Mirel Wagner - "No Death": SXSW 2012 Showcasing Artist

The great Townes Van Zandt once said there are two kinds of music: "The blues and zip-a-dee-doo-dah." According to this, Mirel Wagner's self-titled debut falls solidly into the blues category. "Songwriting can hardly be more minimalistic, no-frills, more strict as Mirel Wagner's sparse music," according to German magazine Spex; we agree. Mirel Wagner was born in Ethiopia, and grew up in peaceful conditions in Espoo, the second-largest city in Finland. At age 7 she was given violin lessons, at 13 she switched to guitar and at 16 she wrote her first songs ("To The Bone", the opening song from her album, is one of those early tunes). Jean Ramsay, an American music journalist living in Finland, came across Mirel at an open mic session in Helsinki. He was particularly convinced of her talent, raved about her in an early article and recommended her to others. So, without producing a demo or contacting any record labels, Mirel found herself sitting in a real recording studio. Over two days she recorded 12 songs straight. Nine of them can be found on her debut, which was first released in Finland through the indie label Kioski Recs and mainland Europe through Bone Voyage, and is now seeing a wider release across North America through Friendly Fire Recordings. Whether in Finland, France or Germany, journalists who have listened closely are full of praise for this unique young talent who has appeared, seemingly out of the blue, with her otherworldly gloomy folk. This debut is quiet ...

View Count: 12 Date: January 25, 2012