Cynthia Janes is a Dutch singer-songwriter, living in Switzerland since summer 2017.
Growing up
"I first started singing when I was just a toddler", Cynthia starts her life story. "And when I was six, people in my neighborhood asked “what will you be when you grow up? " I always answered: “I want to be a singer!”.
When she was eight, she used to write short poems and stories. “I’ve always loved writing, too.”
At the age of thirteen she began to write lyrics. "I wrote about my own life," Cynthia says. "I was a bit different from the rest and I was not exactly the most popular girl in school. I dressed differently: alternative, skater, punk-like. Some classmates even labeled me as 'weird'. Because I had a circle of close friends, I did not mind. After an unrequited love or when someone would call me names, I had something to write and sing about. "
“When it comes to writing, I always try not to dwell on clichés and try to find original rhyming words. I write songs as an outlet for my emotions, I have something to tell”, she says.
Her dark perspective on life has become more positive throughout the years, which reflects in her lyrics. Cynthia: "My life is more balanced now that I'm an adult. It's nice to see yourself grow, also in terms of lyrics. There's more structure, the subjects are different and my songs have become happier. I describe it nicer than before or in a sarcastic way. Or cryptic, with a double meaning. You can now get more out of my lyrics and so people will be able to relate to them easier."
Building an audience
She made her debut performance in 2009 when she was asked by a student association in Delft that got to know her via Youtube. In the fall of 2009, she started recording her own songs in the studio, which were released in spring 2010 on her first EP 'Embrace Me'.
"In 2010 I was on a talent show in a tiny village between Breda and Rotterdam, just to get stage experience. I have not won, but one of the judges, Wally McKey, said to me: “I find you more interesting than the winner”. A while later in early 2011 I went to record my first single 'Little Boy In The Window' with him in Edisound Studio in Tilburg. Bert Meulendijk of Edwin Evers Band has co-worked on this single. Later I shot a music video for this song
Family
Cynthia didn’t get her musical passion from a stranger. Her father played the drums in the eighties in several regional known bands. He quit making music when Cynthia was born, because he felt that he was too much away from home. "Now he's back in a band," Cynthia tells proudly."
Shows, shows and more shows!
Radio and TV stations started to notice her and invited her to come on and do interviews. Cynthia started doing acoustic performances in pubs and local festivals in several European countries.
In 2012 she won a band battle called 'Sjwaampop Podium' and this is how she got to play at the Sjwaampop Festival which attracts 3,000 visitors every year. She threw a successful show, accompanied by a 5-piece band.
In June 2013 she performed at the Zoks Festival in Blerick, which attracts 6,000 visitors a day each year.
Cynthia has been living in Switzerland since the summer of 2017 and has continued to share her passion with the Swiss audience and basically anyone else on the planet who wants to hear her.
Her passion for music lies very deep within her heart.
"Music is my oxygen" - Cynthia Janes
