Cristina Calero

Singer/Songwriter and composer Cristina Calero started her musical career one fine afternoon in Glebe, Sydney, where after a drunken night of punk mayhem at the infamous Sydney Trade Union Club, she and her best friend decided to go out and buy a bass guitar and drum kit respectively. So began The Underlings and a week later a surprisingly successful debut was made in support of The Hard-Ons!
After a couple of years in The Underlings and then Snoid International, came The Mothers, a pop/punk, femme fatale outfit, where Cristina joined forces with Fiona Horne. Success again came easily and intensely, with The Mothers embarking on a furious schedule of touring, recording, partying and arguing.
India beckoned.

On returning from a life changing trip through India and Nepal, Cristina moved to the Gold Coast and formed Purple Circus with american skater punk Scott D.

A four track demo won them the Queensland section of the JJJ Sessions and enough cash to buy a panel van and move back to Sydney. The change of scenery brought a change of name and Kaktus Mantras was born. Their sonic, art grunge, industrial sound had them described in Rolling Stone magazine "as one of the most important independent bands on the Australian music scene" and elicited bags of praise from the critics.
The band struggled to capitalise on the momentum, with 'drummer troubles' plaguing their progress. The solution saw Kaktus Mantras as one of the first bands to use samplers and drum machines in a 'guitar band' and the sound exploded. Intricate musician, Daavid Quinn from King Snake Roost and Deathless fame, joined the band and a strong sound emerged with both he and Cristina playing bass.
Kaktus Mantras released two EP's 'Yess' and 'Everything' and appeared on numerous compilations. During the recording of their album 'Happens', after seven years, the band sadly split and all the members moved over seas.
It was during the 'Happens' recording at 301 Studios, that Cristina was 'discovered' by Andrew Klippel of The
Vines, Human Nature and Veronicas fame. Andrew introduced Cristina to Grammy Award winning producer Carmen Rizzo ( Seal, Fiona Apple) and after working together on a demo, the trio became close friends and Cristina moved to LA on a deal with Dreamworks, where she and Rizzo formed Povi. The album 'Life In Volcanoes' was three years in the making and included production from Massive Attack legend Marius De Vries (Madonna, Bjork, Romeo and Juliet, Moulin Rouge). It was released in 2000 on Nettwerk America and quickly rose up the US college charts and gained critical acclaim and a loyal following of fans stateside.
Povi achieved success in the soundtrack area, with four songs making their way onto feature films, including the title and theme track for Wesley Snipes' 'Liberty Stands Still'. They were also invited to submit tracks for the first Matrix film, but alas just missed out to Massive Attack.
With troubles in the Nettwerk camp, Povi decided to call it quits after an album they were personally proud of and with remixes and tracks appearing on some tasty compilations, it was all good. Carmen took time off to be with his new brood of children and Cristina moved back to Sydney to concentrate on her Kung Fu studies.
And so the years have passed and Cristina has been busy with scoring music for the 'Kinda Yoga' children's DVD series, moving to Byron, Flamenco Dancing, being with her family and at last re visiting the recording studio and writing new material. Who knows what may happen next for this adventurous performer?