Wicklow folk singer-songwriter Anna Mieke has released her new single, Red Sun (Live). We asked her the BIG questions . . .
The track is a reworked version of the closing track of her acclaimed 2022 LP Theatre (Nettwerk) and is accompanied by a live rendition of its recording at Dundalk's Black Mountain Studios, interspersed with natural footage and brought to life by video maker Anna Heisterkamp.
"It was an exciting and very satisfying project to work on as it was all arranged and recorded in a very short space of time, so there was a sort of tension and adrenaline rush behind everything," Anna says.
The song features new collaborators Niamh Dalton (fiddle) and Sam Clague (electric guitar, bass clarinet), as well as live bandmates Ryan Hargadon (on alto saxophone) and Matthew Jacobson (on percussion).
Tell us three things about yourself . . .
I’m suddenly quite obsessed with sewing and design and am currently making trousers for myself. Covid made me allergic to Quorn and red wine - how random? Anna Mieke is actually my full first name, normally written as Anna-Mieke. Mieke is Dutch. I’m not Dutch; I’m mostly Irish, part French, part English.
How would you describe your music?
Suave, sophisticated, sensual.
Who are your musical inspirations?
Who knows, but currently listening lots to ML Buch, Caroline, Carmen Villain, Sofie Birch, Nick Drake (always), Andy Shauf, Jessica Pratt, Florist.
What was the first gig you ever went to?
I can’t remember, but my first festival was WOMAD in Reading. Pretty mind-blowing for an 11 (or thereabouts) year old. Orchestra Baobab was playing, I think. It was a very hot summer. We learned to walk on stilts and I spent the weekend covered in glitter and wearing a tutu.
What was the first record you ever bought?
No recollection. I think I was gifted a lot of albums before starting to buy my own. But my last, most recent record I bought, was Jerusalem by Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru, an Ethiopian pianist, which I bought recently at a pop-up record stall at a show in a wooden barn in a forest in Charlotte, Vermont.
What’s your favourite song right now?
This week I keep listening to Lacuna by Maria BC.
Favourite lyric of all time?
Favourite lyric of recent times, as in the last few months . . . I love the lyrics in Garter Snake by Macie Stewart. And Rachael Lavelle: "I live in a time stamp, I live in a long dress, I live in the fast lane but I move slow" (or something to that effect) in an (unreleased?) song of hers in Laura Quirke’s short film Devotion (showing in Stella Cinema, Ranelagh on January 17th!).
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Nick Drake - Place To Be.
Where can people find your music/more information?
annamieke.com annamie.ke on Instagram and I also exist vaguely on Twitter and Facebook.
Alan Corr
