This woman's got the goods. Stardom awaits. ~Billboard
This belle can belt and pen. Janita teems with vocal wattage and knows it. ~The Village Voice
She not only writes beautifully powerful songs, but sings with such passion and conviction that it’s hard to take your eyes off her. ~UK Telegraph
Critics have oozed over this gifted artist, and rightly so. ~ ASCAP/PLAYBACK MAGAZINE
Janita's expressive, understated, and yet soulful performances prove (even) more beautiful than her silhouette. ~ ALL MUSIC GUIDE
Janita keeps listeners hooked...HEAR IT! ~ MARIE CLAIRE
JANITA
On the heels of her most commercially successful release to date, Janita returns with her highly anticipated new album, Haunted. The latest in an already acclaimed discography, Haunted is helmed by an artist with the courage and determination to evolve--not only out of artistic desire, but personal necessity.
"What do we learn?" Janita (YA-nee-tuh) asks in the album’s opening song, serving as a wry set-up for the answer she provides again and again with each charged moment of Haunted. Undeniably, she’s learned a lot. With its expanded emotional canvas for her melodic songwriting--framed by lush, electrified arrangements and her trademark vocals--Haunted is proof that this is an artist who has truly come into her own.
"The great artists aren’t afraid to grow while retaining what was unique about them in the first place," says Janita from her Brooklyn home. "Those are the artists I’ve always admired. So with this album, I felt I had to raise the stakes for myself, regardless of the risks." Risks that, in the end, proved to be as much personal as musical.
Before moving to Brooklyn as a seventeen-year old, Janita had already been a superstar outside of the United States. In her native Finland she was a national icon, the premiere recording artist on radio and television, awash with awards, constant touring and commercial success: a historic and pioneering career, all while still a teenager. She was quickly signed by Sony after moving to New York, capitalizing on her international celebrity. Her eponymous debut was followed by 2001’'s I’ll Be Fine and 2006's Seasons Of Life, the latter scoring her two Top-40 hits on the US Charts. But throughout, Janita saw her own musical vision often being pushed aside for what she was told would be "safer" and in everyone’s best interest.
It was another artist, it turns out, who became the catalyst for the changes ahead. "I remember Meshell Ndegeocello came over. She exposed me to music I hadn’t explored before. I loved it. Totally devoured it. I moved into Keane, Tom Waits, Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins, Hole, and PJ Harvey. A natural progression. Until soon I couldn’t find enough depth solely in the music I’d been inhabiting. Until I couldn’t express myself solely with the tools I’d been using anymore." Bucking the conventional "wisdom" of her advisors and extricating herself from her label, she began inventing a different, defiant future for herself and her music.
Haunted's title track describes the ensuing transformation, akin to Dorothy stepping into color in The Wizard of Oz ("Coming From my hidden world / Through doors that I’ve closed / Across bridges I’ve burned, ''Haunted''). In "House on Fragile Terrain," Janita declares "I can’t be who you’d like me to be," with the understanding that no transformation comes without cost. Timeless string arrangements in "Hopelessly Hopeful" and "Believe Me I Know" meet cutting-edge electronic elements in "Martian" and "Last Chance to Run and Hide," each track teeming with Juanita’s soulful vocal wattage. "All along," smiles Janita, "it’s been music that’s kept me sane, from the very beginning of my life...and it continues to do so."
At its core, Haunted embodies the journey of an artist focused not on the ghosts of her past, but on the possibilities of her future. One of her own fashioning. One that for the first time now belongs to her. A future of hope and promise, and she invites her listeners to join her.
JANITA'S TOP TEN ALBUMS for TOWER
Reading a bio of an artist provides a glimpse of what has gotten them to where they are at this point. In our opinion, asking that artist to tell us what their Top Albums or Songs that have influenced them takes our journey much deeper. We want to thank Janita for compiling the following list. Some great releases and maybe some surprises…then when you listen to Haunted you will have a more personal understanding of Janita and her music. Enjoy!
PJ Harvey: Stories from the City--Stories from the Sea
This album was what made me fall head over heels for PJ Harvey. She is a huge role model for me, in that she is a strong, intelligent woman who is not afraid to lay herself bare and be vulnerable as well. In the male-dominated world of rock music, she is not trying to be a guy--she is powerfully feminine, and she uses all weapons available to her in music, lyrics, singing and playing.
Radiohead: In Rainbows or Vinyl LP
In the case of Radiohead, I could've easily named two or more of their other albums as well. I have never been a fan of anything as much as I am a fan of Radiohead. I am absolutely obsessed! Listening to them is at times an orgasmic experience, but it can also be upsetting, saddening, maddening... They strike so many chords in me, a full spectrum. But most of all, I'm struck by the beauty of their music--divinely beautiful to my ears.
Meshell Ndegeocello: Bitter
Meshell Ndegeocello has been one of my biggest influences ever since she came out with "If That's Your Boyfriend (He Wasn't Last Night)." She is such a multi-faceted artist, never afraid to push the boundaries of propriety, of genre; never one to conform. She is not out there to please anyone, she is out there to express herself. And in expressing herself, she touches me deeply. Even in her simplest lyrical idea, there is a depth not many other artists can come close to.
Tribe Called Quest: The Anthology or Vinyl LP
Tribe Called Quest is my favorite rap band of all time. They're intelligent and artistic, and hilariously funny. I love that they are spreading a message of positivity--a realistic optimism, though there's nothing cutesy about it. And the music sounds as current to me as it ever was. Totally awesome!
PM Dawn: The Bliss Album
I listened to PM Dawn so much in my teens, that it's left a profound mark on my melodies and harmonizing. I feel an immense connection to something in their musical landscape, and I've recognized a similar sensibility in some surprising places since, including Bjork and Smashing Pumpkins. I don't know whether that is purely coincidental. NO SONG PREVIEW AVAILABLE
D'Angelo: Brown Sugar
I got this album from some record-label meeting I had in New York at 16 years old. I had never heard of D'Angelo before, but as soon as I started listening, I got completely addicted to the music. I know every vocal lick on this record by heart! And probably most of the instrumentation too.
Neil Young: Comes A Time
Neil Young is so heartfelt and real. This album feels like a glimpse into a simpler way of living and existing in this world, though one not lacking in any depth. I always feel like I wanna move to the countryside, when I listen to this... In my mind I can just see the crops swaying in the breeze...
Death Cab For Cutie: Plans or Vinyl LP
I am in awe of Ben Gibbard's mind. He is able to marry any complicated thought process so seamlessly and catchily with totally accessible pop melodies. His gift is one that I don't even completely understand, as it's so far from the way my own brain works. But I appreciate it and am touched by it nevertheless. The whole band is amazing--so much soul in every piece of the puzzle.
Depeche Mode: Songs of Faith and Devotion
I love the darkness of Depeche Mode; something about it feels like home to me. This album has been the one that I've most identified with: defiant in the face of adversity, unspeakable sadness and agony. Such a powerful record--I have hung on every word, every note.
Bjork: Post
Bjork is one of the most amazing artists on this planet to me. Many of her melodies are heart-breakingly beautiful, and what really floors me is that when she sings them, she is usually also saying something absolutely profound.
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