| Pacifika | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Pacifika |
| Also known as | Pacifika |
| Origin | Vancouver, Canada |
| Genres | Pop, jazz, indie rock, flamenco, electronic |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Labels | Six Degrees Records and Universal Motown |
| Website | http://www.pacifikaonline.com |
Pacifika is a band formed by Silvana Kane, a Peruvian born singer, formerly of Canadian pop hit band West End Girls, and accomplished actress with a love of flamenco, electronica, and textured percussion; Adam Popowitz, a Canadian bred guitarist adept at new wave, classical, and pop, and a producer responsible for a catalogue that includes indie rock and Armenian folk music; and Toby Peter, a dub wise bassist born in Canada and raised in Barbados, explorer of jazz, hip-hop, metal and Caribbean grooves. Together the Vancouver based trio is making a new kind of global pop, music that nods to its diverse international influences, while forging its own unique voice.
According to Silvana Kane, Pacifika “is simply the Latin way of saying ‘peaceful’ in the feminine, except that we changed the 'c' to a 'k'.” That is a subtle spelling change, but an appropriate one for this multilingual band: their name is not English, not Spanish, but somehow international.
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“Asuncion” was released by Six Degree Records and Universal Motown in 2008. It was quickly positioned on the list of the best new artists of iTunes Latino, was named Best Album of ´08 NPR and “Editor Picks” from Amazon, among the best song of 2008. Pacifika has been praised by the Wall Street Journal,[1] New York Post,[2] National Public Radio,[3] Latina Magazine[4] and KCRW.[5] Throughout its eleven tracks, Pacifika offers Latin, pop rhythms, flamenco down tempo, electronic intrusions, acoustic guitars and drum loops mixed by the particular voice of Silvana Kane, who sings in her native language (Spanish) to give the production a more spontaneous and fresh feel. Musically, the album has great strengths, from the opening “Sun”, a prayer which is supported by delicate textures and subtle arrangements that contrast with the hectic pace of “Me Caí”, the first single, which is a track dominated by guitar and percussion, composed on acoustic bases, legacy of flamenco , whose video clip received more than 50,000 views on Youtube. It's the same with tracks like “Libertad” (only performed in English), “Paloma”, “Estrella de Mar” and “Chiquita”, which combine rhythm, intimacy and melody, reflecting the influences of all three members of the band.
“Supermagique” is their second album and was released in August 2010. Unlike the first, one can see the growth of the band as a unit. Pacifika’s music presents multilingual music (English, Spanish and French), with soft Latin rhythms, bursts of electric guitar and keyboards. Brazilian percussion adds color to the songs performed in French and Spanish, generating a unique result. In turn, the inclusion of exotic sounds like the buzzing of the environment, instruments such as Japanese bamboo flute or guitar in the background of “Little Me”, a ballad accompanied by acoustic guitar and electronic marimba (which sounds like a West African balofón), give it a unique profile that characterizes the band’s innovative musical style. A style that ranges from happy pop with English songs such as “Close To Everything” (opening song of the album) and “Le Matin” (in French), to “Chocolate”, which combines elements of hip hop and dub production, begins with a ballad with guitars and then expands to a catchy rhythm ending with a medieval chant. The ballads with inner voices are another of the resources used by Pacifika, as in “El Marinero”, performed in English, a ballad sung in whisper, with the unique arrangement of cellist Christina Zaenker. “Story”, another one of the English singles, is emotional and low key.
“Supermagique” also contains a cover of the song “25 or 6 to 4”, originally recorded by the band Chicago in 1970. This is the first cover song to be released by Pacifika. The song appears in the pilot episode of The CW show "Ringer".