Gabriela Konstancja Kulka-Stajewska (Gaba Kulka, born in 1979 in Warsaw, Poland) is an independent Polish artist, songwriter, and performer.
Gabriela Kulka comes from a family of musicians; her father was a Polish violinist and professor. She took eight years of classical violin lessons but later gravitated toward playing the piano.
Her early albums, "Between Miss Scylla and a Hard Place" (2003) and "Out" (2006), were independently produced. She also contributed to the covers compilation "Songs for Wolf," along with artists including Björk, Ozzy Osbourne, Neil Diamond, Stevie Nicks and The Church).
In 2009, her third album, "Hat, Rabbit," was released by the major label Mystic Production. The album achieved gold status in Poland, and the singles "Niejasnoà Âci," "Kara Niny," and "Got a Song" were played alternative-oriented radio stations. That same year, she collaborated with Polish singer Konrad Kucz on the album "Sleepwalk."
Over a seven-year period of composing and recording, Gabriela Kulka cultivated a distinctive style that blends elements of dark musical theatre with jazz-influenced arrangements and an emphasis on poetic, unconventional lyricism. Her work reflects a balanced influence of Danny Elfman and Kate Bush, and demonstrates stylistic foundations in classical music, jazz, and pop traditions.
Artists she names as her closest inspirations are, firstly and undeniably - Kate Bush and Tori Amos, but also Peter Gabriel, Kurt Weill, Danny Elfman, The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, Chroma Key, Queen, ABBA, Bruce Dickinson, Iron Maiden (whose songs she performs live) and Madonna.