London-based artist of Polish/Jewish origin, Jarmila Xymena Górna [Yarmeela Kseemena Goorna] was born into a very musical family in Lodz, Poland. Her mother used to be an opera singer in the Grand Opera House, and she kept working until a few hours before Jarmila’s birth. Though her singing style isn’t operatic, she feels that the prenatal experience of being surrounded by multi-layered choir harmonies was a primary musical influence.
Jarmila started composing at the age of 5. Subsequently, her parents sent her to a specialist music school at the age of 7. There, she was trained for 12 years to become a classical pianist. Her 2nd instrument was guitar, which proved very useful, when later on Jarmila formed a folk ensemble Sovay, where she sang and played acoustic guitar.