Masha Qrella (real name Masha Kurella, born 1975 in

East Berlin East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as ...

) is a German singer-songwriter. Her music has been described as belonging to the genres of

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...

and "a mixture of electronics and

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

Biography

Qrella's father was a Russian physicist and her mother was a German somnologist. Her musical career began with her playing with German bands Mina and Contriva.

Solo career

Qrella's solo debut album, ''Luck'', was released in 2004. It was followed by ''Unsolved Remained'', released in 2005. Patrick Sisson, writing for ''

XLR8R ''XLR8R'' (pronounced "accelerator") is a website that covers music, culture, style, and technology. It was originally also a print magazine. History and profile ''XLR8R'' was founded as a newsprint zine in 1993 by publisher Andrew Smith in Sea ...

'', compared this album's sound to the music of

Aimee Mann Aimee Elizabeth Mann (born September 8, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter. Over the course of four decades, she has released more than a dozen albums as a solo artist and with other musicians. She is noted for her sardonic and literate lyr ...

. In 2009, Qrella released "Speak Low: Loewe and Weill in Exile", a

covers album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records coll ...

consisting of Qrella's performances of songs originally by

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fru ...

and

Frederick Loewe Frederick Loewe (, originally German Friedrich (Fritz) Löwe ; June 10, 1901 – February 14, 1988) was an Austrian-United States, American composer. He collaborated with lyricist Alan Jay Lerner on a series of Broadway musicals, including ''Br ...

. Qrella had been commissioned to produce the album by the

Haus der Kulturen der Welt The Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), in English House of the World's Cultures, in Berlin is Germany's national center for the presentation and discussion of international contemporary arts, with a special focus on non-European cultures and so ...

in celebration of its 50th anniversary. Eric Hill wrote in ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'' that on this album, Qrella's tone "manages to capture both the hope and loneliness at the heart of the songs." Her fourth album, ''Analogies'', was released in 2012.

Discography

*''Luck'' (

Monika Enterprise Monika Enterprises is a Berlin, Germany-based independent record label. In 2001, Wallpaper magazine described the label's musical style as " cupying a twilight zone between electronic pop, easy listening and bedsit angst" and " earheading a new g ...

, 2004) *''Unsolved Remained'' ( Morr, 2005) *''Speak Low: Loewe and Weill in Exile'' (Morr, 2009) *''Analogies'' (Morr, 2012) *''Keys'' (Morr, 2016)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Qrella, Masha German pop musicians German women singer-songwriters Indie pop musicians 1975 births Living people People from East Berlin 21st-century German women singers Morr Music artists