Stephen & Jana Mougin Interview Part 2
By Big Al Weekley for Country Music News International Magazine & Radio Show
Slovakian born and classically trained vocalist, Jana Mougin oversees media relations for Dark Shadow Recording. The label is owned by Jana and her husband, Stephen Mougin. Jana holds a master’s degree in audio-visual media journalism from Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia. She worked for two years in the documentary department of Slovak National Television, but she knew she was called to do something else with her life.
Jana was introduced to Bluegrass music when she was fifteen years old, and in 1993, she joined the European Bluegrass band Fragment as lead vocalist. She later became the groups’s bassist. She served twelve years in the band during which they recorded eight albums and toured extensively throughout Europe and the United States and won several awards within the European industry. The group continues to do reunion shows when they are able to in order to keep the magic of the band alive.
In 2006, Jana married Stephen, who was a guitarist with the Sam Bush Band at the time, and she made her permanent move to the United States. The couple founded the Dark Shadow Recording label in 2009, with their focus being releasing topnotch bluegrass music as well as instructional material to musicians. She and Stephen have a son, Sammy, who has also been bitten by the Bluegrass bug and loves spending time in the studio, following in his parents’ footsteps.
Jana handles publicity, social media, and music video production for Dark Shadow Recording. She also maintains her love of music by moonlighting as a studio vocalist for the artists who record with their label. Her vocals can be heard on albums from Becky Buller, Breaking Grass, Rick Lang, April Verch, the Daughters of Bluegrass, Rick Faris, Nedski & Mojo, and many more.