Maria Minerva

Maria Juur (born 15 March 1988), better known by her stage name Maria Minerva, is an Estonian musician and activist.

Artistry
Maria Minerva's music is described by critics as a blend of avant pop, electronic, and experimental genres. Her work includes references to various styles of dance music, such as house, disco, electro, and eurodance.

Critics have described Maria Minerva's vocal style as dreamy, haunting, mysterious, or Lynchian, but also as casual and slightly off-key, receiving comparisons to Blossom Dearie, Brigitte Bardot, Nico, and Billie Ray Martin. She has cited Cosey Fanni Tutti, Laetitia Sadier, and Laurie Anderson as influences.

Personal life
Maria developed an interest in electronic dance music and began attending clubs in Tallinn as a young teenager. She graduated from the Estonian Academy of Arts and Goldsmiths, University of London, where she studied with British cultural theorist and music critic Mark Fisher.

Her father Mart Juur is an Estonian humorist, writer and media personality.

As of 2018, Juur was a member of the Estonian Greens political party.

Maria Minerva was awarded the “Extraordinary Ability” United States green card for her work in electronic music and subsequently became a naturalized U.S. citizen, residing in Los Angeles, California.

Critical Reception
Maria Minerva is amongst the most internationally acclaimed Estonian electronic artists of the 2010s. She is the recipient of two Estonian Music Awards. Her releases have received critical acclaim from music publications such as Pitchfork Media and The Fader. One of Maria Minerva's early supporters was the influential pop critic Simon Reynolds. She was named as one of the seminal Los Angeles artists by The Guardian and appeared on Estonian World's annual "Top 12 Most Outstanding Estonian Women in the World" list.

Collaboration with Cherushii
Chelsea Faith a.k.a. Cherushii was one of the 36 victims of the 2016 Oakland warehouse fire. In 2019, the EP Cherushii & Maria Minerva was released, which had been nearly completed before Cherushii died and includes repurposed tracks from previous Cherushii releases.

Other
While at the Estonian Academy of Arts, Maria Minerva authored the first-ever Estonian-language academic paper on sound art, with an emphasis on the history of sound art in Estonia.

Maria Minerva has worked with and remixed many other artists, including Cities Aviv, Maria Chavez, Mark Van Hoen and John Cale. She has collaborated with visual artists Pakui Hardware, Phil Collins (artist) and poet Vanessa Place. Formerly, she hosted a show on LA's community radio station Dublab, where she interviewed fellow musicians such as Nite Jewel and Yves Tumor.

Discography

 * Sacred and Profane Love 12" EP (100% Silk, 2011)
 * Cabaret Cixous CD/LP (Not Not Fun, 2011)
 * Noble Savage 12" EP (100% Silk, 2011)
 * Tallinn At Dawn CS (Not Not Fun, 2011)
 * Nii hea with Ajukaja, 10" Single (Pudru Kuul, 2012)
 * The Integration LP with LA Vampires (Not Not Fun, 2012)
 * Will Happiness Find Me? CD/LP (Not Not Fun, 2012)
 * Bless 12" EP (100% Silk, 2013)
 * Histrionic LP (Not Not Fun, 2014)
 * C U Again with Ajukaja, 12" EP (Pudru Kuul, 2014)
 * S/T with Cherushii, 12" EP (100% Silk, 2019)
 * Soft Power, CS (100% Silk, 2020)