Pacifika is a Canadian
world music band formed in
Vancouver, British Columbia by high school friends
Silvana Kane (vocals) and Adam Popowitz (guitar) in 2004 and joined by Toby Peter (bass and drums) in 2006. According to Kane, who sings in Spanish, English, and French, Pacifika "is simply the Latin way of saying 'peaceful' in the feminine, except that we changed the 'c' to a 'k'". The group has released four albums: their independent debut, ''Unveiled'' (2004), and three with
Six Degrees Records: ''Asunción'' (2008), ''Supermagique'' (2010), and ''Amor Planeta'' (2014).
Background
Peruvian-Canadian Silvana Kane met Adam Popowitz while they were both attending Catholic high school in
Burnaby, BC
Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard ...
.
They subsequently formed the band Big Bottom Swing. Kane left the band to join the pop trio
West End Girls, signed a record deal with
A&M Records, and had a top ten Canadian hit with "Not Like Kissing You" in 1991. Popowitz helped form the Vancouver hard rock band Mollies Revenge, signed a record deal with
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...
via
David Foster's imprint
143 Records
143 Records was the record label of producer David Foster. 143 was a sub-label of Warner Records and Atlantic Records. The numbers 1-4-3 are derived from the words "I (1 letter) love (4 letters) you (3 letters)."
History
When record producer Da ...
, and released the
Rick Parashar-produced ''Every Dirty Word'' in 1997. Popowitz and Mollies Revenge leader Yvette Narlock then formed
Yve Adam Yve is a masculine or French feminine given name of Germanic origin, which is related to Yvonne and Yves, and may be used as a shortened form of Yvain or Yvette. It is also an uncommon surname. Yve may refer to:
*Yve-Alain Bois (born 1952), Fren ...
and released the
Carmen Rizzo
Carmen Rizzo (born April 8, 1964) is an American record producer, mixer, programmer, DJ, remixer and recording artist, based in Los Angeles. The two-time Grammy nominee has worked with Seal, Coldplay, Paul Oakenfold, Alanis Morissette, Dido, Je ...
-produced ''Fiction'' in 2000. Peter formed the fusion band
Salvador Dream
Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to:
* Salvador (name)
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music
** ''Salvador'' ( ...
, signed a record deal with
Warner
Warner can refer to:
People
* Warner (writer)
* Warner (given name)
* Warner (surname)
Fictional characters
* Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner, stars of the animated television series ''Animaniacs''
* Aaron Warner, a character in ''Shatter Me s ...
, and released ''UR'' in 1994. In 2004,
K-os
Kevin Brereton (born February 20, 1972), better known by his stage name k-os (; "chaos"), is a Canadian alternative rapper, singer, songwriter and producer. His given name may also be cited as Kheaven, a spelling he later adopted.
The alias "k ...
enlisted Peter for the touring band on his ''
Joyful Rebellion
''Joyful Rebellion'' is the second album of alternative hip hop artist k-os. It was released 13 August 2004 in Canada by EMI and 21 September 2004 in the United States by Virgin Records. It debuted at number 7 on the Canadian Albums Chart, and we ...
'' world tour. In the same year, Kane and Popowitz reconnected, then wrote and released ''Unveiled''. After seeing a live performance in 2006, Peter approached Kane and Popowitz about joining the band.
Now a trio, and with funding secured with a
FACTOR album loan, they wrote and recorded ''Asunción'', which they then successfully shopped to Six Degrees Records.
History
''Unveiled'' (2004)
''Unveiled'' was released independently in 2004 under the band's original spelling, "Pacifica". The album was re-released in 2011 with the current spelling. The eleventh track, "Save the Day", was featured on the
Syfy
Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...
series ''
Being Human'', in the episode "Children Shouldn't Play with Undead Things", and in the
Space series ''
Charlie Jade'', in the episode "Bedtime Story".
''Asunción'' (2008)
''Asunción'' was released by Six Degrees Records and
Universal Motown in April 2008. It reached the peak position on the iTunes Latino Album chart, was named Best Album of 2008 by
NPR, and got on the
Amazon "2008 Editor Picks". Pacifika has been praised by ''
The Wall Street Journal'', ''
New York Post'', and
KCRW. KCRW picked the band to perform at the
Hollywood Bowl
The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018.
The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...
at their 2008 World Festival, alongside
Feist and
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings. The second track from ''Asunción'', "Me Cai", was featured on the
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
series ''
True Blood'', in the episode "Scratches" (season two). The
USA Network used the tracks "Libertad", "Sol", and "Paloma" for their series ''
Covert Affairs''. The ''Asunción'' album tour included headlining spots at the
Montreal Jazz Festival,
Bumbershoot
Bumbershoot is an annual international music and arts festival held in Seattle, Washington. One of North America's largest such festivals, it takes place every Labor Day weekend (leading up to and including the first Monday of September) at the ...
,
Winnipeg Folk Festival,
Vancouver Folk Music Festival
The Vancouver Folk Music Festival (VFMF), founded in 1978, is an outdoor multistage music festival, located at Jericho Beach Park on the west side of Vancouver, British Columbia. It takes place annually, on the third weekend of July.
The fe ...
,
Calgary Folk Music Festival, and
Sunfest
SunFest is a musical and art festival held annually in the first week of May in West Palm Beach, Florida. SunFest is the state's largest waterfront music and art festival in Florida and attracts more than 100,000 visitors. Main attractions of thi ...
in London, Ontario.
Radio-Canada picked the band for their "Révélations 2008" roster, alongside
Coeur de Pirate and
Caracol.
''Supermagique'' (2010)
''Supermagique'' was released in August 2010 by Six Degrees.
iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
named the record "Best World Album" of 2010, and it was nominated for "World Recording of the Year" at the 2011
Juno Awards. The album contains a cover of the song "
25 or 6 to 4
"25 or 6 to 4" is a song written by American musician Robert Lamm, one of the founding members of the band Chicago. It was recorded in 1969 for their second album, ''Chicago'', with Peter Cetera on lead vocals.
Composition
In a 2013 interview, R ...
", originally recorded by
Chicago in 1970, and it was featured in the pilot episode of
The CW show ''
Ringer
Ringer(s) may refer to:
Sports and games
* Ringer, in sports idiom, an impostor, especially one whose pretense is intended to gain an advantage in a competition
* Road course ringer, a non-NASCAR driver hired to race at a road course
* A game p ...
''.
''Amor Planeta'' (2014)
''Amor Planeta'' was released on May 6, 2014 by Six Degrees Records.
Solo projects
Silvana Kane released her debut solo album, ''La Jardinera'', in 2012, under Six Degrees Records. The album pays tribute to the South American musical heroes of her youth.
Band members
* Silvana Kane – vocals
* Adam Popowitz – guitar
* Toby Peter – bass, drums
Discography
* ''Unveiled'' (2004)
* ''Asunción'' (2008)
* ''Supermagique'' (2010)
* ''Amor Planeta'' (2014)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pacifika
Musical groups established in 2006
Musical groups from Vancouver
Canadian world music groups
2006 establishments in British Columbia
Six Degrees Records artists
Universal Motown Records artists