Pick a city.. any city with a world above and under ground, tracks and trains, back and forth. A thousand footsteps .. or only yours, newspapers, briefcases, headphones, cell phones… all minding their own business.'

It's the underground world that served as inspiration for Subway Silence, the debut album of Amsterdam based singer Giovanca Ostiana. She observed passengers in the subways of Amsterdam, Paris, and New York. What did she see? That every station brings a new atmosphere, every minute a new emotion, that everything changes constantly, even our perception of ourselves.

For years Giovanca has been known as the radiant background singer who did live and studio work for (inter)national artists such as Relax, Wouter Hamel, Typhoon, Tribute2BobMarley, Corey, Izaline Calister, Jhelisa Anderson, Terry Callier, Leon Ware and Benny Sings. The musical click with Benny Sings and the DOX record label made her decide to take a step forward and present her own work.

From the twelve songs on her debut album slowly arises the appearance of a talented young woman who is not easily defined. At times melancholic and vulnerable, at other times independent and free. Feel-good music with influences from pop, soul, jazz, Motown and hip hop. Giovanca: I was born in the 70s and grew up with the warm sounds of Dionne Warwick and Minnie Riperton, in the 80s supplemented with a solid dose of pop, while in the 90s I completely lost my heart to hip hop. This creates layers which cultivate personality and at the same time establish a certain sound. Old sounds such as tubular bells and the clavinet seem to blend effortlessly with the new beats and samples of producer Benny Sings. This fresh sound, produced by 'Suèr, Sings & Tippet' of the Dox' Family, adequately reflects Giovanca's personality.

The end result is an extraordinary and diversified record with international allure. With Subway Silence Giovanca demonstrates that she will not be restricted by genre specific regulations. Music is not like mathematics. it just has to feel good and the same goes for the words that one uses. Thinking of songs that touch me, emotion always is more important than the literal message. "Soul" uniquely shimmers through her light, dreamy voice that Giovanca uses to sing about life, loneliness, love and above all: herself. Recognizable lyrics that were mostly written while observing fellow passengers in the subway and being fascinated by impermanence and diversity. No human is always the same. We carry different persons with us everywhere.

And who is Giovanca? A voyeur in the subway, silence in the storm, a beauty with a note block who contemplates the world around her. In one song she places life above love, in the other she begs her lover never to leave her. Contradictory? She prefers calling it realistic. There is always more to what we see and even what we hear. And somewhere in between is the realm in which Giovanca moves...