Mina Richman

Mina Richman

Mina Richman is the Solo project of the 23-year-old German-Iranian Singer/Songwriter Mina Schelpmeier. Born in Berlin but raised in the small town of Bad Salzuflen she was always keen to take musical impulses from the big city back to her childhood bedroom. Singing along to Vaya Con Dios during car rides with her father, she fell in love with acoustic guitars and powerful vocals. She started her vocal training at the age of 16 and closely thereafter started learning to play the guitar, to be able to perform music independently. Inspired by the famous Cher quote “Mom, I am a rich man” which she said to mother who suggested she finds a rich man and settles down, she chose her stage name and manifests a dedication to self-reliance and empowerment.

Before the pandemic put a sudden stop to live music, she performed at the 2020 Women’s March in Bielefeld and at several accounts with German Singer/Songwriter Bernd Begemann (Wege durch das Land, NrzP). 2021 she returned with new songs and played, apart from several Solo shows, support for Alin Coen (Junkyard Open Air, Dortmund) and Enno Bunger (Solifestival Freiburg).

Inspired by strong women such as Joan as Policewoman, Tracy Chapman and Nina Simone, and as a proud and openly bisexual woman and feminist, the LGBTQ+ community and female* empowerment are dear to her heart. Enchanting rooms with her honest lyrics, warm emotional voice, and charming remarks in between, the 23-year-old, who can usually be seen wearing a suit, is now working towards releasing her first EP, for which she has received funding from the Initiative Musik.

Press: “Mina Schelpmeier enchanted the audience with her strong voice, which is reminiscent of Amy Winehouse” (Lippische Landeszeitung, translated)