Regina Spektor, anti-folk songstress from New York, plays Whelans on Thursday, the 9th of February.
Regina Spektor brings her collection of quirky, alternative songs to the capitol for an intimate performance in February.
Born in Moscow, Regina Spektor was brought up in a musical family and began taking music lessons at the age of six on a piano given to her mother by her grandfather.
At the age of nine, Spektor and her family immigrated to the Bronx and she began to merge her Russian Jewish roots with a deep interest in American culture. Spektor began writing songs in her teens and went on to study at Suny Purchase, an upstate New York college, renowned for its prestigious Conservatory of Music.
While studying at college, Spektor came under the sway of jazz legend Billie Holliday and began forming her own cult following around the New York café scene. In early 2001, Spektor teamed up with jazz bassist, Chris Kuffner to record her first collection of songs, 11:11, which she printed in a limited run and sold at concerts.
After finishing college, Spektor began playing shows at New York joints like the Living Room, Knitting Factory and Fez and was soon the talk of the city's burgeoning anti-folk scene. Spektor was soon back in the studio to record infectious new songs like "Samson", "Oedipus" and "Daniel Cowman".
The popularity of her second self-released album, Songs saw her befriending They Might Be Giant's drummer, Alan Bezozi who introduced Spektor to The Strokes' producer, Gordon Raphael.
Raphael and Bezozi worked with Spektor on her third album, Soviet Kitsch in New York and London with brilliant new tunes like "Carbon Monoxide", "Your Honour" and "Sailor Song" featuring Kill Kenada, Lounge Lizards guitarist Oren Bloedow, bass legend Graham Maby and cellist Jane Scarpantoni.
When The Strokes' Julian Casablancas heard Soviet Kitsch, he asked Spektor to join his band on their North American tour. The Kings of Leon followed suit on their European tour and Spektor recorded a song with The Strokes, "Post Modern Girls & Old Fashion Men" for the B-side of their "Reptilia" single.
A exquisite pianist, a soulful singer and distinctive songwriter, Regina Spektor plays Whelans on the 9th.
Regina Spektor
Whelans
Buy Tickets
Tickets are available from Ticketmaster outlets, www.ticketmaster.ie
Time: 8pm
Tickets: €15
Whelans
25 Wexford St,
Dublin 2.
Tel: + 353 (0) 1 4780766
