Mariko Ebralidze studied piano and later she entered the music school to prepare herself to be a pop singer getting a bachelor’s degree as a soloist. She has participated at several music festivals in her homecountry and also in Azerbaijan and Germany.
The Shin, which means home, is a Georgian fusion jazz band formed in Germany. Their music combines Georgian folk with jazz and pop and Oriental melodies or flamenco with the modern Western sound. Its members are:
Zaza Miminoshvili (Guitars, composition) – When he was a child Zaza used to spend hours learning how to play his neighbour’s piano by himself. Seeing his innate abilities, his mother took him to guitar lessons at the age of fourteen and he began to play in several ensembles at school. He studied mechanical engineering, but without neglecting his passion for music he continued learning with the best teachers. In 1990 he founded the group Adio in Germany alongside Zurab Gagnidze and in 1998 both of them formed the duet The Shin.
Zurab J. Gagnidze (Bass, vocals) – He was born to a family of singers and at the age of ten he started studying music with one of his grandmothers. He also took guitar lessons and a few years later he formed his first band which covered big hits from bands like Deep Purple or The Beatles. He studied information technology and he was part of the Polytechnic Institute band called Khomli whose repertoire was mainly based on Georgian traditional music. Later, he met Zaza who suggested him to join the group Adio and then they started a long friendship and musical collaboration which lasts until today.
Mamuka Gaganidze (Vocals, percussion) – He has been in love with music from his childhood and at the age of six he began to study piano and joined the children’s vocal ensemble Nergebi. After graduating in law, Mamuka met Zaza and joined the band Adio with which performed at several festivals and recorded an album. When that band dissolved, Mamuka was asked to join The Shin as a vocalist, percussionist and composer.
Alexander Chumburidze – He is a passionate about music and Georgian national dance from his childhood and he started attending dance classes when he was nine years old. In 1997 he joined the band Erisioni and participated at several shows and plays discovering he had a great talent for pantomime. In 2008 he founded the ensemble Samaya where he worked as a dancer and stage choreographer and he is a member of The Shin since 2009.
