SIENNÁ

Japanese born, continent drifting SIENNA is a modern day Yoko Ono, Bjork with a hint of Underworld. - Tasty Magazine, UK

Sleek, atmospheric and hectic like Underworld - New Noise, UK

Dreamy, atmospheric, and laced with synthy basslines, beats and interesting vocal samples. - EMusician Xtra, USA

This sophomore album showcases an artist who is at ease with a mix of genres and textures. Drawing upon her cross-cultural background,the ten tracks glide along smoothly ranging from dance grooves to jazzy rhythms to newage chill. - Martin Raybould - Whisperin and Hollerin, UK

A richly-textured bed of melodic layers, freeform electronica and jazzy flourishes which becomes the deepest house in the galaxy when the groove kicks in. - Kris Needs - Update Magazine, UK

The best music can lift you out of your everyday life and transport you somewhere else. If I close my eyes while listening to Sienna, I can almost imagine I'm in a trendy wine bar. Some cut-up, glitchy beats and some nice atmospherics. - Andy Glynn - Tasty Fanzine, UK

It´s interesting how the music highlights various meeting points between electronica, club-music and jazz-inspired elements. - Erik Steinskog - Bergens Tidende, Norway

What you essentially get is a couple of songs which really seem to play up to her Japanese background. It´s definitely worth a try for people who like house music who are a little more intelligent than the stereotypical lover of said art. - Matt Gardner - Sound Screen, UK

The veteran sweeping synth pads and reverberating blips all set a specific mood the instant it begins.

- Adam Irving - Blues and Soul Magazine, UK

As a Japanese expatriate in Norway and a musical artist who has performed across Europe, Sienna might be considered a woman of the world. Yet her nu-jazz music speaks of other worlds, other states of mind, of distant memories and faraway places. Using studio, synthesizer and software as tools, she draws upon a musical upbringing and diverse influences to create music unlike any other.




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An Awake Dream: Sienna's Experimental Nu-Jazz

As a Japanese expatriate in Norway and a musical artist who has performed across Europe, Sienna might be considered a woman of the world. Yet her nu-jazz music speaks of other worlds, other states of mind, of distant memories and faraway places. Using studio, synthesizer and software as tools, she draws upon a musical upbringing and diverse influences to create music unlike any other. - Synthbeat.com

What do you get when you cross a 33-year-old Japanese woman with a cutting-edge Norwegian producer? Well, it appears you get Sienná, who has just released her debut EP on that producer´s fledgling Abòn Records label. Sienná has obscured the title of her release, Ambience, so that’s it´s barely readable on the cover. That´s a bit more of an ambient concept than the music, which is very busy, hustling techno-tronica. “Motions” serves up a crisp rhythm track with farting synthesizer and scattered samples that occasionally become annoying. “The Others” is more enjoyable, as it sustains a melancholy nocturnal mood punctuated by soft female vocals and more interesting background snatches. The best track is probably “Frame the Moments,” which gets its groove on with an insistent thumping beat and mostly male voices, one of which keeps repeating something about “never meeting expectations.” There´s an interesting artist operating somewhere in this electronic maze; it would be nice to hear her emerge more coherently on the full-length, whenever that arrives. - Kevin Renick - Playback magazine Stl, USA

When Japanese-born Sienná EP debuts with a CD made & released in “the thickest” Kolbu, she confirms the well-exhausted cliché that music does not recognize limits. For what should it be the logical link between the huge city Kyoto & the agricultural village Kolbu? Pure musically, there is not much to trace, the asian nor the kolbu-ish. Sienná offers electronic music, with links to under-categories as ambient, chill-out & house. However, the title of this CD is not quite adequate for what you can hear. Traditionally, the ambient music – from the start in 70s anyway – is known for strongly repetitive sequences that create more a state than direct melodies. I do not experience this CD in this way, not wholly & fully. Even if it absolutely has its doses with backward-leaned & relaxing sequences, there appears stably rock-ish touch that breaks the patterns. Some spaces are filled with quite rough guitars, & the repetitive run is “undermined” by melodic fracture. Exactly this blend of the elements makes the CD interesting, not only for the conscious electronica lover, but also for them who originally think this type of music as stagnating. I find myself middle of the both sides, what makes it easier to like Sienná´s music. Should I put my finger on something, it must be that some of the samplings & talking sequences of the vocal are a bit like cheep goods. Anyway it has enough originality that it will be exciting to follow this toten-japanese music project further on. - Øyvind Lien - Oppland Arbeiderblad, Norway

Track 1 was OK, but I wouldn’t started there. It gets better. The first track features mid+tempo techno with a male vocalist talking through some beat poetry. Track 2 is much slower and more ambient + has both SIENNA and a male vocalist...getting better. The third track gets a little closer to the mid-tempo and starts sounding a bit more like electronica. It does have some really cool snippits including background noises and fun sounds. There is also a guitar present. By the fourth track I am ready for some delivery, and SIENNA comes through. This slows down, creates better atmosphere, and features more of the female lead vocals. It also has some cool (almost background) light jazz style guitars. The last track would have been a great place to start. It grabbed my attention with a beautiful experimental/ambient electronic piece featuring a warm keyboard wash, echoing femail vocals, and light tinkling programming. Yes, I’d have done this one exactly the opposite order. - Neo-Zine, USA

Sienna is a Japanese woman that is currently based in Norway and works as a partner with Abon. Her music has the influence of Abon in the experimental section but due to the female identity, creates a more sensational atmosphere. Chill out and House music parts are presented here under the experimental artistic umbrella of Abon.
- Skylight magazine, Greece

Amazing crossover features, from a Jazz infusion to a cute sort of Electro wizardry. There are also some tasty dream-sequence excerts that could lend the set to a decent film producer with a vivid imagination (Someone like Tarantino). The quirky strange tracks that lie within the covers add to a cult mysticism that makes you want to play it again.
- Pro Mobile Magazine, UK