JANA POCHOP

“A singer-songwriter with the articulation of a street poet.” – Terri Hendrix

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Singer-songwriter and producer Jana Pochop (Jan-a Po-cop) is a wanderer with a penchant for folk-pop songs and universe pondering, particularly when it comes to art and the places it’s created.

Jana’s music, in large part, has been influenced by the culturally rich cities of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Austin, Texas. The influence of the expansive American West is revealed with just a cursory listen to her work, from her initial release The Early Year in 2008 to the 2022 critically acclaimed The Astronaut. Listening to her songs with intent is akin to standing in the early morning desert, surrounded by a sonic landscape that enchants with both its scope and depth, slowly revealing and changing itself as the light of day passes into night.

Themes of time, space, and place that were born through years of touring nationally are woven into arrangements of music and lyrics that surround the listener with a succession of remembered and anticipated events. Whether it’s the distance between people and locations (“12-Hours By Car”), or feelings that overwhelm with doubt (“My Deepest Fear”) and desire (“Solar System”), Jana’s work is a testament to how people are forever changed by both the enjoyment and production of art.

One of her biggest changes occurred with a 2022 post-pandemic decision to move to New York City to earn a Master's in Songwriting and Production at Berklee. The relocation placed Jana in a vertical landscape and constant, fast-paced movement of the city and its people. It all showed up in her songs, infusing her lyrics and arrangements with an urban energy very different than that found in the vastness of New Mexico and Texas.

Jana’s reactions to the sights and sounds around her led the singer-songwriter on an artistic and academic deep dive into Impulse Response as a method for connecting her new geographical influences with her New Mexico home. Measurements of the distinctive reverberations of artist Georgia O'Keeffe's home and studio in Abiquiu, New Mexico, allowed her to incorporate Impulse Response Collection into her thesis, bridging the gap between the science and art of music production, and the distance between Albuquerque and New York City.

The result was her first self-produced album, Powerlines (2024). Drawing on O’Keeffe’s interest in the often-overlooked ordinary features of landscapes that combine to create breathtaking vistas, Jana crafted songs that remind the listener that everyday items, exchanges, places, and moments are the crucial building blocks of the human experience.

Despite falling in love with the rhythms of the city landscape, Jana couldn’t resist the call of her native New Mexico. Today, she is back in Albuquerque, producing her own music and projects for others remotely and at Howlin’ Dog Studio in Alamosa, Colorado.

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(Bio by HP Preston)

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Jana Pochop 2024 Fact Sheet

Jana Pochop (Jan-a Po-cop) is a singer-songwriter and producer based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. A 2022 Kerrville New Folk Finalist, she has released five solo albums, one album as a member of onetwothreescream, collaborated with a number of her musical heroes (Don Dixon, Eliza Gilkyson, Lloyd Maines, Sean Hutchison), and amassed a heap of awards and praise along the way. She currently produces her own music and projects for others remotely and at Howlin’ Dog Studio in Alamosa, Colorado.

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DISCOGRAPHY:

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• Powerlines - (coming 2024)

• Sad Pizza - single (2023)

• The Astronaut - album (2022)

• Oh My Heart – Single (2020)

• Help Is On the Way – single – onetwothreescream (2019)

• Lit – onetwothreescream (2018)

• Money & Heart – Single (2017)

• Lightning – Single (2017)

• Throats Are Quarries (2014)

• For & Against (2010)

• The Early Year (2008)​

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AWARDS AND HONORS

 

2022 Texas Music Magazine's 22 Best Albums

2022 Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk Finalist

2022 ECU Film Festival Performing Artist, Paris, France

2021 SWRFA Official Showcase Artist

2020 Corpus Christi Songwriters’ Festival: Best of Fest Award

2019 Hollywood Songwriting Contest – Best Pop Song (You Lit Me – onetwothreescream)

2018 Rocky Mountain Folks Festival Contest Alternate

2018, 2017, & 2014 SongDoor International Song Contest Honorable Mention

2010 Texas Songwriters Serenade Contest Finalist

2009 Kerrville Folk Festival Ballad Tree Selected Regional Performer

2009 Texas Songwriters Serenade Contest Semi-Finalist

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CO-WRITES AND COLLABORATIONS

 

Alone Together (The Remix) - FLOWERBOY (coming 8.30.24)

Only Miss Some of You - written by Cat Rian & Jana Pochop

Sister Mine - written by Michael O'Connor, Jeff Plankenhorn, & Jana Pochop

The Bottom Line - written by Jeff Plankenhorn, Scrappy Jud Newcomb, & Jana Pochop

Lovely When You Cry - written by Susan Gibson & Jana Pochop

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Go to GoldenHourSounds.com for Production work!

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Kind Words From Those Who Know
 
Calling Jana Pochop a “songwriter” is like calling Gandalf a guy who can throw together a nice fireworks display for a birthday party.  Texas Music Magazine

Pochop weaves words and melodies together with a dextrous intelligence that seems outright supernatural.  Texas Music Magazine
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Jana Pochop presents her songs with on-point sly and sweet vocals, there is a fascinating intimate portrayal of a singer-songwriter who evokes folk in its purest form. While many a ’70s artist might come to mind when listening to Pochop’s acoustic joys, modern artists like Lucy Dacus and Snail Mail also are also fair comparisons.  Glide Magazine

Pochop’s delivery is like a lighter, breezier Edie Brickell and every sound you hear on this song is pretty. But there is a dimension of absolute authenticity to it all. Americana Highways
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Jana Pochop is a dynamic writer, singer and guitar player. . . . With a uniquely original voice and a driving right hand rhythm style, she delivers a powerful solo show. With a totally honest approach, Jana writes lyrics that she had to have lived through. Lloyd Maines, Grammy Award-winning Producer, Musician and Songwriter
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Jana is absolutely crushing this insightfully fresh combination of folk, indie, hip-hop, pop with the sweetened & bright melodies that keep the hooks in the music just as sharp the lyrics and her songwriting instincts. Sleeping Bag Studios Review
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“Money & Heart” is a gorgeous song, breathtakingly honest and compelling with every word, the sudden switch to rap surprises at first but by the time the second verse hits you’re completely entranced by the journey.  Stereo Stickman Review
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Jana’s new record is full of lines & melodies that only Jana Pochop can come up with. Her writing voice & singing are among my most favorites. The words & melodies seem to come straight right from her sweet heart and really sweet, wise brain, and the production is inventive & sublime. Now I wait impatiently for the next group of songs to come down the line. Walt Wilkins, Singer-Songwriter
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Jana Pochop writes intelligent pop songs with melodic hooks that keep the interest of the listener. She’s a singer songwriter with the articulation of a street poet. Her guitar chops keep the depth of her writing buoyant and positive regardless of the subject matter. Terri Hendrix, Grammy Award-winning Singer-Songwriter

Jana Pochop has somehow managed to slip the confines of musical genres and made a timeless, intelligent record that speaks directly to my heart. Eliza Gilkyson, Grammy Award-nominated Singer-Sonwriter

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