Jane Vain and the Dark Matter

Jane Vain and the Dark Matter
Origin	Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Genres	Indie, pop
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Rectangle Records
Associated acts	Raccoon
Members	Jamie Fooks Markus Lake Nathan Curry
Past members	Dillon Whitfield Stewart Elton Shawn Dicey Britt Proulx Jared Larson Raphaelle Standell-Preston Jzero Schuurman Laurie Fuhr Maya Ciring Mark Hamilton Liz Collins Andrew Davidson

Jane Vain and the Dark Matter is an indie rock band formed in 2005 from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The band is fronted by Calgary native Jamie Fooks, and signed to Edmonton’s Rectangle Records. They describe their sound as indie electro-pop. The Montreal Mirror called their music “melancholy" and "macabre,” and Fooks has been compared to Emily Haines, Cat Power, and Fiona Apple. They released their first full-length album, Love Is Where the Smoke Is, in January 2008.

5’2 Jamie Fooks (vocals, guitar, keyboards) was born and raised in Calgary. She attended Crescent Heights High School, the same school as musicians Tegan and Sara, Paul Brandt, and former Alberta premier Ralph Klein. She began writing songs in her late teens, in what she admits was a way to get in touch with emotions “left over from a reckless adolescence,” at a time in her life when she was feeling extremely isolated from people in her age group and looking to find a niche for herself. She began experimenting with recording software, teaching herself to sing, compose and write songs. After learning to record, she set out learning how to play her own songs. At this point she began performing live at open mic nights in Calgary accompanied by guitarist Dillon Whitfield, her future bandmate in Calgary indie band Raccoon. Their sets consisted of drum beats and bass (programmed on Fooks’s computer), Whitfield’s chaotic guitar playing, and Fooks on vocals. Fooks admits that the first nights ended in tears but with encouragement from Whitfield and her friends she was persuaded to continue performing. Later they were joined by a live rhythm section consisting of Shawn Dicey (of Ontario’s alternative country band Ox) on drums and Stewart Elton on bass., and eventually signed to Edmonton's Rectangle Records in 2007.

Fooks wrote, produced and recorded all the songs on the band's debut album. Described by her interviewers as modest and self-aware, Fooks cites Cat Power, whom she has been compared to, as a major musical influence. The highlight of her career to date was playing onstage with Power at the Sled Island music festival in 2007. She also credits Mark Hamilton, of Calgary’s Woodpigeon as a mentor and a major collaborator on the album. In July 2008, the group was nominated for two of XM Satellite Radio’s Verge Music Awards, Best Album and Best Artist. The band spent the entire summer of 2008 touring Canada.

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