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Dear reader of this letter,
While I'm writing this, lots of awful things are happening, and to be honest I don't remember a time when there was no war, when there were no refugees on the road with their children, trying to find a safe place for them to grow up in, and when there were no people dying because of the insane ideas of people with too much power. In December I was following an online course with a group of musicians and one of them said she started writing songs the moment she realised how much sadness there is in the world. Some people say that the situation for the average person is still getting better each year (less disease, more food, etc.) but there is so much that is going wrong. Hang in there dear you, and let us all keep trying to make the world around us a little better each day...
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At the same time, things are actually going really well for me. I'm doing something good each day by drawing at least one horse and one cat, as requested by my 2-year-old. This particular horse is probably listening to this song. Or is it my EP Wide World which keeps getting such incredible reviews!
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Great reviews
To be honest, I can barely believe all the beautiful words people write about my music. When I'm performing, I can see that my music hits home, and I can feel that I'm playing well (or less well). But the music on record is outside of me and I have no idea what the effect on the listener will be. I'm so pleased that even then the songs seem to get through. I've translated the review from the Netherlands' oldest music magazine, OOR:
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"After listening thoroughly to the intimate EP Wide World by Sophie Janna, what remains is pure amazement. This is a paragon of how apparent simplicity can permeate deeply, dissolving daily tension in your body within ten seconds. First of all, Janna treats you to an angelic, flawless, warm and convincing voice. It feels as if she is singing live next to you. Secondly, the singer/musician - after having performed mostly work by others before - writes catchy folk songs, well supported by a minimal instrumental line-up. The second part of Wide World consists of four acoustic songs, the last of which, Laurels, with Janos Koolen on clarinet, could well be the most beautiful thing released in the Dutch folk world to date. Impressive."
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Shows
With this review and others like it in my pocket, I succeeded in getting one of the best locations for my EP presentation: the Tolhuistuin, also known as Paradiso-Noord (since it's on the north side of Amsterdam, across the water from central station). Paradiso will share the news on Tuesday and tickets will be for sale from Friday the 4th of March. If you were planning on coming, I can send you an email on the 4th so you can get your ticket forthwith (or whatever that English word is?). It won't be a typical show for me: I've asked some incredible musicians to play with me, and there will also be a visual translation of my music... Prior to the EP presentation I will also play two (much) shorter sets, one in Delft and one in Amsterdam.
April 9 - Delft
20.00 / Rietveldtheater / with two other acts & an interview on the stage
May 6 - Amsterdam
17.30 / Concerto Koffie / a few songs to celebrate that my EP will be for sale here
May 12 / Amsterdam
20.00 / Tolhuistuin / THE SHOW OF SHOWS
None of these concerts have been officially announced yet, so you can't buy any tickets yet. But at least you can put them on your calendar now!
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Feelings
Whenever something bad happens (such as, shall we say, a war), I seem to have two possible mental states: either willful ignorance, or complete overwhelm which means I can't do anything but play music or paint. A few years ago I would attempt to keep pushing unease away and I would get a stomach ache, tense shoulders or a headache. I didn't realize that there were feelings below that needed some space. To be honest, I used to think that negative emotions did not deserve space.
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I would think that I was overreacting; it seemed like other people were able to act normal and were never struck by the things that happened to them for as long as I was. I had no idea that this was normal behavior for someone like me - the "antelopes" among people, who are startled just a little sooner than the rest, who are just a bit more sensitive, notice other people's emotions a little bit sooner, and are consequently a bit quicker to get overwhelmed and tired. What a relief it was to realize that I'm part of a group! This is all a long introduction to the exciting news that I am the cover girl for HSP Magazine next month - a Dutch magazine for the antelopes among us ;) There is also a wonderful book about this which I can really recommend.
Not dropping the ball
In the meantime I'm trying to juggle a lot of roles: being a mum, being a researcher, shows with The Lasses, developing my own music, being a home-maker, and, now that the weather seems to get better, being a gardener! And I also want to keep learning new things, read books, take walks, draw and paint just for the fun of it. My current strategy is to pick one thing each week which will be my special project. One week I'm learning how to play a particular song on the piano, the other week I'm focusing on expanding my vocabulary in Spanish, I might work on my website soon, and last week... I've finally painted a wall! I'm very proud of the result and I think it looks especially good with the cherry blossom my mom gave me for my 2-year-anniversary of being a mom myself :)
Thank you so much for reading all this, I love sharing my news with you, and I really hope I might see you in Paradiso 2,5 months from now!
All the best, Sophie
PS Meanwhile my EP is for sale already - send me an email (reply to this one) if you would like a copy by post, or get the digital version as a download or on Spotify. And please spread the word, every little bit helps!
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