Artist Detailed Info: Leandra

Leandra Ophelia Dax (real name: Olga Telnow, born Olga Wladimirowna Telnowa; born December 19, 1981, in Minsk, Belarusian SSR) is a Belarusian-German pianist, keyboardist, singer, and songwriter.

Olga Telnowa was born in Minsk, Belarus (then the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic). As a child, she played piano and composed classical pieces. In 1996, she moved to Germany with her family.

At the age of seventeen, Telnow founded the riot‑grrrl band Venusbabydoll, in which she incorporated influences such as Hole and Nirvana. During a two‑week internship in a recording studio, the classical pianist developed an interest in recording technology and met her long‑time mentor and friend, Rya. Under contract with F.A.M.E. Recordings at the time, Rya supported her by producing the first demo recordings of Venusbabydoll and later included her as a keyboardist in her live band.

Over the next three years, tours with Mila Mar and Letzte Instanz followed, as well as appearances with Corvus Corax. During this period, Telnow wrote new pieces of her own. In 2005, she founded her solo project Leandra, supported live by Swen O. Heiland (guitar) and Andreas Bargel (drums). Her compositions were arranged in a dark electronic style. She also completed her Bachelor of Arts in social and educational psychology.

From 2007 onward, she became the keyboard player of the synth‑rock band Jesus on Extasy, performing under the pseudonym Ophelia Dax. This stage name combines the character Ophelia from Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Jadzia Dax from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The band, signed to Drakkar Entertainment, toured Europe in the following years.

In 2008, she signed with Drakkar Entertainment to release her first solo album, Metamorphine, under the name Leandra, distributed by Sony BMG . The album includes a duet with Sven Friedrich (Zeraphine, Dreadful Shadows). Her long‑time friends from Letzte Instanz invited her as a singer and pianist for their acoustic album Das Weiße Lied and the accompanying Die weiße Tour .

In 2010, Olga Telnow joined Diary of Dreams as a keyboard player under the pseudonym DAX. Due to personal differences within the band, the collaboration lasted only a few months. Later that year, she joined Apoptygma Berzerk, with whom she performed during the second part of Unheilig’s Große Freiheit tour. In 2011, she also appeared with the band die Kassierer and accompanied Frei.Wild’s XMas tour on piano. In 2012, she performed as a keyboard player with Die Priester, Santiano, and Roterfeld.

In 2013, she released her second solo album, Isomorphine.

Olga Telnowa describes Metamorphine as her secret diary. The pieces reflect extreme situations in her life. Stylistically, the music moves between Tori Amos, PJ Harvey, and Massive Attack .

Projects and Collaborations:
2003–2006: Keyboard player with Rya. Tours with Mila Mar and Letzte Instanz.2007–present: Keyboard player with Jesus on Extasy.2008–present: Keyboard player in Andy Brings’ band (formerly Sodom, The Traceelords).February–July 2010: Keyboard player with Diary of Dreams for the Unheilig tour.2008: Duet with Sven Friedrich (Zeraphine, Dreadful Shadows).2008: Piano and vocals on Das Weiße Lied by Letzte Instanz and on the subsequent Die weiße Tour.2008: Club single Noisy Awareness, remixed by Chai Deveraux, guitarist of Jesus on Extasy.2009: Duet with Sid from The Pussybats on The Most Beautiful Tales End Sadly and Dance With the Devils, both on the album Famous Last Songs.2010: Live keyboard for Apoptygma Berzerk on the Unheilig support tour Große Freiheit II.2011: Background vocals for Frei.Wild on Nur Idioten um mich.2012: Live keyboard for Santiano.2013: Background vocals with Frei.Wild on the album Still.

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