Describing Via Tania's sound is not an easy thing to do, even for Via Tania. While it's not nece-ssarily hip-hop, not necessarily rock, and not necessarily R&B, it may be fitting to just call it music. "What I've been finding is it's people's own perspective of what music they listen to hat helps in determining how they interpret it,” says Via. "I think I can say it's pretty mellow and downtempo. Some people say it's a form of hip-hop, and other people have to listen to it quite a few times before they can say what they think it is."

Via Tania first got into music while growing up in Sidney, Australia where she and her friends would sneak into shows during sound check because they were too young to get in. After meeting a grip of bands from slipping into their rehearsals, she was convinced music is what she wanted to pursue. At the age of 14, she start-ed a cover band with her sister, which went from a school band to a serious one in time at all. "I took my music seriously early on," says Via. "I took it serious around 15 or 16 when I started to write my own songs. Music was more important to me than school.”

After spending her time in a band in Australia, Via knew she needed to leave if she wanted to pursue music seriously. "I had been doing music here in Australia but it was kind of this fun band type of thing," she explains. "I really wanted to travel, and I was really ready to leave here. I had a friend who told me if I really want to a music I had to leave Australia and at least go to a big city like Chicago," That friend turned out to eventually be her husband and producer, Casey Rice.

Living in Chicago, the couple was encouraged and inspired by the community they lived in. Via took a lot of time to regroup and evaluate what she wanted to do musically. She quickly found herself immersed in the Chicago music scene, meet-ing tons of musicians that inspired her work ethic. "The biggest influence from Chicago was the attitude people had there about making music,” says Via. "It's this down to earth attitude that made you just keep doing your thing. I was definitely influenced by how people work together and everyone was so friendly and inter-ested in working with each other. People were just up for everything.” This attitude is what inspired Via the most in creating her music, as opposed to other musicians. “I don't think when I sit down and write something I'm influenced by another artist in particular,” she explains. "But my whole process of going about it is definitely with more of a Chicago attitude than anything.”

While pursuing music in the Windy City, Via thought of her experiences as train-ing school more than anything. "Chicago isn't somewhere you go to become really successful,” she states. "It's somewhere you go if you want to learn about being a musician forever." It took Via a couple of years absorbing what the city had to offer before she figured out exactly what she wanted, "I was in a band with my sister for 7 years, and I didn't know if I could ever be in a band again:' she says. "So it kind of went in its own direction quite naturally, but it took a few years before I was ready to make my first record."

Although Via had recorded solo material in Australia, the majority of her work was recorded in the States after signing with the Chicago-based Chocolate lndustries. In the Fall of 2002, Via Tania released her debut EP “Dream Of... ,” as well as held her own alongside Mos Def, EI-P and a host of others on Chocolate Industries' “Urban Renewal Program” compilation. But Via admits that she doesn't have a huge background in hip-hop due to her time spent in Australia, where hip--hop music was watered down and hard to come by, and where rap shows were few and far between. "When I did see hip-hop it was just video clips on TV, because being in Australia was like being on an island," she explains. "Being in Chicago I was able to see a ton of fuse hip-hop shows, which I was never able to experience here in Australia."

In 2000, Via made the tough decision to move back to her native country. After several years of being out of the loop with friends and family, she felt disconnected and in need of a much deserved vacation.

"I'm in Australia because I found that I wanted to spend more time here. I also lead a double life, where I have this agenda when I'm here in Australia and I'll have an agenda when I'm in the U.S. When I was in Chicago, I found myself completely consumed in everything. It's really hard to drop everything and leave to get here in Australia, whereas when I'm here it's such a different vibe. I do what I do here and then it's so much easier to go there. I don't want to give up living in Chicago."

Now that Via is back in Australia, she finds that it's much easier to write and be creative without the big city distractions all around her. But despite her prolific song-writing ability, she finds that writing for someone else is difficult. "I'm a pretty soli-tary writer because if I were to write with someone, I'd just say give me some words and then I'll work with those, but it’s really hard to sit down with someone else,” says Via. "But I love writing for specific ideas because as writers or artists or whatever your medium is, you do that anyway. You make these structures in your head where you want to start, so I didn't have a problem with a person saying I want you to write this type of song.” Via does love collaborating with other musicians and artists though, whatever their style. “When I ask someone to come play on the record, the songs just totally go in a different direction, so I feel like it was a really big collabo-ration and I was more just putting the pieces together," she states.

After years of honing her craft and recording, Via Tania is ready to release her debut full-length, “Under a Different Sky.” Featuring production by Prefuse 73, John Herndon and Doug MCCombs of Tortoise, and husband Casey Rice, the album is a unique blend of downtempo beats and acoustic ballads. The album is sure to please Via Tania fans, as well as attract the ears of many new ones with her deep poetics and smooth beats.