Born in Moscow to a musical family, Spektor learned to play the piano at a young
age before the family left the Soviet Union in 1989 and settled in the Bronx.
She continued learning classical piano in New York, but was increasingly
becoming interested in punk and rock and started playing gigs around the city.
Eventually she self-released her debut album in 2001, 11:11, and then in 2002
again self-released her follow-up Songs. Spektor began to develop something of a
following and she was introduced to Strokes' producer Gordon Raphael who worked
with Spektor on her third self-relea...