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Biography All Music GuideWikipedia
All Music Guide:
Channeling raw yet hazy disco energy with conceptual post-punk leanings, the Estonian-born Maria Minerva (née Maria Juur) joined the choice ranks of celebrated and critically acclaimed underground female electronic artists during the latter part of 2000s. Born in Tallinn in 1988, Minerva described her music as 21st century folk music but her distinctive sound drew similarities to the reverb-laden hypnagogic pop created by Laurel Halo, LA Vampires, and Julia Holter. After studying Art History at the Estonian Academy of Arts and ditching her day job as a music and art critic, Minerva moved to London in 2009, where she attended Goldsmiths to complete an M.A. in Aural and Visual Cultures, as well as pursuing the goal of becoming a recording artist. It was around this time that she was an intern at the music magazine The Wire. After assimilating her art background into her lo-fi electronic sound, she found a spiritual home on Amanda Brown's Not Not Fun and in 2011 released Cabaret Cixous (named after the famed French writer and thinker Helene Cixous), the cassette-only Tallinn at Dawn, and two 12s -- the Noble Savage EP and Sacred & Profane Love -- on the NNF off-shoot label 100% Silk.
Wikipedia:
Maria Juur (born 15 March 1988), better known by her stage name Maria Minerva is an Estonian underground musician. She is releasing music on the prominent and prolific Los Angeles independent label Not Not Fun and its dance-oriented sub-label 100% Silk. She is known for her eclectic and dreamy music style and lo-fi videos. She has cited Brian Eno, Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire and Moodymann as her influences. Her father is a known Estonian humorist, TV personality and music writer Mart Juur.
Before moving to London, Maria was studying at the Estonian Academy of Arts in Tallinn. She holds a BA in Art History and an MA in Aural and Visual Cultures from Goldsmiths, University of London. Maria has also conducted an internship at the The Wire Magazine and published art and music criticism in Estonia.
Maria's releases have received favorable reviews from websites such as Pitchfork Media and The Quietus. One of Maria Minerva's supporters has been the influential music critic Simon Reynolds. Maria's track "A Little Lonely" made it to The Guardian's top 40 singles of 2011. She was hailed as one of the underground starlets to watch by the French Vogue.
