to see where I'm coming from [as an artist]. These events were attended by people who have been following my work for years. It was the right time for people to express themselves to me, to offer companionship. It was an expensive ticket--not meant to keep anyone away from the salon, but it definitely catered to a select group of people."

And that is part of the freedom of Sheeba; Jane can do anything. Not everything that she does has to be for everyone. Sure, there is a necessity to reap a profit from your creative acts--that is what keeps the office lights on, after all--but you can become more experimental in your output. Call it treats for those who are interested in following you off the major path. Take A Day in the Life for example. A thirty minute sound collage put together for the first anniversary of Sheeba, it traces Jane through the course of her day in New York City. "It's supposed to be a song and works that way," she explains. "But I never would have done it if I was still on a larger label. You aren't given the opportunity to do experiments like that for a smaller number of people."

Her first album to garner widespread attention was 1985's The Speckless Sky. Winner of two People's Choice Awards in Canada (for Album and Producer of the Year), it shows the beginnings of Jane the Adventurous as she gives us eight tracks that transcend normal verse/chorus/verse structures. "The Very Large Hat" catapults and climbs the sky with its varied structure, mirroring the enthused heartbeat of a young woman thinking about her winsome man. And "Vladimir o Vladimr" starts with an exhortation for everyone to be seated, followed by the rustling of sheaves of corn and the lost voices pulled from the sky, all before the "song" itself finally comes into being. These songs are lush; "Siberry-esque" as she calls them, as if this were a quantifiable genre.

Well, it is. 1987's The Walking (her first album for Warner/Reprise) is these soundscapes given life, evocative atmospheres that eschew traditional structures for more introspective journeys. You just have to hear "The White Tent The Raft" to lose yourself in the series of clearings that can be found in this extensive forest that she weaves about you. An exceptionally complex and layered album, it wasn't as warmly welcomed by the music-buying public as her previous outings. A shame.

1993's When I Was a Boy is probably Jane's biggest commercial success. Produced with assistance from Brian Eno and Michael Brook, it returns to the lush atmospheres that were somewhat pushed aside for Bound by the Beauty. It is fascinating to hear how clearly she thrusts us into her environment with the opening minutes of the first song. "Temple" overwhelms you with the chorused "Come on come on/Let me into your temple." There are layers and layers here, a complicated departure from the acoustic simplicity of much of her previous album. And the storytelling art has not left Jane's blood as evidenced by the nine-minute opus, "The Vigil," a warm, watery adventure that combines the best parts of the intimate fabulist and the sumptuous composer.

Shortly thereafter, she stepped aboard the Ship-called-Sheeba and began her new pilgrimage.

"I'm a totally different person than I was half a year ago." Jane pauses for a second on the phone. "Yeah, a totally different person. That's more important than anything to me: growth. I feel the glass is half full. I feel like I'm just about to start, just about to come close to my prime. To be really able to do the work I see for myself."

On the web:
Sheeba (Official Jane Siberry Site)

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