Warner Bros. Records Introduces Newcomer Helena

Warner Bros. Records has signed India-born, Los Angeles, CA-based singer and songwriter Helena and today announced several upcoming live appearances that will serve as a welcome introduction to this gifted newcomer. Discovered and signed by WBR Senior Vice President of A&R Kara DioGuardi, Helena will perform at The Hotel Café in Hollywood for three-show residency, appearing on June 7th, June 14th, and June 21st. She will also perform on the BMI Stage at this year's Lollapalooza festival, which takes place August 3-5 in Chicago, IL.

A free-spirited personality with a jazzy, soulful voice, Helena has been in the studio with producer Sandy Chila working on songs for her debut album, which will be released by Warner Bros. Records later this year. Her breezy lilting pop sound takes left-hand turns and unexpected detours into synth-driven electronica and charming indie-folk, mixing heartfelt emotion with unearthly atmospherics and driving, contemporary beats.

"To me, the music is a film for your ears, sometimes a fairytale, or a mystery," Helena says. "It is by turns cinematic, brooding, emotional, and playful. Each song is woven with both dark and light. If you listen carefully, there's a lot of subtlety and nuance in the structure behind the bass and the beats. I want my music to take listeners back to a time when they felt free and happy and remind them that they can feel that now, no matter how challenging their lives are. I'd like the music to be a home for them."

Says DioGuardi, "Helena's songs are a kind of hypnotic, melodic poetry. She paints pictures and evokes moods with her lyrics. I believe she is one of the most talented artists out there today."

Helena comes by her striking voice and songwriting ability through a childhood steeped in the arts. She was born in Mussoorie, India, to musical parents (her father is professional sitar and tabla player and her mother is a classical Indian vocalist) and raised in rural Pennsylvania where she became skilled in poetry, dance, and violin, which she began studying at age four. Improvising and composing from a young age, Helena began turning her poetry into songs while attending the internationally acclaimed Woodstock School in the foothills of the Himalayas. After time spent living in Santa Cruz and San Francisco, Helena moved to Los Angeles two years ago and has been pursuing her music ever since.

More information about Helena will be revealed in the coming months. Her upcoming live dates are as follows:

06/07 Hollywood, CA The Hotel Café
06/14 Hollywood, CA The Hotel Café
06/21 Hollywood, CA The Hotel Café
08/03-
08/05 (Set date TBD) Chicago, IL Lollapalooza

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