FLORIST - ANNA MIEKE

"Their sound, usually soft and steady, becomes a thrilling lesson in catharsis.”

Florist began as the friendship project of Emily Sprague, Rick Spataro, and Jonnie Baker in Upstate, NY. The three started making weird sounds on synths and guitars together as a way to relate, and grew close. Felix Walworth joined as a drummer and collaborator when Emily moved to New York City and continued writing songs with the moniker.

The band’s newest album 'Florist' feels like the culmination of a decade-long journey, their fourth full-length album, but the first deserving of a self-titled designation. “We called it 'Florist' because this is not just my songs with a backing band,” Sprague explains. “It’s a practice. It’s a collaboration. It’s our one life. These are my best friends and the music is the way that it is because of that.”

ANNA MIEKE

Anna Mieke’s deft songwriting and enveloping compositions have asserted her as a vital voice amongst Ireland’s alt-folk genre. The Irish multi-instrumentalist and songwriter based in Wicklow, Ireland, toes the line between folk forms and vivid dreamscapes, drawing on traditional and contemporary motifs. The lyrically ornate and instrumental delicacy of her work, alongside flowing atmospheric arrangements, contributes a challenging, emphatic and new voice to alt-folk. The release of the Wicklow-based artist’s critically acclaimed debut album, Idle Mind from 2019, garnered Anna Mieke a nomination in the 'Best Emerging Act’ category at the RTÉ Folk Awards. Early 2022 saw her headline tours across Spain, UK, Ireland and further afield, with a week-long residency in New York (May 2022), collaborating with NYC-based musicians and composers. An accomplished multi-instrumentalist, outside of her solo material, Anna Mieke played cello with HEX, a Cork-based experimental outfit, and has developed her vocals as one-third of the singing group, Rufous Nightjar.

Across her career, she has shared stages with Lankum, Lisa Hannigan, This Is The Kit and Rozi Plain, performed at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival and collaborated with Crash Ensemble and Adrian Crowley. These varying outlets of creative expression are integral to her distinct and timeless sound. Anna Mieke’s long-awaited second album, Theatre, which she recorded with Nick Rayner and features contributions from long-standing bandmates Ryan Hargadon and Matthew Jacobson, will be released on November 18th, 2022.