JAMeeSHKA is a music performance anomaly, weaving soundscapes that combines live instrumentation and real-time analog manipulation—sonic tapestries crafted using an eclectic blend of heart-stirring theatrical compositions, outlandish vocal play, and extensive improvisation. Co-creators James Caran and Ishka Lha produce these site-specific experiential journeys, causing witnesses to simultaneously erupt with fervid laughter, cry with introspective reverence, and dance in ecstatic reverie.

Welcome to JAMeeSHKA, where two lovestruck planetoids, James Caran and Ishka Lha, have marvelously morphed into a musical maelstrom of modest magnificence. The resulting duo is a performance anomaly, weaving soundscapes that combines live instrumentation and real-time analog manipulation. JAMeeSHKA crafts these sonic tapestries using an eclectic blend of heart-stirring theatrical compositions, outlandish vocal play, and extensive improvisation. Audience feedback is delicately layered into the mix, further adding to the strangely beautiful, rapturously dynamic, and fearlessly sensitive creations – culminating in site-specific experiential journeys that cause witnesses to simultaneously erupt with fervid laughter, cry with introspective reverence, and dance in ecstatic reverie.

Welcome to JAMeeSHKA, where two lovestruck planetoids, James Caran and Ishka Lha, have marvelously morphed into a musical maelstrom of modest magnificence. The resulting duo is a performance anomaly, weaving soundscapes combining live instrumentation and real-time electronic manipulation. JAMeeSHKA crafts these sonic tapestries using an eclectic blend of heart-stirring theatrical compositions, outlandish vocal play, and extensive improvisation. Audience feedback is delicately layered into the mix, further adding to the strangely beautiful, rapturously dynamic, and fearlessly sensitive creations – cultimating in site-specific experiential journeys that cause witnesses to simultaneously roar with laughter, cry with introspective reverence, and dance in ecstatic reverie/joy.

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James Caran doesn't just make music – he fosters it, creating the circumstances where music just happens. A third-generation entertainer, James began performing at age 14 in New York’s Greenwich Village, and has since composed numerous original compositions and offered creative sound production on six continents. A veteran of the US festival scene (Symbiosis, Beloved, Earthdance) and abroad (Secret Garden Party, Envision), James also feels blessed to have collaborated with luminaries including The Roots, Quincy Jones, Taj Mahal, and Coldplay. His multi-disciplinary sound work is strongly reflected in larger installation projects, including a recent collaboration where James simultaneously co-directed, performed, and live mixed an array of 38 musical artists, utilizing a quadraphonic sound system of his own design and fabrication, as a 12-hour durational immersive experience.

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Ishka Lha grew up in the magical forests of northern California, raised by a tribe of cats while composing and harmonizing with a host of elementals, woodland creatures, and a tiny motorized dirt bike. The allure of the theatre (as well as a degree in architecture) threatened to steal her attention and expansive creative talents, but it was ultimately her visual artwork (including performative live painting) that led her to the world stage. Ishka has exhibited and performed at countless sites and festivals, including Times Square and Art Basel. And still, Ishka has always remained close to her musical muses – along with a lifetime of masterful vocal work and songwriting, she is often discovered tickling ivories, and was recently awarded her first gold star as a rookie percussion ninja.

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For James and Ishka, JAMeeSHKA represents a combination and culmination of the many facets of their music, sound, and art practices – in a form that is fully integrated and inseparable. Even in the midst of several large projects – building a custom recording studio, designing collaborative creative play spaces, and recording their first album – they feel as though their journey has just begun.