Esthero
| Esthero | |
|---|---|
Esthero in 2008
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jenny-Bea Englishman |
| Born |
December 23, 1978 Stratford, Ontario, Canada |
| Origin | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Labels | |
| Associated acts | |
| Website | www.esthero.net |
Esthero (/ɛsˈtɛroʊ/ es-STAIR-oh; born on December 23, 1978 in Stratford, Ontario), born Jenny-Bea Englishman, is a Canadian singer-songwriter who currently lives in Los Angeles, California. The name Esthero refers both to the singer and formerly to the two-person team of herself and producer Doc McKinney. Esthero is a portmanteau of "Esther the hero"; she claims to have gotten the name by combining the name of the heroine (Esther) and last line ("If I am to be the hero, then I cannot fly from darkness") of the movie from Sylvia Plath's novel, The Bell Jar.
Esthero's sound characteristically features her voice over a mix of mellow bass lines, jazzy trumpets, Spanish guitar and hip-hop. She is sometimes compared to artists Björk, Portishead, Billie Holiday, and Sade. She has co-produced the majority of the material she performed. Later female artists who count Esthero among their influences include Res, Fergie and fellow Canadian Nelly Furtado.
Esthero's brother, Jason Englishman, is also a musician.
At the age of sixteen, Esthero moved from the small town of Walkerton, Ontario on her own to Toronto, Ontario, where she began singing at open-mic nights while supporting herself by working at various jobs: Future Bakery, the printing house, and telemarketing. She was seen singing at the Free Times Cafe by manager Beau Ovcaric who set up a showcase for his partner Zack Werner. The two managed her on good faith without any legal paperwork until she turned eighteen. They introduced her to EMI Publishing Canada president Michael McCarty, whom she charmed so well during their first meeting that without hearing her sing a single note he set up and paid for recording sessions with Martin "Doc" McKinney, a guitarist and studio engineer whom she had met through a mutual friend.
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