Anna Mieke — islander

For all queries regarding Anna Mieke, contact jon@islandermusic.net

Anna Mieke is an Irish singer, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter based in Wicklow, whose anachronistic vocal talent toes the line between folk and vivid dreamscapes. Her songs are lyrically ornate and intertwined with the artistry of a writer beyond her years. The instrumental delicacy of her work is tempered with explorations into the avant-garde, contributing a challenging, emphatic and new voice to folk music. Divining inspiration from trips through Europe by bike, learning Maori songs as a child in New Zealand and learning folk songs in Bulgaria, she has amassed skills as a bouzouki player, cellist, guitarist and preeminently, a vocalist.

Anna Mieke has collaborated with Linda Buckley, Crash Ensemble and was a member of Cork improv group HEX. She is also one-third of the singing trio Rufous Nightjar, whose debut album is set for release in 2022. Currently performing with percussionist Matthew Jacobson (Insufficient Funs, Ensemble Eriu) and Ryan Hargadon (Kojaque, Kean Kavanagh, Rachael Lavelle) on saxophone and synth, she has shared stages with artists such as Lisa Hannigan, Sarah Neufeld, This Is The Kit, Lankum, Gyda Valtysdottir (múm) and Rozi Plain. She was nominated for the RTÉ Folk Award 'Best Emerging Act’ 2019 following her critically acclaimed debut Idle Mind. Anna Mieke's much anticipated second album is in the works, due for release later this year.

“A deliciously bearable lightness of being defines Anna Mieke’s debut album. It’s a strikingly confident collection of 10 songs, full of blue sky thinking and wide open horizons... Idle Mind is a slow burner (in the very best sense) that promises many fresh revelations with each return visit. A deliriously renewable energy source” - Siobhan Long, The Irish Times ★★★★

“Indeed, Idle Mind is not just a stunning debut record, nor is it just an amazing Irish record: it’s a record that proves Mieke to be one of the most promising artists on the Irish independent sphere and mature musician and songwriter whose work deserves to be heard far and wide” - The Thin Air