Here's a name to remember: Jain. Not as in any ordinary Jane Doe, but as in the extraordinary singer-songwriter who's enjoying a global hit with her song "Come," a number one hit in both France and Spain. She'll be playing the 7th Street Entry on March 31, during an upcoming U.S. tour, but this month she paid our country a shorter visit to promote her debut album Zanaka. Her stops on the tour included New York City — for a performance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert — and St. Paul, where she treated us to an intimate live session.

Humble and gracious as she stood in the Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser Studio with her sampler and guitar, Jain told Brian Oake and Jill Riley about her influences (including Miriam Makeba, who inspired the song of the same name), her rapid rise to global stardom, and how she creates her unique soundscapes. In addition to France and the Middle East, Jain's lived in Congo, where she learned how to program musical tracks and was discovered after posting demos to MySpace. Her intoxicating style reflects the diverse sounds she's grown up listening to, and makes her music as difficult to classify as it is to resist dancing to.

Use the audio player above to listen to the complete session with Jain.

Songs performed

"Come"
"Heads Up"
"Makeba"

Credits

Hosted by Brian Oake and Jill Riley
Produced by Anna Reed
Engineered by Michael DeMark
Photos and video by Nate Ryan
Web feature by Jay Gabler

Resources

Jain — official site

Gallery

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