Martina Sorbara

Martina Sorbara (born November 13, 1978) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and frontwoman of the band Dragonette.[1]

Martina Sorbara
Sorbara performing with Dragonette at the 2013 Festival of Friends
Background information
Born (1978-11-13) November 13, 1978
OriginVaughan, Ontario, Canada
GenresElectropop
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter
InstrumentsVocals
Associated actsDragonette, Martin Solveig, Basement Jaxx

Background

The daughter of Greg Sorbara,[1] a former Member of Provincial Parliament and Minister of Finance in Ontario, she grew up in Maple, Ontario and attended the Toronto Waldorf School in Thornhill, Ontario.[2]

Career

Her debut album, Unplaceables, was released independently in 1998 and is no longer in print.[3] During her early solo career, an early hook that often got media attention was that she sewed many of her own clothes and built her own guitars.[2]

Sorbara's second album, The Cure for Bad Deeds, was released independently in 2000.[4] An expanded version of the album, adding five newly-recorded tracks not present on the original independent release,[5] appeared on Nettwerk in 2002.[6] Both versions of the album were produced by Jian Ghomeshi.[2]

She supported the second album with a national tour, performing on the folk festival circuit and as an opening act for Danny Michel and Sarah Harmer.[7] Sorbara's main single from the album was "Bonnie & Clyde II",[8] which also had a music video that got airplay on MuchMusic and MuchMoreMusic,[9] reaching #26 on the MuchMusic Countdown,[1] as well as making an appearance on the Women & Songs compilations and appearing in the film All I Want. The album was a nominee for Pop Album of the Year at Canadian Music Week's Canadian Independent Music Awards in 2003.[10]

Sorbara recorded a version of the Christmas song "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" for the 2003 Nettwerk compilation album, Maybe This Christmas Too?. That same year, she was featured on the soundtrack to Uptown Girls singing the song "Spinning Around the Sun". She can also be heard on the From the Girls compilations issued by Nettwerk that contained a new recording of a song called "Withered on the Vine".

She had begun working on her third solo album, which was tentatively slated for release in 2005,[11] but abandoned the project after meeting Dan Kurtz of The New Deal at a Canadian music festival[12] and forming an electropop duo with him. Initially named The Fuzz,[13] that project evolved into Dragonette.[1] She subsequently characterized her early solo music as sounding like it had been made for tampon commercials.[14]

Sorbara co-wrote and sang on the 2006 Basement Jaxx single "Take Me Back to Your House".[15] She also appeared in the video for the song. She was credited as Martina Bang.

In 2009, Sorbara was featured on The Henrys album Is This Tomorrow, singing on the track "Chair by the Window".[16] In 2010, Sorbara performed the vocals in Martin Solveig's songs "Hello", "Boys & Girls" and "Big in Japan".[17] She is also featured in Kaskade's song "Fire in Your New Shoes", which was released on April 13, 2010. In November 2010 she was featured in the song "Animale", which was the result of a collaboration between Dutch DJ and producer Don Diablo and Dragonette.

Personal life

Sorbara was married to Dragonette's bassist Dan Kurtz,[18] but announced their separation in May 2016.[19]

In September 2018, she gave birth to her first child with her partner Canadian celebrity chef Cory Vitiello.[20][21]

Discography
  • 1998: Unplaceables
  • 2002: The Cure for Bad Deeds (Nettwerk)
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References
  1. "Naughty sounds from the minister's daughter; DRAGONETTE Singer-songwriter moves to London and gets her groove on". Toronto Star, March 18, 2007.
  2. "Farm girl turned singer Martina Sorbara makes her own clothes, her own guitars and her own rules". National Post, February 3, 2001.
  3. "Beyond her years; At 22, Toronto's Martina Sorbara already making a name for herself". Waterloo Region Record, February 1, 2001.
  4. "Risk-taking singer does it her way". Ottawa Citizen, April 26, 2001.
  5. "Blossoming singer an ideal match for festival". Ottawa Citizen, May 11, 2002.
  6. "Sorbara prepared to apply a little elbow grease: She and Shakira 'go for the same look'". Edmonton Journal, April 24, 2002.
  7. "Seven days". Vancouver Sun, January 24, 2002.
  8. "Just like Tom Waits' blues". Hamilton Spectator, May 15, 2002.
  9. "She makes her home sing: Musician Martina Sorbara strings together an eclectic mix of furniture gathered from all over the city". National Post, September 7, 2002.
  10. "Ron Sexsmith is critics' choice at Indie Awards". National Post, February 27, 2003.
  11. "Musician cool with east end". National Post, July 10, 2004.
  12. "Hey, Dragonette: (no) thanks for oversharing!". CBC News. September 9, 2008. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  13. "Hype Monitor: Tempo No Tempo, Dragonette, Sleigh Bells". Rolling Stone. November 19, 2009. Retrieved March 19, 2011.
  14. "Unbuttoned-down world; Martina Sorbara's career is far removed from that of her Finance Minister father's". National Post, April 23, 2007.
  15. "'Basement pop' to Basement Jaxx; Dragonette's Martina Sorbara ditched folk identity to do the catchy tunes with shiny beats she really liked". Montreal Gazette, September 13, 2007.
  16. "Slowly, slowly, a sultry revelation emerges". The Globe and Mail, June 23, 2009.
  17. "Eleven groovy songs". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, December 22, 2011.
  18. Lamz, Cory (September 20, 2012). "Dragonette's Martina Sorbara talks cheating...at least in her lyrics". Westword. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  19. "Dragonette's Married Couple Separate". ET Canada. May 30, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  20. Marcus, Emily (September 29, 2018). "Duchess Meghan's Ex Cory Vitiello Welcomes First Child". Us Weekly. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  21. Govani, Shinan (October 27, 2018). "Celebrity chef Cory Vitiello has a lot more than dinner on his plate". Toronto Star. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
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