Who is Minolta?
Minolta is an Eritrean-American artist born in Queens, NY. She recalls her earliest memories of block party music late into the night, fireflies, broken fire hydrants and grandmas’ yelling to get inside before the porch lights come on. Her parents introduced her to Motown on an old record player. At the age of five, Minolta won a scholarship to study at Dance Theatre of Harlem. She developed a deep love of expression and began publishing her first poems as a child.
Minolta moved to Southern Pines, NC as a teenager, where she began playing guitar. The South helped her to connect with nature and “plant roots”. Compelled by the unknown she travelled alone in a converted SUV camper up and down the East Coast of America with an acoustic guitar and small djembe; writing and performing at open jams and drums circles. Back in New York she continued performing vocals with various indie bands including Black Peter Group at art collectives and warehouses across the city. Minolta eventually found her way to Los Angeles, CA competing on America’s Next Top Model and ranking in the Top 20.
Following an underground Hip Hop Show, Minolta met producer Sebastian Pringle of Crystal Fighters. Her sweetly raw vocals, meshed well with his dance beats and they soon traveled to London to record multiple tracks. In August of 2018 Minolta released “Hold My Beer” an in-studio freestyle which garnered support following a post on Instagram.
Currently based between London, UK and Los Angeles, CA; Minolta is writing, recording and performing. She competes in spoken word poetry competitions and recently won first place in a Barcelona slam. After being featured as an artist on the “Open Kanvas Application Tour” Minolta has performed at The Lash Social in Hollywood, You A Mic and A Light, Hot & Cool Cafe in Leimert Park, Flames V1 by Powrla, House Warning with Death Cat (A Punk Rock Show), The Zoo Fundraiser for Alexandria House, The Songwriting School of Los Angeles, Emerge Festival in London and more. Minolta’s latest single “Runaway” is set for release June 19th 2020, with an accompanying music video from filmmaker Andrew Dyck.
Minolta moved to Southern Pines, NC as a teenager, where she began playing guitar. The South helped her to connect with nature and “plant roots”. Compelled by the unknown she travelled alone in a converted SUV camper up and down the East Coast of America with an acoustic guitar and small djembe; writing and performing at open jams and drums circles. Back in New York she continued performing vocals with various indie bands including Black Peter Group at art collectives and warehouses across the city. Minolta eventually found her way to Los Angeles, CA competing on America’s Next Top Model and ranking in the Top 20.
Following an underground Hip Hop Show, Minolta met producer Sebastian Pringle of Crystal Fighters. Her sweetly raw vocals, meshed well with his dance beats and they soon traveled to London to record multiple tracks. In August of 2018 Minolta released “Hold My Beer” an in-studio freestyle which garnered support following a post on Instagram.
Currently based between London, UK and Los Angeles, CA; Minolta is writing, recording and performing. She competes in spoken word poetry competitions and recently won first place in a Barcelona slam. After being featured as an artist on the “Open Kanvas Application Tour” Minolta has performed at The Lash Social in Hollywood, You A Mic and A Light, Hot & Cool Cafe in Leimert Park, Flames V1 by Powrla, House Warning with Death Cat (A Punk Rock Show), The Zoo Fundraiser for Alexandria House, The Songwriting School of Los Angeles, Emerge Festival in London and more. Minolta’s latest single “Runaway” is set for release June 19th 2020, with an accompanying music video from filmmaker Andrew Dyck.