Jane Paknia

Last updated

Jane Paknia
Born (2000-11-30) November 30, 2000 (age 24)
Alma mater Columbia University
OccupationMusician
Musical career
Origin New York City
Genres
Instrument Synthesizer
LabelsEat Your Own Ears

Jane Paknia (born November 30, 2000) [a] is an American synthesizer player and composer from New York City. An accomplished trumpeter in her teenage years, her music in adulthood primarily focuses on dance-pop and electronic jazz. Her debut EP, Orchid Underneath, was released in 2024, and her second, Millions of Years of Longing, was released in 2025.

Contents

Early life and education

Paknia was taught piano by her Iranian grandmother beginning at age 5, and started studying trumpet at 13. [2] [3] [4] While a student at Weston High School in Weston, Connecticut, she was the principal trumpet in the Greater Bridgeport Youth Orchestras's Principal Orchestra, and winner of the GYBO's Concerto Competition. [3] [4] Paknia later attended Columbia University, from which she graduated in 2022, and where she met and collaborated with singer Sarah Kinsley. [5]

Career

Paknia released her debut EP, Orchid Underneath, on April 26, 2024, via Eat Your Own Ears Recordings. [6] [7] South African collective John Wizards remixed the song "Glimmers", and Hagop Tchaparian remixed the title track, with the latter remix being named the 88th best song of 2024 by Pitchfork . [2] [8]

Paknia's second EP, Millions of Years of Longing, was released on June 6, 2025, by Eat Your Own Ears. [2] Three singles were released from the EP: "Solace", an electronica song which Paknia dedicated to her inspirations Sophie and Alice Coltrane, came out on March 11; [9] "Waiting Pt 1", written in 2022 and based on a "Bach-like chord progression", was released on April 15; [10] and "The Dream Is This", released on May 13, [11] which was inspired by a dream of Elmo dying. [2] Both Waiting Pt 1" and "The Dream Is This" were ranked among Stereogum 's top five songs released in their respective weeks. [12] [13] The Guardian's Laura Snapes compared the EP to the music of Max Tundra, Jockstrap, and the record label Brainfeeder. [2] Still Listening's Eliot Odgers called the EP "one of the strongest and most confident EPs of 2025 so far" and "exciting, innovative work from an artist with a clear vision and serious skill." [14] The Quietus 's Anna Rahkonen called the album an inventive and exploratory sophomore effort, covering vast sonic ground across electronic, pop, and jazz-fusion." [15]

Style

In a piece written for Talkhouse , Paknia explained her own musical style and how she came to it. [16] During her freshman year at Columbia, her trumpet abilities "strangely disintegrated", and after a low emotional point, she returned to piano and singing. [16] In that time, she had the idea to play the synthesizer in combination with a digital audio workstation. [16] Her friend offered her a playlist full of dance-pop music, leading her into a dance-pop fixation which she decided to combine with her interests in contemporary jazz and electronic music into a style she referred to as electronic jazz. [16]

Personal life

As of 2025, Paknia lives in New York City. [9]

Discography

EPs

Singles

References

  1. ↑ On November 30, 2024, Paknia posted that it was her birthday on her Instagram page. [1] In an article in The Guardian , dated April 19, 2025, she was said to be 24 years old. [2]
  1. ↑ Paknia, Jane [@janepakniamusic]; (November 30, 2024). "I am in France and it's my birthday. Sue me" . Retrieved April 20, 2025– via Instagram.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Snapes, Laura (April 19, 2025). "One to watch: Jane Paknia". The Guardian . Retrieved April 20, 2025.
  3. 1 2 Boros, Phyllis A.S. (May 14, 2018). "Klein youth concert to feature about 300 county students". Midland Daily News . Retrieved April 20, 2025.
  4. 1 2 Renner, Tom (January 5, 2017). "Weston Trumpeter Blows 'Em Away in Greater Bridgeport Youth Orchestra". Daily Voice . Retrieved April 20, 2025.
  5. ↑ Auerbach, Lucia (August 19, 2022). "From TikTok to the Bowery Ballroom, Sarah Kinsley, CC '22, breaks the boundaries of music". Columbia Daily Spectator . Retrieved April 20, 2025.
  6. ↑ Rossignol, Derrick (April 1, 2024). "All the New Albums Coming Out in April 2024". Uproxx . Retrieved April 20, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Orchid Underneath | Jane Paknia". Bandcamp . Retrieved April 20, 2025.
  8. ↑ Gaca, Anna (December 2, 2024). "The 100 Best Songs of 2024". Pitchfork . Retrieved April 20, 2025.
  9. 1 2 Cummings, Bill (March 11, 2025). "Jane Paknia releases pulsing and inventive earworm "Solace" ahead of new EP". God Is in the TV . Retrieved April 20, 2025.
  10. ↑ Chelosky, Danielle (April 15, 2025). "Jane Paknia – "Waiting Pt 1"". Stereogum . Retrieved April 20, 2025.
  11. ↑ Jones, Abby (May 13, 2025). "Jane Paknia – "The Dream Is This"". Stereogum . Retrieved June 6, 2025.
  12. ↑ Jones, Abby (April 18, 2025). "The 5 Best Songs of the Week". Stereogum . Retrieved June 6, 2025.
  13. ↑ Chelosky, Danielle (May 16, 2025). "The 5 Best Songs of the Week". Stereogum . Retrieved June 6, 2025.
  14. ↑ Odgers, Eliot (June 5, 2025). "Jane Paknia – Millions of Years of Longing EP Review". Still Listening. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
  15. ↑ Rahkonen, Anna (June 18, 2025). "Jane Paknia – Millions of Years of Longing". The Quietus . Retrieved June 19, 2025.
  16. 1 2 3 4 Paknia, Jane (May 17, 2024). "Reference Library: Jane Paknia's Orchid Underneath was Born in a Storm". Talkhouse . Retrieved April 20, 2025.
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