Jane Weaver

Jane Louise Weaver (born 1972 in Liverpool) is an English singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She runs the record label Bird. Weaver has performed as part of the Britpop group Kill Laura, the folktronica project Misty Dixon, and as a solo artist. She was brought up in the town of Widnes, Cheshire.

Kill Laura began when Weaver was in sixth form college. Between 1993 and 1996 Kill Laura released five singles, two on Polydor and three on the Manchester Records label run by Rob Gretton, owner of The Haçienda and manager of New Order. Kill Laura disbanded in 1997.

Weaver formed Misty Dixon in 2002. The band originally consisted of Weaver, Anna Greenwood, Dave Tyack and Sam Yates. Misty Dixon released several singles, and one album, Iced To Mode (2003). However, the release of the album was shrouded in tragedy following the disappearance of Tyack in August 2002. Misty Dixon split up in 2004.

Weaver's solo career began shortly after the demise of Kill Laura. She recorded an album for Manchester records in 1998, Supersister, but it was left unreleased following the death of Gretton in May 1999. A single, 'Everyone Knows Everyone Else', recorded in collaboration with Doves and Andy Votel, was released from the Supersister sessions.

Weaver continued her solo career alongside Misty Dixon. Following a number of singles Weaver's first album, Like An Aspen Leaf, was released in 2002. It featured contributions from Andy Votel, Dave Tyack, Rick Tomlinson (Voice of the Seven Woods), Sam Yates, Naomi Hart and two members of Elbow, Craig Potter and Richard Jupp.

Her second album, Seven Day Smile (2006) was a collection of home recordings and material from the Supersister era. By the time of her third album, Cherlokalate (2007), Weaver was exploring more psychedelic folk and Americana influences. The NME review of Cherlokalate (2007) declared that “Jane Weaver is the sound of Cat Power if she’d grown up next door to Oasis, stealing their Beatles records and outshining them at the school Christmas concert”.

The Fallen By Watchbird, Weaver's fourth album, was released in 2010. The Guardian wrote “Psych folk is back. It may have died out with the hippies in the 1970s, but now it has merged with folktronica, and the result here is not as twee and pretentious as one might fear… Weaver's fragile, unworldly voice is carefully balanced against more muscular backing”. The album also received a four (out of five) star review in Mojo. Weaver wrote a fairytale book to accompany the album. A remix album, The Watchbird Alluminate (2011), featured interpretations by electronic artists including Demdike Stare and The Focus Group.

In 2011, Weaver recorded the library music recording Intiaani Kesä for filmmaker and fashion designer Paloa Suhonen of the brand Ivana Helsinki. A track from the project, 'Parade Of The Blood Red Sorrows', was also featured in the 2013 film Kiss Of The Damned.

Weaver's sixth album, The Silver Globe (2014). The title is derived from the 1988 film On The Silver Globe by Andrzej Żuławski. It features contributions from Cybotron, Badly Drawn Boy, David Holmes, and a Hawkwind sample.

Weaver appears on the cover artwork of the 2002 Badly Drawn Boy album, Have You Fed the Fish?.

A vocal sample from Weaver's track "Silver Chord" was used on "Another's Arms" from Coldplay's 2014 album, Ghost Stories. Weaver has said that Chris Martin telephoned her directly for permission.

Bird Records is an offshoot of Twisted Nerve Records and the Finders Keepers reissue label, and is run by Weaver. Bird was founded in 2002 and mainly releases recordings by contemporary female folk artists. These include early recordings by Beth Jeans Houghton and Emma Tricca.

Most notably, Bird released the 2007 compilation album Bearded Ladies. The album brought together both contemporary and vintage psychedelic folk female singers such as Brigitte Fontaine, Bonnie Dobson, Susan Christie and Cate Le Bon. The album has spawned a club night at the Dulcimer bar in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester. Weaver, and many of the artists featured on 'Bearded Ladies', performed at the 2007 Meltdown Festival, curated by Jarvis Cocker as part of the 'Lost Ladies Of Folk' event.

Albums

• Like An Aspen Leaf (mini album) (2002)
• Seven Day Smile (2006)
• Cherlokalate (2007)
• The Fallen By Watchbird (2010)
• The Watchbird Alluminate (2011)
• Intiaani Kesä (2013)
• The Silver Globe (2014)
• The Amber Light (2015)
• Modern Kosmology (2017)