Persephone's Bees

Russia: On a grey and cold winter day, a young woman named Galina was sitting in line with her one year old daughter to see a doctor. The line was long, people were bored and nobody spoke. Suddenly a melody came from somewhere: it was simple, good, catchy, and one that everyone knew by heart. It was a popular childrens song often played on the radio. People were pleasantly surprised when they realized that the perfectly sung melody was coming from the little girl sitting on a young womans lap. Galina, never having heard her daughter talk or sing before, was happily struck by the idea: She must be a musician! On that day the long journey of Persephones Bees began.



Singer/songwriter Angelina Moysov while growing up in Russia was influenced by her mother who loved Russian Folk and Gypsy music, as well as her brothers collection of British and American music and the underground Russian punk and New Wave that helped Russian youth through hard times. Angelina came to America in 1993 and soon met guitarist Tom Ayres, who was immediately drawn to her strong melodies, lyrics and unusual songwriting style. Their first self produced LP, City of Love was nominated for the best debut album at the California Music Awards in 2002. The word of mouth buzz caused by their live shows earned them a 2001 SF Weekly Award for Best Pop Band, and led them to share bills with Cake, BRMC, Jonathan Richman, and many others.
Persephones Bees have earned a reputation of not only being a strong live act, but one with a vast catalog of original songs due to Angelina Moysovs prolific songwriting. While winning over audiences with their live shows, they also caught the attention of producer Eric Valentine who had over 40 original songs to choose from in recording their latest album. Eric found the music so engaging that he ended up playing drums for the sessions.
When asked what her influences are, rather than listing favorite records, Angelina replied "some books, films, smells, colors, interaction with people and my observations of the human condition. "