Prita is a Canadian folk musician who works as a solo artist and with the band Prita and the Perfect Strangers. Her music combines acoustic guitar, hand percussion, vocal harmonies and loop pedal arrangements, and her voice is described as moving between folk, soul, jazz and blues. Her sound is compared with Tracy Chapman, Norah Jones and Amy Winehouse.

Style and performance

Prita performs as a one-person act, building songs live with layered vocal harmonies, acoustic guitar, a loop pedal and, at times, a stomp box. The result is a spare but rhythm-driven approach that sits between folk and soul, with jazzy and blues-influenced vocals.

Career

In 2009, Prita supports Ed Kowalczyk of Live at the Octagon Theatre, tours north-west Western Australia with Toby on the Resurrecting the Roots tour, and opens for Carus, Paul Greene and Nathan Gaunt in Fremantle. She also plays at Nannup Music Festival, completes a solo run in Melbourne with seven venues in nine days, supports Tin Pan Orange and Mosaic, and tours Europe with dates in Athens, Berlin, Tartu, Copenhagen, Milton Keynes and Manchester, including house concerts, bars and pubs.

Her releases include Prita EP in 2005 and Bootleg Live in 2008. A first full-length album, New Life, is planned for release in 2010.

Other projects

Prita and the Perfect Strangers is a later band project with jazzy trumpet, funky bass, drum patterns, acoustic guitar and melodic vocals. The group plays venues including Mojo’s and JB O’Reilly’s, and holds a residency at X-Wray Café.