Jack River (musician)
Holly Isabella Rankin (born 19 December 1991, who performs as Jack River, is an Australian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer. Her debut album, Sugar Mountain (22 June 2018), peaked at No. 11 on the ARIA Albums Chart. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2018 she received nominations for Breakthrough Artist, Best Pop Release and Engineer of the Year (the latter shared with Xavier Dunn and John Castle).
Jack River | |
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Falls Festival, Byron Bay, January 2019 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Holly Isabella Rankin |
Born | Forster, New South Wales, Australia | 19 December 1991
Genres |
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Occupation(s) |
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Instruments |
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Years active | 2012–present |
Labels |
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Website | jackrivermusic |
Biography
Holly Isabella Rankin was born in 1991, to David and Donna Rankin,[1][2] and raised in Forster, New South Wales.[3][4] She started writing a diary from five- or six-years-old, "I just had an attraction to writing and also recording things. I've always been fascinated by people and stories and nature."[3][5] Her younger sister, Shannon Rankin (1995–2006), died in an accident due to a faulty drain in a spa.[2][5]
Initially performing under her given name Rankin adopted the performance name, Jack River, upon relocation to Sydney.[6] Her eight-track debut extended play, On Nature Part One, was issued in April 2013 via Waterfront Records/MGM Distribution.[7] James Monger of AllMusic described how her, "laid-back, psych-tinged electropop earned her a loyal local following."[6]
River signed with I Oh You/Universal Music Australia, which issued her single, "Talk Like That", in early 2016.[6] Happy Mag's Emerson Noble felt, "[it] has an incredibly tangible, organic feel that seems to come pretty naturally to [River]. There is an air of self-produced originality that draws you into this track but it's still so damn hooky that you're going to be singing that sweet synth riff for days."[8]
Her seven-track EP, Highway Songs No. 2 (October 2016) peaked at No. 19 on the ARIA Hitseekers Albums Chart.[9] It was co-produced by Rankin and Xavier Dunn.[6] Laura Polson of The Newcastle Herald observed, "On top of writing the melody and lyrics, Rankin seeks landscape sounds to add to her music... the opening track 'Highway (Intro)' draws together carnival sounds with a western, cowboy twist."[3]
River's single, "Fool's Gold" (June 2017), was accompanied by a music video, which Sosefina Fuamoli of The AU Review felt was, "dreamy as hell" and "lit up through a beautifully-crafted haze of a narrative, following different couples."[10] In June-July 2017 the singer-songwriter launched a series of concerts, Electric Lady, featuring only female acts: Ali Barter, Alex Lahey, and Gretta Ray.[10][11] River supported Midnight Oil during that year and undertook her own Fool's Gold Tour.[12]
On 22 June 2018 River released her debut album, Sugar Mountain, titled for Neil Young's song of the same name.[5] The album recounts River's painful memories, including her sister's fatal accident.[5] During an interview with Richard Kingsmill on 2018, a program on Triple J radio, River explained that music was her way of dealing with emotions and also as therapy, calling it her "go to for everything".[13] It peaked at No. 11 on the ARIA Albums Chart and she received three nominations at the ARIA Music Awards of 2018: Breakthrough Artist, Best Pop Release and Engineer of the Year (the latter shared with Dunn and John Castle).[14] In October 2019, she came at no.11 in Happy Mag's list of "The 15 Australian female artists changing the game right now".[15]
On 4 October 2019, River released the single "Later Flight" and announced she had an EP due for release on 14 February 2020.[16] [17]
Awards
APRA Music Awards
The APRA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony. Jack River has received two nominations.[18]
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
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2019 | herself | Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year | Nominated |
2020 | "Sugar" (with Peking Duk)[19][20] | Most Performed Dance Work of the Year | Nominated |
ARIA Music Awards
The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. Jack River has received 4 nominations overall.[21]
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
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2018 | Sugar Mountain | Breakthrough Artist | Nominated |
Best Pop Release | Nominated | ||
Holly Rankin, Xavier Dunn & John Castle for Sugar Mountain | Engineer of the Year | Nominated | |
2019 [22] | "Sugar" (with Peking Duk) | Best Dance Release | Nominated |
Discography
Studio albums
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
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AUS [23] | ||
Sugar Mountain |
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11 |
Extended plays
Title | EP details |
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On Nature Part One |
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Highway Songs No. 2 |
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Stranger Heart |
Singles
As lead artist
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album |
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AUS [27] | ||||
"Talk Like That"[28] | 2016 | — | Highway Songs No. 2 | |
"Nothing's Gonna Hurt You Baby"[29] | — | |||
"Palo Alto"[30] | — | |||
"Fool's Gold"[31] | 2017 | — | Sugar Mountain | |
"Fault Line"[33] | — | |||
"Ballroom"[34] | 2018 | — | ||
"Limo Song"[35] | — | |||
"Confess"[36] | — | |||
"Sugar" (with Peking Duk) | 2019 | 54 |
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TBA |
"Adolescent"[38] | — | Sugar Mountain[upper-alpha 1] | ||
"Later Flight"[39] | — | Stranger Heart | ||
"Closer"[40] | — | |||
"Dark Star"[41] | 2020 | — |
As featured artist
Title | Year | Album |
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"Multiply" (Love Fame Tragedy featuring Jack River)[42] |
2020 | Five Songs to Briefly Fill the Void and Wherever I Go, I Want To Leave |
Notes
- "Adolescent" is only included on the deluxe edition of Sugar Mountain.[38]
References
- "'American Mothers' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) | Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS). Retrieved 5 April 2018. Note: For additional work user may have to select 'Search again' and then 'Enter a title:' &/or 'Performer:'
- Strachan, Julieanne (16 February 2010). "Shannon Rankin killed in 'dangerous' spa: coroner". The Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
- Polson, Laura (16 December 2016). "Holly Rankin opens up about her Jack River identity". The Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
- "Introducing Jack River". mushroom.com. 8 July 2016.
- Leeson, Josh (23 June 2018). "Jack River finds path through grief on Sugar Mountain". The Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
- Monger, James Christopher. "Jack River Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
- "On Nature Part One Jack River". Sanity. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
- Noble, Emerson (11 August 2016). "Jack River gets us swimming in pools of synth, and low key indie vocals on stunning new track, Talk Like That". Happy Mag. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
- Wallace, Ian (5 December 2016). "Week Commencing ~ 5th December 2016 ~ Issue #1397" (PDF). The ARIA Report. Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) (1397): 21. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 December 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
- Fuamoli, Sosefina (23 June 2017). "Music Video of the Day: Jack River 'Fool's Gold' (2017)". The AU Review. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
- Butler, Josh (26 June 2017). "Jack River and the Gritty, Powerful Women of Electric Lady" – via Huff Post.
- Tencic, Nat (8 August 2017). "Jack River takes Fool's Gold on tour".
- Kingsmill, Richard. "Jack River". Triple J. ABC. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
- "And the ARIA Award Goes To..." Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). 28 November 2018. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
- "The 15 Australian female artists changing the game right now". Retrieved 30 October 2019.
- Carr, Debbie (4 October 2019). "Jack River makes an honest love song out of 'Later Flight'". ABC. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
- Bleach, Thomas (7 October 2019). "Single Review: Jack River – Later Flight". Thomas Bleach. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
- "2019 APRA Awards nominees announced". noise11. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
- "Tones and I Leads Nominations for 2020 Virtual APRA Awards". Noise11. 7 April 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
- "2020 Awards". APRA. 7 April 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
- "Jack River ARIA Awards search". ARIA. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
- "ARIA Awards: 2019 ARIA Awards Nominated Artists Revealed". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). 10 October 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
- "Discography Jack River". Australian Charts Portal. Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
- "On Nature Part One Jack River". Waterfront Records. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
- "Highway Songs No. 2". iTunes Store. Apple. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
- Brandle, Lars (5 December 2019). "Jack River explores 'Pure Feeling' on 'Closer': Exclusive Premiere". Billboard. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
- "ARIA Chart Watch #509". auspOp. 26 January 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
- Palmer, Natalie (July 2016). "Jack River arrives on the scene with the electrifying 'Talk Like That'". Purple Sneakers. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
- Payne, Lauren (September 2016). "Jack River takes us back to childhood summers with new cover". Purple Sneakers. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
- Payne, Lauren (September 2016). "Jack River releases 'Palo Alto', the perfect driving track". Purple Sneakers. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
- "Fools Gold – Single by Jack River on Apple Music". Apple Music AU. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
- "ARIA Accreditations 2020". ARIA. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
- "Fault Line – Single by Jack River on Apple Music". Apple Music AU. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
- "Ballroom – Single by Jack River on Apple Music". Apple Music AU. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
- "YouTube: Jack River – Limo Song". ABC. 1 June 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
- Campbell, Patrick (2 November 2018). "Exclusive: Jack River signs international record deal with Nettwerk Music Group". The Industry Observer. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
- "ARIA Accreditations 2019". ARIA. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
- Newstead, Al (12 April 2019). "First Spin: Jack River gets angsty on the grungy 'Adolescent'". ABC. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
- Carr, Debbie (4 October 2019). "Jack River makes an honest love song out of 'Later Flight'". ABC. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
- "Singles to Radio". The Music Network. 6 December 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
- March, Kim (14 January 2019). "Premiere: Jack River gets sucked in by a "Dark Star"". Flood Magazine. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
- Aubrey, Elizabeth (19 March 2020). "The Wombats' Matthew Murphy shares video for emotive new Love Fame Tragedy single, 'Multiply'". NME. Retrieved 28 June 2020.