Jason Rowe, who formerly recorded under the name Jai, is a British pop and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '':wikt:soul, soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The ea ...

singer currently residing in London, England.

Life and career

Jason Rowe was born in

Yeovil Yeovil ( ) is a town and civil parish in the district of South Somerset, England. The population of Yeovil at the last census (2011) was 45,784. More recent estimates show a population of 48,564. It is close to Somerset's southern border with ...

, England, in December 1969. He moved to London in the mid-1990s and began working with producer

Joel Bogen Joel Bogen (born 3 September 1958) is an English rock and punk guitarist. He worked with Toyah Willcox from the late 1970s to 1983 as the guitar player in her eponymous band and was the co-writer on nearly all of the material they recorded ...

. A single, "Don't Give Me Away", was recorded under the name "Jai" and released on independent record label M&G Records in February 1997. The success of the single in the UK and across Europe attracted the attention of

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...

, who released Rowe's debut album, ''

Heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the bel ...

'', later that same year. The album featured mostly original works co-written by Rowe with Bogen, Christopher Bemand, and Rob Watson, as well as contemporary covers of the

Arthur Hamilton Arthur Hamilton Stern (born October 22, 1926),Stern, Arthur “Art”
''Mar-Ken ...

standard " Cry Me a River" and J. J. Cale's "Magnolia". The single "I Believe" was a minor hit in the United States, and the album itself made a brief appearance at No. 49 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Heatseekers Album Chart. In a February 1998 interview with ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

'', Rowe discussed his vocal influences and overall style, likening the content of his first album to "a cross between Portishead and

Prince A prince is a Monarch, male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary title, hereditary, in s ...

." After residing for a couple of years in New York City, Rowe returned to Europe, eventually settling in

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

. He continued to write and perform his own music, and also penned songs for the

German hip hop German hip hop (locally known as ''Deutschrap'', ''Deutsch'' meaning German) refers to hip hop music produced in Germany. Elements of American hip hop culture, such as graffiti art and breakdancing, diffused into Western Europe in the early ...

band

Die Fantastischen Vier Die Fantastischen Vier (, "The Fantastic Four"), often shortened to Fanta 4, is a German hip hop band from Stuttgart. The members are Michael Schmidt (Smudo), Andreas Rieke, Thomas Dürr, ''janitor''), and Michi Beck. They were, together wit ...

. Signing with manager Jobst Henning-Neermann, Rowe briefly returned to the U.S. in 2006 to record a new solo album. ''Lovelife'' was released 23 February 2007 on German record label

Four Music Four Music (''Four Music Productions GmbH'') is a German record label founded by hip hop group Die Fantastischen Vier in 1996. It was originally located in Stuttgart, but has moved to Kreuzberg, Berlin. In 2004, Max Herre's debut album, as we ...

, but received only limited promotion and distribution. Shortly thereafter, Rowe contributed a song, "The Dreaming", to an advertising campaign for the

Tommy Hilfiger Thomas Jacob Hilfiger ( /hɪlˈfɪgər/; born March 24, 1951) is an American fashion designer and the founder of Tommy Hilfiger Corporation. After starting his career by co-founding a chain of jeans/fashion stores called People's Place in upst ...

fragrance of the same name. Rowe has since moved back to England. In June 2011, he married American musician Daphna Dove, having met her several years earlier when she contributed backing vocals to ''Lovelife''. Most recently, Rowe collaborated with Dove in forming two musical groups, The Strings and VictoriA.

References

External links

* * * * 1969 births Living people English male singers Neo soul singers People from Yeovil {{UK-singer-stub