Lewin is the stage name of Amsterdam-based Jara Holdert, who, with her open guitar tunings, honest, poetic lyrics and quirky song structures, has sometimes been called the “Dutch Joni Mitchell”. Her songs seem to be rooted in that tradition of songwriters from the sixties and seventies, but are coloured with influences from jazz and improvised music, and in terms of sound, down-to-earth voice use and original arrangements, they live in the contemporary indie pop and folk world. Lewin looks for just different open sounds on her guitar, which seem to open up new musical landscapes; when she writes, she wants to surprise herself. Thus, she has developed into a guitarist with a style all her own, and her singing is pure and sobering. In her former formation as JARA, she released a first EP and performed at the Reeperbahn festival, among others; as Lewin, she toured Europe solo and with band.
In 2019, she released two EPs that formed a diptych; ‘For The Leaving’ and ‘For The Left Behind’. Part of a larger album of farewell songs she wrote even before her relationship broke up, in these EPs she sang about two sides of heartbreak, foreshadowing what was to come. The full album was planned for 2020 but the pandemic intervened. Meanwhile, Lewin is busy recording newer work, two new EPs and an album.
Besides writing and recording as Lewin, Jara is also part of international indie-folk duo ‘The Coo’ with British Matt Arthur (also of ‘The Violet Hum’ and ‘The Arthur Brothers). The Coo toured England, Holland, Belgium, Germany and Scandinavia, was played by BBC radio and is set to release a full length album in October of 2024. Jara is also regularly asked as a singer, songwriter and instrumentalist for other projects; for instance, she sings in Jimmi Hueting’s Jo Goes Hunting Orchestra, played guitar for Icelandic singer MIMRA, released a Christmas single with Aidan & The Wild, wrote and sang a song for Subterranean Street Society’s album ‘Saudade’, plays for the band of musician & producer Sean Gascoigne, and wrote and produced the opening tune for Dutch radio: VPRO’s ‘Tijdgeest’.
“ Lewin discovered a powerful sense of redemption in the midst of loss, while her cogent and tuneful rehashing of a failed union brings an artistic sense of closure to a bad situation. Her gorgeous soprano might remind you a bit of Joni Mitchell in the upper registers, while her musical temperament feels closer to the bardic stylings of Laura Marling. Lewin’s sound is a refreshing mix of emotional authenticity and beautiful folk-pop songcraft.” Chillfiltr