JADE's music makes you think. About music, about life. While JADE's passionate performance certainly evokes emotion, this feeling inspires the questioning of assumptions, the exploration of ideas. Reworking diverse influences through a dense web of rhythmic and harmonic surprises, we hear, first of all, that JADE defies categorization. Immediately, the question arises: if no label fits, maybe labels aren't necessary or desirable. This is, simply, JADE - music. Listening further, we hear both a dedication to craft and a determination to communicate, qualities often missing in today's consumer culture. Jade's musicianship nimbly explores Martin Stadelmann’s sophisticated compositions, making intricate interplay sound easy. At the same time, these compositions express an urgency, a restless striving to connect, that makes their intent undeniable, their effect irresistible. The lyrics take this a step further. The range of concerns, from personal to social to philosophical, are neither melancholic nor frivolous. Above all, they are questions arising from real situations familiar to everyone. "Songlines" makes reference to the method of navigation employed by the original inhabitants of Australia. The use of music to guide a quest perfectly suits JADE's achievement.
Listen.

Mat Callahan