Michelle Gurevich Explained

Michelle Gurevich
Background:	solo_singer
Alias:	Chinawoman
Birth Place:	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Genre:	Sadcore, lo-fi, Indie pop, Art pop, Folk
Instrument:	Vocals, keyboard, guitar, synthesizer
Years Active:	2005–present

Michelle Gurevich is a Canadian singer-songwriter, also known by her former stage name Chinawoman.^{[1] [2] [3]} Her music is influenced by her Russian heritage,^[4] and has been described as slowcore rock and "lo-fi pop".^{[5] [6]} She performed regularly in Russia,https://rolld.ru/artist/chinawoman and her largest fanbase is in Eastern Europe.^{[6] [7]}

Life

Gurevich was born in Toronto, Ontario, to Russian-Jewish immigrants and was raised with Russian as her first language. Her father was an engineer in Soviet Leningrad and her mother a Kirov ballerina (the subject of Gurevich's "Russian Ballerina").^[8] Gurevich originally wanted to become a filmmaker and worked ten years in the industry before turning to music. "I eventually tried to write a song and found it was not only cheaper but much easier to get a good result."^[9]

Gurevich began her career recording in her bedroom.^{[4] [7]} The stage name "Chinawoman" was chosen as a spur-of-the-moment joke when Garageband prompted her for a band name.^{[5] [10]} After receiving criticism for being a non-Chinese woman inappropriately using the word Chinawoman, Gurevich distanced herself from her stage name and began to perform under her own name.^[11]

Gurevich has cited Alla Pugacheva, Adriano Celentano, Charles Aznavour, Yoko Ono, Leonard Cohen, Francis Lai, Nino Rota, Xavier Dolan, Todor Kobakov, Jennifer Castle, and filmmaker Federico Fellini as influences on her music.^{[4] [12]} Gurevich possesses a contralto range.^[13]

In 2011, Gurevich was invited to tour Europe as an opening act for Patrick Wolf.

In 2012, "Lovers are Strangers" was the theme song for the Latvian film Kolka Cool.

In 2013, "Russian Ballerina" was featured on the commercial for the Nokia Lumia 1020.

In 2014, Gurevich's song "Party Girl" and "I'll Be Your Woman" inspired the 2014 French film Party Girl.

In 2020, Gurevich moved to Copenhagen, Denmark, with her Danish wife and their 2-year-old daughter.^[14]

In 2022, "Feel More" was the theme song for the American documentary miniseries .^[15]

On August 30, 2023, she announced the cancellation of the fall tour due to being "not well enough to perform".https://www.facebook.com/themichellegurevich/posts/858130675668744

Discography

Singles

• 2008: "Russian Ballerina"
• 2013: "Kiss in Taksim Square"
• 2019: "Poison In My Mind"
• 2020: "Love From A Distance"
• 2021: "No One Answer"
• 2021: "Ho Fatto L'amore Con Me"
• 2021: "Losing Touch"
• 2021: "Forever Awkward"
• 2022: "Goodbye My Dictator"
• 2022: "Aliens Wanna Touch"

Studio albums

Title	Album details
Party Girl	Released: 1 April 2007 Label: Self-released Formats: CD, digital download, LP
Show Me the Face	Released: 25 March 2010 Label: Self-released Formats: CD, digital download, LP
Let's Part in Style	Released: 24 February 2014 Label: Self-released Formats: CD, digital download, LP
New Decadence	Released: 28 September 2016 Label: Self-released Formats: digital download, LP
Exciting Times	Released: 9 November 2018^[16] Label: Self-released Formats: CD, digital download, LP Note: Rereleased in July 2023 with new album cover
Ecstasy in the Shadow of Ecstasy	Released: 15 May 2020 Label: Self-released Formats: CD, digital download, LP

Notes and References

1. News: Six Toronto Songs We're Digging Right Now. 4 November 2016. Now. 19 October 2016.
2. Web site: Chinawoman NO / Michelle Gurevich YES. www.musicaradio.gr. 24 May 2016. 4 November 2016.
3. Web site: "I may actually be writing the same song over and over" – an interview with Michelle Gurevich. www.siegessaeule.de. 12 June 2017.
4. Gurevich . Michelle . Darryl Natale . Interview: Chinawoman . Berlin . 29 July 2011 . Stil in Berlin . 9 August 2013 .
5. Gurevich . Michelle . Yana Radilova . Artist of the Week – Chinawoman . 7 December 2010 . Public Republic . 9 August 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130112045957/http://www.public-republic.net/artist-of-the-week-chinawoman.php/ . 12 January 2013 .
6. News: Review: Chinawoman – For You I Want to Be Real . Stefanies . The Flaneur . 18 February 2012 . 9 August 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170305051306/http://flaneur.me.uk/02/review-chinawoman-for-you-i-want-to-be-real/ . 5 March 2017 . dead .
7. News: Chinawoman . Chater, Jennifer . The Moscow News . 22 March 2012 . 9 August 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130513010852/http://themoscownews.com/rock/20120319/189546084.html . 13 May 2013 .
8. Chinawoman "Party Girl". Rolling Stone. 4 November 2016. ru-RU.
9. Web site: Premiere: Going Ape with Chinawoman's Video for "A Woman Is Still A Woman" – Noisey. Vice. 4 November 2016.
10. News: Wie wunderbar brennt mein Haus. Der Tagesspiegel. 4 November 2016.
11. Web site: Boyarinov . Denis . Мишель Гуревич: "Я рада, что это в прошлом" . Michelle Gurevich: I'm happy, that [this] is in the past . Russian . Colta.ru . 7 November 2021.
12. Michelle . Gurevich . Nadia Says . From LA to Berlin: Chinawoman . 13 June 2012 . 9 August 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121218083020/http://www.localsuicide.com/interview-series-from-la-to-berlin-chinawoman/ . 18 December 2012 . dead .
13. Web site: Michelle Gurevich, ou a filha das limitações. 13 March 2019.
14. Web site: Grooss . Minna . Lo-fi-dronningen Michelle Gurevich: "Monogami handler ikke om et sidespring eller et kys med en fremmed, men om en større pagt, man laver med et andet menneske" . Heartbeats.dk . 15 May 2020 . "Lo-fi queen Michelle Gurevich: "Monogamy is not about a sidestep or a kiss with a stranger, but about a larger pact you make with another human being" . Danish . 7 November 2021 .
15. Web site: What is the Keep Sweet theme song? Opening music explained. Radio Times. Lauren. Morris. June 16, 2022. July 30, 2022.
16. Web site: Exciting Times (2018) – Michelle Gurevich.