A sensual, esoteric singer/songwriter whose odd, sparse songs nod to influences like Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, and Vashti Bunyan, Jesca Hoop got her big break thanks to her gig as a nanny for Tom Waits' offspring in the early 2000s. Hoop had grown up in a musically inclined Mormon family, but left the fold soon after her parents separated. She traveled around California, Wyoming, and Arizona writing songs and honing her craft before settling down with the Waits family for five years as their nanny. Waits took a liking to Hoop's off-beat indie pop songs -- songs that in their way linked her with so-called "New Weird Americans" like Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom, and Faun Fables -- and he passed her demo (a version of the song "Seed of Wonder") along to Lionel Conway, who in turn handed it to KCRW's Nic Harcourt. The DJ took a liking to Hoop's demo and started giving "Seed of Wonder" some airplay; the song went on to become fairly popular with Harcourt's listeners, so much so that record companies started paying court to Hoop. She signed with 3 Entertainment soon after the song hit the radio, and her debut full-length on that label, Kismet, was released in 2007. ~ Margaret Reges, All Music Guide
Hoop was born in Southern California to strict Mormon parents. She grew up singing traditional folk tunes in four part harmony. She broke away from her background, becoming a homesteader in the wilderness areas of Northern California and Wyoming; and worked in the remote mountains of Arizona with a rehabilitation program for children.
As a nanny for Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan's three children, Hoop gained both musical experience and notoriety. Waits says, "Her music is like going swimming in a lake at night." The Los Angeles Times considers Hoop one of ten Southern California artists that are "new and notable in 2007." [1]
Her contact with Tom Waits led to her initial exposure [2] through Nic Harcourt at the Southern California radio station KCRW in 2003. [3]
Hoop announced in Sept. 2008 that she would be releasing an album titled, Kismet Acoustic, in Oct. 2008, featuring one new song and four acoustic versions of tracks from her debut CD.[4]
On July 5, 2009, Hoop announced through her MySpace page that she has finished recording her second album, entitled Hunting My Dress. On September 19 she posted the opening track to the record and stated that the album would be released in the UK on November 16, 2009 and in early 2010 in the US.[5]
