On Begin To Hope, produced by David Kahne (The Strokes, Sublime, Sugar Ray), Regina Spektor broadens here palette with electric guitar, drum machines and seductive electronic loops, finding new canvases for her provocative vocal style. Hope for pop has arrived with Regina Spektor. Regina was born in the Soviet Union where she began classical training on the piano at the age of 6. When she was 9 years old, her family immigrated to the United States where she continued her classical training into her teenage years; she began to write original songs shortly thereafter. After self-releasing her first three records and gaining popularity in New York City's independent music scenes, particularly the anti-folk scene centered on New York City's East Village, Spektor signed with Sire Records in 2004 where she began achieving greater mainstream notoriety.