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.
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 via
David Foster's imprint 143 Records, and released the
Rick Parashar-produced
Every Dirty Word in 1997. Popowitz and Mollies Revenge leader Yvette Narlock then formed
Yve Adam and released the
Carmen Rizzo-produced
Fiction in 2000. Peter formed the fusion band
Salvador Dream, signed a record deal with Warner, and released
UR in 1994. In 2004,
K-os enlisted Peter for the touring band on his
Joyful Rebellion 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 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,
,
and
KCRW.
KCRW picked the band to perform at the
Hollywood Bowl 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 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, Winnipeg Folk Festival, Vancouver Folk Music Festival, Calgary Folk Music Festival, and Sunfest 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 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", originally recorded by Chicago in 1970, and it was featured in the pilot episode of The CW show
Ringer.
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)
External links
