Jesca Hoop

Jesca Hoop

Jesca Hoop, born Jessica Ada Hoop, is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. She works across varied musical styles and is known for a distinctive voice and inventive songwriting.

Background

Hoop is born on 21 April 1975. She learns to sing early in life, harmonising with her musical Mormon family in northern California. She begins writing unusual songs at 14, using them to keep herself company on long walks to school.

At 16, she leaves her strict upbringing and begins what she calls her “life as a racoon”, living off the grid and close to nature. She travels through the high mountain deserts of the Southwest and along the coastlines of the Northwest, and works as a wilderness survival guide. During this period she also gains skills in farming, surveying and carpentry, and continues songwriting in places such as porches, deep river canyons and campfires.

Career

In 2004, Hoop settles in Los Angeles to present her songs more widely. There she develops her songwriting and builds a reputation as a live performer. She later lives in Manchester, England, while returning to Los Angeles to record her third album, The House That Jack Built.

Her follow-up to Hunting My Dress is The House That Jack Built, released after the 2009 album and marked by contrasts between light and dark, and between intimate and more visceral material. Its themes include biology, nature and humanity.

Recognition and collaborators

Hoop has support from a number of notable musicians. Tom Waits describes her music in distinctive terms, Peter Gabriel takes her to South America to sing with him, and she is chosen to support tours by Eels, Andrew Bird, Punch Brothers, Shearwater and Elbow. Elbow’s Guy Garvey also invites her to present on his BBC radio show.

Style

Her songs combine personal observation with images drawn from nature, often balancing beauty and violence. Her work is associated with folk, indie and singer-songwriter traditions, and she performs with a mellow vocal style.