Alexandrina

Alexandrina Hristov was born on May 5, 1978, in Chișinău, Republic of Moldova, into a family of artists. Her father, Victor Hristov, was a painter, while her mother had a passion for acting and singing. She began playing the piano and composing her own songs at the age of eight.

She graduated from the Academy of Music, Theatre and Fine Arts in Chișinău and has since harmoniously combined music, painting, and poetry in her work. In 2005, she played a leading role in Paul Cuzuioc’s film “Three Women from Moldova,” whose soundtrack also included some of her songs. After filming ended, she moved with her family to Romania and began performing in a series of concerts at Cafe Deko in Bucharest.

In 2009, Alexandrina released her first album, “Omul de lut” (“The Clay Man”), which includes tracks such as Printre flori (“Among Flowers”), Roule le taxi, or Maria (de leagăn) (“Maria (Lullaby)”). She is described as having a unique voice and approach. Over the years, she has performed at the Gărâna Jazz Festival, the Peștera Bolii Festival, and the Transilvania International Film Festival, and has appeared on several Romanian television shows on Pro TV, TVR1, and Antena1. She gained most of her fans via the internet and peer-to-peer networks, refusing any commercial promotion of her work.

Alexandrina sings in Romanian, French, and Russian. Although her style is difficult to place in a single musical genre, it is influenced by acoustic music, rock, jazz, and soul, with innovative elements in both her compositions and lyrics. While she is sometimes accompanied by other instrumentalists during her concerts, her stunning solo live performances, voice and piano, are particularly notable. Among the artists who have influenced her style are PJ Harvey, Björk, Morcheeba, and, above all, Tori Amos, with whom she feels she shares the joy of playing the piano and the sensitivity of lyrics that can sometimes seem absurd.

About her first album, “Om de lut,” released on April 9, 2009, and consisting of a mix of old and new songs, Alexandrina states: “‘The Clay Man’ is my child, a beautiful child, healthy, gentle[…]. Its heart beats to the rhythm of jazz, soul, funk, and electropop. The Clay Man will sing of wonder, flight, quest, ships and seas, airplanes, green eyes, nostalgia and insomnia, flowers and nerves, Zorro and Prince Charming… love and the cosmos, women, rain, wind, King and Queen.” Some of her songs have been remixed by Romanian electronic musicians, including Dan Handrabur, Matze (Printre Flori), and Silent Strike (Printre Flori, Noi Doi).

Her second album, “Flori de Spin,” was released in 2014 and contains the hit singles Orasul Umbre and Flori de Spin.