Olga Telnowa was born in Minsk, Belarus (then the USSR ) as the only child of an English lecturer and a physics engineer.
At the age of five she began to play the theme songs of her favorite series on the piano , at the age of six she was admitted to an elite music school, where she studied piano, classical composition , music theory and choir .
The general school she attended also specialized in promoting musical talent. Her perfect pitch was quickly discovered and her creativity encouraged: the music school allowed her to take part in composition competitions. When she finally won first place in one of the competitions at the age of nine, she got a scholarship at the Moscow Conservatory . However, her parents persuaded the jury to transfer the scholarship to an adequate academy in the city of Minsk because of the young age of their daughter .
Then Olga Telnowa was placed at the Minsk Conservatory, where she began a junior course in piano and composition. In 1996 the family fled to the German Ruhr area . The then successful young pianist tried to continue her junior studies at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen . Due to language barriers, the 14-year-old only succeeded in doing this after two unsuccessful entrance exams. In the same year she took first place in Jugend composed with the classical piece Variations on a theme of its own and a year later with freedom of variation for a keyboard cattle .
At the age of fourteen, Olga Telnow discovered her love for contemporary rock and punk music. She started wearing her hair brightly and dressing funky. Eventually she left the University of the Arts to take electric guitar lessons. After three years of abstinence from the piano, she made up her mind to take her diploma in piano and composition at the same time as graduating from high school .
At the age of seventeen, Telnow founded the riot-grrrl band Venusbabydoll , in which she processed influences such as Hole and Nirvana . During a two-week internship in a recording studio , the classical pianist developed an interest in recording technology and got to know her long-time mentor and friend. Rya, then under contract with FAME Recordings , took on her by making the first demo recordings of Venusbabydoll and later including the songwriter in her live band as a keyboardist.
Over the next three years, tours with Mila Mar , Last Instance and appearances with Corvus Corax followed . In the meantime, Telnow wrote new pieces of her own, which she describes as "selected from extreme situations", founded the Leandra project and completed her Bachelor of Arts in social and educational psychology.
When Rya withdrew from the public eye, the pianist took on an engagement as keyboard player for the synth rock band Jesus on Extasy under the pseudonym Ophelia Dax . This stage name is made up of one of the characters in the tragedy Hamlet by W. Shakespeare and the character Jadzia Dax from the series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine .
The band Jesus on Extasy was under contract with Drakkar Entertainment , toured Europe over the next few years and shared the festival stages with Nightwish , Tool , Skinny Puppy , And One , Unheilig , Last Instance and Marilyn Manson, among others .
In 2008 the artist finally got a contract with Drakkar Entertainment to release her first solo album Metamorphine under the name Leandra with the Sony BMG distributor . The album includes a duet with Sven Friedrich ( Zeraphine , Dreadful Shadows ). Her longtime friends of the band last instance invited her as a singer and pianist to her acoustic album The White Song and the accompanying The White Tour .
In 2010, Olga Telnow accepted an engagement with the band Diary of Dreams under the pseudonym DAX . Due to personal differences within the band, the collaboration only lasted a few months.
At the end of the same year she joined Apoptygma Berzerk , with whom she competes in the second part of Unheilig's “Great Freedom” tour . In 2011, the keyboard player also appeared at the same time as the cashier band and accompanied Frei.Wild's "XMas" tour on the piano. In 2012 Leandra Ophelia Dax joined Die Priester , Santiano and Roterfeld as keyboard player .
Olga Telnowa describes the solo debut album Metamorphine of her project Leandra as her secret diary. The pieces are a reflection of extreme situations in her life. Stylistically, the music moves between Tori Amos , PJ Harvey and Massive Attack .
Projects and collaborations
2003–2006: Keyboard player with Rya. Tour with Mila Mar and Last Instance.
2007–Dato: Keyboarderin bei Jesus on Extasy
2008 – date: Keyboard player in Andy Brings' band (formerly: Sodom , The Traceelords )
February – July 2010: Keyboard player with Diary of Dreams, for the tour with Unheilig.
2008: Duet with Sven Friedrich ( Zeraphine , Dreadful Shadows )
2008: Piano and vocals on the album The White Song by the band Last Instance and on the subsequent The White Tour
2008: Club single Noisy Awareness , remixed by Chai Deveraux, guitarist of Jesus on Extasy.
2009: Duet with Sid from The Pussybats on The Most Beautiful Tales End Sadly and Dance With the Devils , both on the album Famous Last Songs .
2010: Live keyboard at Apoptygma Berzerk for the Unheilig Support Tour Große Freiheit II .
2011: Background singer at Frei.Wild - only assholes around me
2012: Live Keyboard at Santiano
2013: Background singer with Frei.Wild on the album Still
Pi
Leandra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Being involved and being ignored
But your broken glass charisma
Is my one and only source
Circularly you remember
Maybe you or me or both
Sorry you, sorry me
Distance grows....(?)
Pieces we can't replace
Minds unconnectable
Time is unproveable
Contradictions you say
We save ....(?)
So your static empty words
Just wishes all above (?)
Our bodies are paralyzing us
Selling our souls otherwise
Feet crippled wind and fertilize
Selling our souls otherwise
Our bodies are paralyzing us
Selling our souls otherwise
Feet crippled wind and fertilize
Selling our souls otherwise
Free our horses, my pretender
Don´t you let them go astray
Colours flash the only minded
colours fade
Distance grows....(?)
Pieces we can't replace
Minds unconnectable
Time is unproveable
Contradictions you say
We save ....(?)
So your static empty words
Just wishes all above (?)
Our bodies are paralyzing us
Selling our souls otherwise
Feet crippled wind and fertilize
Selling our souls otherwise
Our bodies are paralyzing us
Selling our souls otherwise
Feet crippled wind and fertilize
Selling our souls otherwise
The song "Pi" by Leandra uses vivid and metaphorical language to evoke a sense of longing, disconnection, and self-exploration. The first stanza sets a tone of fleeting moments, with the comparison of something temporary to a prisma. The line "Being involved and being ignored" speaks to a sense of being present but also feeling disconnected or disregarded. The singer goes on to describe the object of their affection as having a "broken glass charisma," something alluring but also fragile and sharp. The second stanza begins with the word "Circularly," suggesting a cycle of thoughts or memories. The line "Sorry you, sorry me / Prolly fail resume indoors" creates a sense of regret and failure, perhaps in a relationship.
The third stanza uses images of distance and pieces that cannot be replaced to continue the theme of loss and longing. The line "Minds unconnectable / Time is unproveable" suggests a sense of existential angst and frustration with the ephemeral nature of life. The repetition of "Our bodies are paralyzing us / Selling our souls otherwise / Feet crippled wind and fertilize" creates a sense of being trapped in one's physical body and having to make compromises or sell oneself out in order to survive.
Overall, "Pi" seems to be a reflection on the complex and contradictory nature of human experience, with moments of beauty and connection mixed with feelings of disconnection and regret. The language is poetic and abstract, leaving room for multiple interpretations and personal connections.
Line by Line Meaning
Temporary like a prisma
Our connection is transient and constantly changing, like the colors of a prism.
Being involved and being ignored
Our relationship is characterized by fluctuating levels of engagement and attention.
But your broken glass charisma
Is my one and only source
Despite your flaws, your captivating personality is what draws me in and sustains our connection.
Circularly you remember
Maybe you or me or both
Sorry you, sorry me
Prolly(?) fail resume indoors
We find ourselves stuck in a cycle of remembering, apologizing, and potentially failing to move forward despite our best efforts.
Distance grows....(?)
Pieces we can't replace
Minds unconnectable
Time is unproveable
Contradictions you say
We save ....(?)
So your static empty words
Just wishes all above (?)
As time passes, we become more distant and our relationship more broken. We hold onto unfixable pieces of the past and struggle to connect due to differences and contradictions. Despite attempts to salvage the relationship, words alone cannot heal the divide.
Our bodies are paralyzing us
Selling our souls otherwise
Feet crippled wind and fertilize
Selling our souls otherwise
We are unable to move forward physically or mentally due to the strain of our relationship. We sacrifice ourselves for the sake of the connection, ultimately losing a piece of ourselves in the process.
Free our horses, my pretender
Don´t you let them go astray
Colours flash the only minded
colours fade
We need to break free from the hold our relationship has on us, and allow ourselves to pursue our own paths. The vibrancy and passion we once had is fading, and we need to acknowledge that in order to move forward.
Contributed by Micah M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.