Gabriela Kulka
Encyclopedia
Gabriela Kulka is an independent artist
, a songwriter
and performer.
violinist and a professor at Chopin Music Academy in Warsaw. Following in her father's footsteps, she endured 8 years of classical schooling in violin
, but still ended up embracing the piano as a weapon of choice in her songwriting and performing activities.
She recorded her first full-length album, Between Miss Scylla and a Hard Place, in 2003, available in CD-R format. 2006 saw the release of her second LP, Out, a full-colour, professionally pressed affair. Both albums were completely independent releases. Aside from these, Gaba contributed to a compilation of covers called Songs for Wolf, containing pieces by the likes of Björk
, Ozzy Osbourne
, Neil Diamond
, Stevie Nicks
and The Church
).
In 2009 her third album, Hat, Rabbit, was released by major label EMI Poland
and therefore Gaba Kulka gained wider popularity. The album went gold in Poland and with her singles "Niejasności", "Kara Niny" or "Got a Song" the singer became successful in more alternative-oriented radio stations. In the same year she issued her next album, Sleepwalk, a collaboration with Polish singer Konrad Kucz.
and Kate Bush
on equal part. Her output is strongly influenced by classical music
, jazz
and pop
.
Artists she names as her closest inspirations are, firstly and undeniably - Kate Bush
and Tori Amos
, but also Peter Gabriel
, Kurt Weill
, Danny Elfman
, The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo
, Chroma Key
, Queen
, ABBA
, Bruce Dickinson
& Iron Maiden
(whose songs she performs live) and Madonna
.
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, a songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and performer.
Biography
Gabriela Kulka was born to a family of musicians, her father Konstanty Kulka is a well known PolishPoles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
violinist and a professor at Chopin Music Academy in Warsaw. Following in her father's footsteps, she endured 8 years of classical schooling in violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, but still ended up embracing the piano as a weapon of choice in her songwriting and performing activities.
She recorded her first full-length album, Between Miss Scylla and a Hard Place, in 2003, available in CD-R format. 2006 saw the release of her second LP, Out, a full-colour, professionally pressed affair. Both albums were completely independent releases. Aside from these, Gaba contributed to a compilation of covers called Songs for Wolf, containing pieces by the likes of Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
, Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
, Neil Diamond
Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades from the 1960s until the present....
, Stevie Nicks
Stevie Nicks
Stephanie Lynn "Stevie" Nicks is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Fleetwood Mac and an extensive solo career, which collectively have produced over forty Top 50 hits and sold over 140 million albums...
and The Church
The Church (band)
The Church is an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1980. Initially associated with new wave and the neo-psychedelic sound of the mid 1980s, their music later became more reminiscent of progressive rock, featuring long instrumental jams and complex guitar interplay...
).
In 2009 her third album, Hat, Rabbit, was released by major label EMI Poland
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
and therefore Gaba Kulka gained wider popularity. The album went gold in Poland and with her singles "Niejasności", "Kara Niny" or "Got a Song" the singer became successful in more alternative-oriented radio stations. In the same year she issued her next album, Sleepwalk, a collaboration with Polish singer Konrad Kucz.
Musical style
Over seven years of writing and recording, Gabriela Kulka developed the singular style of dark musical theatre mixed with a jazzy attitude, and a focus on poetic and quirky lyrics - influenced by Danny ElfmanDanny Elfman
Daniel Robert "Danny" Elfman is an American composer, best known for scoring music for television and film. Up until 1995, he was the lead singer and songwriter in the rock band Oingo Boingo, a group he formed in 1976...
and Kate Bush
Kate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
on equal part. Her output is strongly influenced by classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
.
Artists she names as her closest inspirations are, firstly and undeniably - Kate Bush
Kate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
and Tori Amos
Tori Amos
Tori Amos is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...
, but also Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
, Kurt Weill
Kurt Weill
Kurt Julian Weill was a German-Jewish composer, active from the 1920s, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht...
, Danny Elfman
Danny Elfman
Daniel Robert "Danny" Elfman is an American composer, best known for scoring music for television and film. Up until 1995, he was the lead singer and songwriter in the rock band Oingo Boingo, a group he formed in 1976...
, The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo
Oingo Boingo
Oingo Boingo was an American new wave band. They are best known for their influence on other musicians, their soundtrack contributions and their high energy Halloween concerts. The band was founded in 1972 as The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, a performance art group...
, Chroma Key
Chroma Key
Chroma Key is the name under which ex-Dream Theater keyboardist Kevin Moore records. Although primarily a solo project, several other musicians have recorded as part of Chroma Key such as bassist Joey Vera, drummer Mark Zonder, and guitarist Jason Anderson....
, Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
, ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
, Bruce Dickinson
Bruce Dickinson
Paul Bruce Dickinson is an English singer, songwriter, airline pilot, fencer, broadcaster, author, screenwriter, actor and marketing director, best known as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden....
& Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
(whose songs she performs live) and Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
.
Discography
- 2003: Between Miss Scylla and a Hard Place
- 2006: Out
- 2009: Hat, Rabbit
- 2009: Sleepwalk
External links
- Gaba Kulka official site
- Gaba Kulka at MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
- Gaba Kulka at YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....