The Masterlink Podcast

How To Bring Together Cultures, Genres and Feelings - with great lyrics! (with Jana Varga)

June 19, 2021 Jana Varga Season 1 Episode 19
The Masterlink Podcast
How To Bring Together Cultures, Genres and Feelings - with great lyrics! (with Jana Varga)
Show Notes

James and Stef talk to Jana Varga - Slovak-born London-based singer songwriter. She talks about her journey from her homeland to the UK, bringing emotion and depth to her songwriting and lots more.

Her well crafted songs are at home in the broad Americana genre but their roots run much deeper. Jana’s natural musicianship is founded in her classical music training, folk influences such as Janis Ian and James Taylor, jazz and fusion.

Having to ‘settle’ down in several countries throughout her life, her lyrics often reflect struggles and challenges when starting from zero in a new environment, creating new bonds and finding a community to belong to. 

Jana’s musical journey started in her native Slovakia where she studied classical piano and flute. She went on to study flute in France and continued to pursue the career of a classical musician auditioning for orchestras. She was a member of progressive rock outfit ‘Persona Grata’ that received a lot of praise from Mike Portnoy (Dream Theatre) who invited the band to play at the ''Progressive Nation At Sea " in Miami, USA. Following her childhood dream of becoming a singer, she took a leap of faith and moved to London in 2014, not knowing anyone there. In 2019 she released a debut EP 'Lanterns' and her ability to fuse genres like folk, Americana and country was praised by UK blogs and magazines like Maverick, Prog Mag, Folk and Honey and more.

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