21.12.
Born in 1997, the young Georgian Anushka Chkheidze is one of the promising talents far beyond the country’s borders; she has already collaborated several times with the Berlin musician Robert Lippok, one of her most important mentors.
Growing up in the small village of Kharagauli, she began singing in the choir at the age of 11. She herself describes the time spent there as magical and believes that her music is strongly influenced by those childhood years.
She released first tracks on the compilation “Sleepers Poets Scientists” curated by Natalie Beridze in January 2019, followed by her debut album “Halfie” in April 2020.
Her second album “Move 20-21” was created during the pandemic and addresses the absence of physical movement and interaction with other people, released in February 2021.
Immediately after a residency in Berlin as part of the Goethe-Nachwuchs and in collaboration with Popkultur Festival 2022, she began her two-year Master of Music Design program at HKU in Utrecht/NL.
Anushka Chkheidze continues to collaborate with choirs, resulting in a composition commission from the Swiss-Georgian festival Close Encounters for the highly regarded Gori Women’s Choir in Georgia.
In the newly renovated research center in Basel, Switzerland, she made field recordings as well as piano and choir recordings last year, leading to her upcoming album “Clean, Clear and White” to be released in 2023.
The year 2023 is marked by invitations to major cross-genre festivals such as Haldern Pop in Germany, Georgian Tkeshi Festival, the Laiks Dejot Festival in Riga and the Trans Musicales in Rennes.
chkheidzeanushka.bandcamp.com
Photo @Levan Maisuradze