Current mood:
mellow
So in relation to the post, I've decided to answer some of your questions that I've been getting in my mail.
Here they are!
Where are you originally from?
I was born in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan but have lived the first 10 years of my life in Almaty, Kazakhstan. I know it's confusing! Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are two neighboring republics in Central Asia that used to be a part of the former USSR. So I'm a Soviet baby! Haha, well I've lived through those interesting times anyhow ...
I can't figure out what your heritage is...
I'm half Azeri on my dad's side and half Russian on my mother's side. Although according to my mom's family we have some Kalmykian royal blood in there.
Azerbaijan is a small Asian/Middle Eastern republic near the Caspian Sea. So much geography, I know, not my fault!
How come your English is so good if you've only been in North America for 11 years?
Practice Practice Practice, and more Practice. It also helped that my parents worked very hard to give me an education in a private English-intensive school. So by the time we moved to Canada and I went into grade 5 I understood English very well. Most of my close friends were always English and my mom and I switched to English at home, or rather what I call "Ringlish", mangling Russian and English into a sentence :)) Being musical also helped, you tend to pick up on sounds faster and I'm an avid reader.
Were "Cry Me a River" and "Summertime" recorded in a studio?
Nope. They were recorded live. I recorded "Save Me From Myself" and "I'm No Good" at home one evening, so there's no post production on any of the tracks, "You Know I'm No Good" is just me singing over my original track.
Do you write any of your own material?
Yes, I do. You'll get to hear three of them at the end of February :) I've been writing since I was 13 years old and to me it's a really important aspect of being an artist. It wasn't in any aspect an easy journey, especially early on considering the language barrier, but I worked through it. What most peopel don't realise is that to write successfully in another language you have to have more than just a rich vocabulary, you have to get into the mindset and rhythm of that culture.
Have you written any songs in Russian?
Haha. Yes, One. Don't laugh, it was last year, I was inspired. Believe it or not even though I speak fluent Russian, it was much harder for me to start writing poems, song lyrics in my native language again, because I was removed from that culture for so long.
Would you ever do a full album in Russian?
Sure! It's a beautiful culture and language.
Have you had any memorable musical encounters?
When I was little my parents used to play Patricia Kaas, Pavarotti, Domingo...
I fell in love with opera, my audition to get into the music department at the private school I went to consisted of singing Pavarotti Arias :))
When I was 7, I believe, I met Patricia Kaas http://www.myspace.com/patriciakaas
at a fashion event my parents were invited to because she purchased one of my mom's sculptures for her collection. I remember walking down the isle and handing her a rose. She was wearing a black pant suit with a large black diamond cross. I said "I love you", what I mean was "I love your music", she said "Merci beacoup". :)) She definitely inspired me, she has one of the world's most stunning voices.
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That's it for now... Check back for more soon. Good night!!!
XO
D.
imaginative