Zascha Moktan ( ne, ज़स्चा मोक्तान; born 23 December 1981) is a Nepalese-German singer, pianist and guitarist.

Career

Born in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

to a Nepalese father and a German mother, Moktan moved to Germany at the age of six. She moved from India via London – where she had her first music performances in a gospel

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

— to

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

, Germany, then to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. She started playing the piano when she was eight years old, and she later joined her school's choir where she completed training in classical music. In the mid-1990s Moktan founded a band along with friends in Frankfurt, who initially played

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

and rock music. In 2000, she participated in a song contest where she won the title of Best Hessian Newcomer Band. At another contest she was discovered by

Nigel Kennedy Nigel Kennedy (born 28 December 1956) is an English violinist and violist. His early career was primarily spent performing classical music, and he has since expanded into jazz, klezmer, and other music genres. Early life and background Kenn ...

, who invited her to join him at some of his performances. In November 2003, Moktan performed as a supporting act for

Craig David Craig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is a British singer and songwriter who rose to fame in 1999, featuring on the single "Re-Rewind (The Crowd Say Bo Selecta), Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger (UK band), Artful Dodger. David's debut studio album, ' ...

at the German leg of his tour. In 2005, she went on tour in the U.S. with

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

and

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Ever ...

. Because of that she interrupted her training as a hair stylist, which she had just started in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. After returning home she signed her first record deal in 2006 with

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

. Until then people complained that her music sounded too American for the German market. After her success in the U.S., she released her debut single "Ouch!" on 9 November 2007. In September 2007, she was named the Newcomer of the Month by Munich-based radio station Bayern 3. Additionally, she performed at the New Pop Festival in

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...

, Germany. Moktan's second single, entitled "Like U Do", was released on 14 March 2008, as was her debut album, The Bottom Line. Her music combines elements of

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

, and

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

Discography

Singles

* "Ouch!" (2007) No. 36 Germany Singles Top 100 * "Like U Do" (2008) No. 76 Germany Singles Top 100 * "Strangers" (2011) * "Shame, Shame, Shame" (feat. Ce-Lo Green) (2011)

Albums

* ''The Bottom Line'' (2008) No. 38 Germany Albums Top 100 * ''State of Mind'' (2011)

Awards and achievements

* 2000: ''Beste deutsche Hessische Newcomer Band'' * 2007: ''Bayern 3-Newcomer des Monats (September)''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moktan, Zascha German women guitarists Indian emigrants to Germany 1981 births Living people 21st-century German women singers 21st-century guitarists Nepali-language singers from India Tamang people 21st-century women guitarists