Monika Bulanda

Bulanda was born in Cracow. She was the youngest member of a local art gallery where she took painting classes at the Maria Kaminska and Ignacy Kurowski atelier, while at the same time taking part in various painting competitions. She started private piano lessons at the age of 6, and later began learning to play the drums from Wiesław Piszczyński who encouraged her to continue with music professionally. At the age of 13, she began performing at local weddings and events with professional bands. She also participated in regional young instrumentalist competitions where she won a couple of times in a row.[3]

Monika performing with ''Matka'' in 2002.

Preparing to enter art school, she attended VI Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. A.Mickiewicza in Cracow, specializing in linguistics. She graduated with a bilingual (Spanish and Polish) education. As the age of 16, she started to play in music clubs in Cracow, being named as the first female drummer in Poland. During jam sessions and concerts, she met musicians such as Paweł Maciwoda and Marek Stryszowski whom she performed with. She was voluntarily working at the Warsaw Summer Jazz Days and Jazz Jamboree where she met renowned jazz musicians with whom she played at jam sessions. She appeared in the "Droga do Gwiazd" young talent contest where Sony Music proposed her to join the female pop-rock band Matka, which she accepted. Playing with Matka she gained most of her performing experience, appearing on different programs such as "Kuba Wojewódzki" talk-show, "Bar" and other soap operas. When she was 19, the band Matka started to work with polish pop singer Michal Wisniewski. She continued to develop her drumming skills with Artur Malik at the Cracow School of Jazz and Contemporary Music, later Wroclaw School of Jazz Music under Andrzej Lewandowski's tetelage. She entered Katowice Academy of Jazz Music and continued to study with Adam Buczek. At the same time, she studied in Warsaw at the Chopin School of Music "Bednarska" where she was a student of Kazimierz Jonkisz. To continue her interest in linguistics she entered the University of Warsaw at the Oriental Department studying Chinese Language and Culture. Bulanda simultaneously graduated from both universities and holds B.A. in Music and B.A. in Sinology. [4]

After graduating from both universities, she quit all her bands, and left to Beijing, China. She joined the Beijing Film Academy at the Foreign Department of Chinese Language and Culture. Soon after she started to appear at Beijing Music scene playing with different Chinese musicians and bands in clubs and during music festivals around China. She was also invited to conduct drums workshops for Sonor Drums in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia what resulted with releasing the workshop DVD.[3]

Invited by American bass player Tony Jones to join his project in Turkey, she came to Bodrum but then moved to Istanbul and continues to live there. She collaborates with Turkish pop singer Kenan Doğulu as well as Mabel Matiz playing percussion. She is also a drummer on popular TV Show in Turkey- Elin Oğlu. She played drums for Turkish guitarist Bilal Karaman on his album Bahane and Turkish pianist Selen Gülün with her project Kadın Matınesı, getting involved in many DJ acts as well as appearing on Jazz Festivals and concerts through collaborations with jazz musicians. Besides cooperating with many Turkish musicians, she began developing her music project - writing music, lyrics and singing. In April 2015 she released her solo pop album Forever I'll Be Young which she produced under Turkish music label 3 Adım Müzik.[3]