Kieler Nachrichten,30th of June 2000

 

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KIELER NACHRICHTEN 30th of June 2000

When ones 'stance' becomes a burden...

Sometimes you come across a face you have seen before, a name that used to mean something to you, a person you have known. Sometimes you bump into somebody who reminds you...of a song you have heard before. a melody that you can't get out of your head. A feeling you thought you had forgotten. Let's just call this somebody Jan Allain. This singer/songwriter from London, now living in Münster, reminds us of Joni Mitchell or Joan Armatrading. Some of her songs produce an almost awkward intimacy, because we know these feelings all too well. Some have attested to her 'Great Subtlety and Profoundness' but these qualities are almost only known within the German lesbian scene. It's not just in her info that we find out about her first tender kiss at the age of nine years, she sings all about lesbian love and relationships in her songs too. It is true that the dominating problems there are not unknown in the hetro world too, but Allain is a star only in lesbian circles. Her prominence there is fast becoming like that of k.d.lang or Melissa Etheridge and she has established a dear fan base here in Germany.

During her first public performance, a singing contest for children in Islington London, she sang a song about Treasure Island and hopped across the stage as Long John Silver with a parrot on her sholder. The jury was most impressed and she came second and won a gold watch. Nowdays her performances are more simple, reduced to the minimum. Mostly on her own with guitar, she performs her songs on the lesbian scene and in lesbian cafes. She is a frequent guest at the Christopher Day Festivals. Now she has reached a point in her career where her confidence could become a burden. Most musicians have hidden their homosexuality until they were well known or established. The reverse approach has not been successful yet. As enlightened as this society sees itself, mechanisms and attitudes in the music business continue to be latently homophobic.

author: Thomas Winkler.