Roia

• Formed: 2000, Salzburg, Austria
• Genres: Rock

Biography

Electronic pop group Roia (Persian for "dream") hails from Salzburg, Austria. They were founded in 2000, when 16-year-old vocalist Nina Hochrainer started working on a number of songs on an old four-track together with her cousin Dorian Wimmer. After a while, Nina's father, producer Paul Hochrainer (who's been active in Salzburg since the '80s), together with synthesizer player Sam Vahdat, joined the project and began to record a number of demo songs in their own studio. In 2004, Roia's song "Suicide Butterfly" received airplay on Austrian radio station FM4. The group then signed with Viennese label Monkeymusic and released their debut album, Cute Little Fear, in 2006 -- an intricate, experimental pop album that combines Portishead-esque electronics, dreamy melodies, and melancholy songs, with English lyrics sung by both Hochrainer and Wimmer. ~ Christian Genzel, All Music Guide