Māra Lisenko (born 13 June 1986 in

Jūrmala Jūrmala (; "seaside") is a state city in Latvia, about west of Riga. Jūrmala is a resort town stretching and sandwiched between the Gulf of Riga and the Lielupe River. It has a stretch of white-sand beach, and a population of 49,325 in 2 ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

) is a

n singer-songwriter. She is known as the founder of the band Karmafree and since 2018 is the leader of the

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, fe ...

band MĀRA. Māra mainly practices

growling Growling is a low, guttural vocalization produced by animals as an aggressive warning but can also be found in other contexts such as playful behaviors or mating. Different animals will use growling in specific contexts as a form of communicat ...

, but thanks to her diverse vocal techniques, is also able to sing clear or even lyrical.

Biography

Māra was born on 13 June 1986 in the town of

in Latvia. Growing up in a musicians family, she was exposed to music from an early age. Her mother, who is also a singer, sets Māra as a target to match her level. She began to devote herself to growl at the age of 13 and joined her first band only a year later. In 2007, Māra studied at the prestigious Vocaltech school – Thames Valley University. She is lucky enough to be trained by some of the greatest

Vocal coach A vocal coach, also known as a voice coach (though this term often applies to those working with speech and communication rather than singing), is a music teacher, usually a piano accompanist, who helps singers prepare for a performance, often a ...

es in the metal, such as

Melissa Cross Melissa is a female given name. The name comes from the Greek word μέλισσα (''mélissa''), "bee", which in turn comes from μέλι (''meli''), "honey". In Hittite, ''melit'' signifies "honey". ''Melissa'' also refers to the plant ''Me ...

, Mark Baxter or even Enrico H. Di Lorenzo. In addition, she receives help from singers recognized in the world of metal such as

Derrick Green Derrick Leon Green (born January 20, 1971) is an American musician best known as the vocalist of Brazilian heavy metal band Sepultura. He joined the band in 1997 after the departure of band founder Max Cavalera. Early life Born in Cleveland ...

(

Sepultura Sepultura (, "grave")Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 17. is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte. Formed in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera,Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 16. the band was a major force in the groove metal, thras ...

) or even

Rafał Piotrowski Decapitated is a Polish death metal band formed in Krosno in 1996. The group comprises guitarist, founder and composer Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka, vocalist Rafał Piotrowski, bassist Paweł Pasek and drummer James Stewart. Decapitated have gaine ...

(

Decapitated Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the i ...

). Since 2011, Māra has been a

vocal coach A vocal coach, also known as a voice coach (though this term often applies to those working with speech and communication rather than singing), is a music teacher, usually a piano accompanist, who helps singers prepare for a performance, often a ...

herself. She gives lessons on

Skype Skype () is a proprietary telecommunications application operated by Skype Technologies, a division of Microsoft, best known for VoIP-based videotelephony, videoconferencing and voice calls. It also has instant messaging, file transfer, ...

for all levels, from beginners to advanced singers. In 2010, in London, England, Māra founded with her husband the band Karmafree. It is a duet between Dmitry Lisenko who plays the bass and Māra on vocals. The band's style is

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

and they involve their social and political fights. In 2012, they released their first EP. She joined a Latvian

melodic death Melodic death metal (also referred to as melodeath) is a subgenre of death metal that employs highly melodic guitar riffs, often borrowing from traditional heavy metal (including New Wave of British Heavy Metal). The genre features the heavin ...

band called Ocularis Infernum in 2015. The band released an album in 2017 and has not been active on social medias since the end of 2018. In 2018, Māra begins her current band, also called MĀRA. It is a

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

thrash Thrash may refer to: *Thrashing (computer science), where increasing resources are used to do a decreasing amount of work * Thrash (surname) * Thrash, mascot of the Atlanta Thrashers *'' Thrash Rally'', a top-down perspective rally racing video ga ...

and

groove metal Groove metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that began in the early 1990s. The genre achieved success in the 1990s and continued having success in the 2000s. Inspired by thrash metal and traditional heavy metal, groove metal features rasp ...

band composed of 4 musicians. The band quickly released their first EP, ''Therapy for an Empath'', on 22 November 2018. It has been received very well by the critics, and they even won the prize for the best metal album of the year 2018 at the Latvian Metal Music Awards. Māra is also awarded as the best singer the same year. The band performs some shows in different European countries such as France, Germany and even England. The band finally reveals its second EP, ''Self Destruct. Survive. Thrive!'' two years later, featuring

Soilwork Soilwork is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Helsingborg. They are signed to Nuclear Blast. Formed in late 1995 by Björn Strid and Peter Wichers, originally under the name ''Inferior Breed'', the band changed their name in late 1996 to ...

singer

Bjorn Strid Bjorn (English, Dutch), Björn (Swedish, Icelandic, Dutch, and German), Bjørn (Danish, Faroese and Norwegian), Beorn (Old English) or, rarely, Bjôrn, Biorn, or Latinized Biornus, Brum (Portuguese), is a Scandinavian male given name, or less oft ...

and

Jeff Hughell Jeff Hughell (born December 4, 1979) is the former bassist for Asylum, Vile, and Brain Drill and the current bassist for Six Feet Under and Reciprocal. He has released four solo albums and has played bass on multiple records as a session playe ...

from Six Feet Under. The release date is scheduled for 13 May 2020. Māra lately launched, on 2 April 2020, her own

Patreon Patreon (, ) is a membership platform that provides business tools for content creators to run a subscription service. It helps creators and artists earn a monthly income by providing rewards and perks to their subscribers. Patreon charges a com ...

to share exclusive content. She also has a

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

channel where she makes

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of cop ...

Personal life

Māra has been married to Dmitry Lisenko for more than 6 years. She currently lives in Spain after leaving Germany.

Max Cavalera Massimiliano Antonio "Max" Cavalera (; born August 4, 1969) is a Brazilian musician. He co-founded the heavy metal band Sepultura in 1984 with his brother Igor Cavalera, and was the band's lead singer and rhythm guitarist until his departure i ...

Sevendust Sevendust is an American rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1994 by bassist Vince Hornsby, drummer Morgan Rose and rhythm guitarist John Connolly. After their first demo, lead vocalist Lajon Witherspoon and lead guitarist Clint Lo ...

and

Korn Korn (stylized as KoЯn, or occasionally KoRn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The band is notable for pioneering the nu metal genre and bringing it into the mainstream. Originally formed in 1993 b ...

made her want to have

dreadlocks Dreadlocks, also known as locs or dreads, are rope-like strands of hair formed by locking or braiding hair. Origins Some of the earliest depictions of dreadlocks date back as far as 1600–1500 BCE in the Minoan Civilization, one of Europ ...

. Māra is

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

but does not want to highlight it on social media.

MĀRA's line-up

* Māra Lisenko – Vocals * Denis Melnik – Guitar * Dmitry Lisenko – Bass * Alberts Mednis – Drums

Discography

With Karmafree

* Illusions (EP) – 2012

With Ocularis Infernum

* Expired Utopia – 2017

With MĀRA

* Therapy for an Empath (EP) – 2018 * Self Destruct. Survive. Thrive! (EP) – 2020

References

1986 births Living people {{DEFAULTSORT:Lisenko, Māra 21st-century Latvian women singers Death metal musicians People from Jūrmala Latvian expatriates in Germany Latvian expatriates in Spain Women heavy metal singers