The title of Jesca Hoop’s debut album, Kismet, could easily refer to the twists of fate that led to its existence. Certainly it seems like destiny that Hoop would land a five-year tenure as nanny to the children of Tom Waits, whose influence is spattered generously across Kismet. Another bit of good fortune came in 2004, when Waits’s publisher, Lionel Conway sent a demo version of “Seed of Wonder” to the highly influential radio host Nic Harcourt at Los Angeles station KCRW, who helped make the song one of the most requested in the station’s history. Without an official release to her name, Hoop was tapped to open for the Polyphonic Spree during its summer 2007 tour.

As a songwriter and a performer, Sarah Masen has won the enthusiasm of critics and a committed, eclectic fan base for over 10 years. Whether immersed in electronica or as solo acoustic broadsides, her work speaks to all things awkward, political, dysfunctional, and seemingly mundane. Intense attentiveness to her music has been known to lead listeners toward jumping, jiving, weeping, wailing, and laughing through gnashing of teeth.

Originally from the suburbs of Detroit, Sarah now lives in Nashville with her husband, author David Dark, and their three children. In recent months, she’s taken to recording music with the members of Bulb and making little handcrafted EPs, with each sleeve following the snowflake model of containing a slightly different work of art. Three titles are available on-line: Woman’s Work Is Alchemy, Magic That Works, and A History of Lights and Shadows at Sarah’s website : http://www.sarahmasen.com/albums