Biography

Radio contact: Jana Mougin
jana@darkshadowrecording.com

IF I DIDN'T LOVE YOU
Songwriters: Jon Vezner/ Jack White

Musicians:
Jana Mougin - lead vocal
Lauren Mascitti - harmony vocal
Stephen Mougin - harmony vocal
Dan Tyminski - guitar
Ron Block - banjo
Sierra Hull - mandolin
Stuart Duncan - fiddle
Barry Bales - bass
Todd Livingston - resonator guitar

Of all the singers who might legitimately be called Nashville’s best-kept secret, none would have a stronger claim, if she were the kind of person to make it, than Dark Shadow Recording's Jana Mougin.  The fact is, though, that Jana is a team player—whether with Fragment, the European bluegrass powerhouse she fronted for over a decade, with Dark Shadow Recording, where she’s been supplying the behind-the-scenes muscle that supports the label’s award-winning musicians like Becky Buller and Rick Faris, or with her family—so for the best part of the past 15 years, the power and beauty of her singing have been left mostly to memory.

That changes with the release of “If I Didn’t Love You.” Recorded a few months ago at the tail end of another artist’s recording session, the song—a Jon Vezner/Jack White co-write recorded by Steve Wariner some 30 years ago—features an all-star cast: Dan Tyminski (guitar), Ron Block (banjo), Barry Bales (bass), Sierra Hull (mandolin) and Todd Livingston (resonator guitar), with harmonies supplied by Lauren Mascitti and Jana’s husband, Stephen Mougin.  “A dream band,” Jana calls them, but there’s never any doubt about where a listener’s attention is drawn;  though a discerning one may be able to tell that English isn’t her native language, when Jana Mougin sings, even the most skillfully crafted accompaniment takes a back seat to the heartbreaking lilt of her voice—and attentive or casual, old fan or new, every listener is bound to be captivated by the result.


With more than 8 albums to her credit as a band member of Fragment, this is her first venture as a solo artist, and her first recorded music in 18 years.

As a big fan of Steve Wariner from seeing him on CMT in the 90’s in her hometown of Brattislava, Slovakia, Jana was drawn to the idea of adapting his music in bluegrass setting. Though many of his hits might be easy picking, Mougin felt this slightly-deeper-catalog number had a great melody and message and suited her voice and artistry.

A dream band for Jana, the bulk of the musicians were the foundation of her bluegrass vocabulary through their classic recordings. While on tour with Fragment in the early 2000’s, she met a 12 year old Sierra Hull, and has enjoyed watching Hull’s meteoric rise in the industry.