Altered ego

>> Issa, the artist formerly known as
Jane Siberry, unloads

WHOLE NEW WHO: Issa

by ERIN MACLEOD

On June 3, 2006, Canadian musician Jane Siberry became Issa. She sold her house, dispensed with the bulk of her possessions, and now travels with nothing more than a knapsack. The woman famous for quirky yet charming songs like “Sail Across the Water” as well as the simply glorious “Calling All Angels” hasn’t completely disappeared. Snippets of new music illustrate that Issa’s music will more than please those of us who loved Jane.

Issa spoke with the Mirror about her music and her new vision—a vision that led her to put all Jane’s music online (at sheeba.ca) and let her fans determine the price, far before Radiohead’s In Rainbows. You might think that giving it all up and going a totally different direction is a little crazy, but Issa makes it seem like just the most natural thing.

Mirror: Music journalists saw Radiohead as being revolutionary, but you did it first.

Issa: People were protective of me—wanting to let people know that I thought of it first. I’ve been interviewed a lot about the self-determined pricing, and it’s not a business model so much as a life model based on being taken care of somehow, in a way that’s harmonious with my journey, and I accept that.

M: You’ve moved from a business model to a life model. Is this like the movement from Jane Siberry to Issa?

I: [The name change] creates a new beginning. You can compartmentalize in a way that is helpful, I think. I can say, that’s Jane Siberry’s—I can let that go now. It’s been a demarcation line. It’s a simple name, it’s a short name. Everything seems to go hand in hand.

M: Some people think this is odd. Why could you not keep the name and compartmentalize differently?

I: I agree with you, it’s an odd reaction, but it’s fun. I could have been much more drastic about it—part of me wanted to. I did my first bio as Issa with no history, and it felt really great. But I didn’t want to punish people or frustrate people who I cared about, people who liked my music, so I have mixed the two a bit.

M: Giving up all your possessions seems pretty drastic. It’s really a profound act of letting go.

I: I think that a lot of people are frustrated with how heavy their life is, and that I am just one of many. It has to happen at the right time if you’re going to do it. And maybe just being able to imagine it because you hear that someone has done it is valuable in some way. Possessions are very greedy responsibilities. I can’t tell you how relieved I am when I’m in a hotel room or wherever and I look at my knapsack and my other stage clothes bag and I think, that’s it. I feel giddy when I really realize how much more lightly I’m travelling now. I’m living.

M: You talk about how your name is shorter, you have less things. Would you use the word simple?

I: No. I don’t know how to explain it. There’s still a lot going on, but I’m trying to use the same big room, just with less furniture.

With Adrienne Pierce at le Savoy on
Sunday, Dec. 16, 8 p.m., $28.50