The story of how I came across Merrigan from the Åland Islands is probably my favourite over our 3 year existence, although it is also a bit long winded, for which i apologise. I was attempting to multi-task, researching Marathons across Europe for a possible trip next year, whilst listening to a couple of music submissions on the streaming service Bandcamp, when I came across the Åland Islands Marathon which takes place every October. I'm fascinated by the beautiful looking islands situated between Finland and Sweden, and whilst the logistics of getting there might be a tiny bit complicated, I found myself happily 'googling' the capital Mariehamn for potential accommodation, along with trains, boats and aeroplanes. Anyway flicking back to Bandcamp, for some reason I absent mindedly typed 'Mariehamn' into the search function on Bandcamp, immediately up popped the name Merrigan, and of course I had to take a listen.
Merrigan may be based in the Åland Islands , but she originates from Helsinki, and she is a songwriter who builds her songs musically around harp and some traditional Celtic folk influences, whilts lyrically she is a storyteller, with her songs built up on fairy tales and inspired by ancient forgotten stories. Undoubtedly she is still a 'raw talent', with some imperfections still apparent, but there is a natural beauty in her writing and utterly gorgeous vocals which suit her style of music so well. To introduce you her songs this is 'The Changeling', the title track from an EP she released a while back.
There is something hypnotic about her music, and a feeling that she has some magical insight into the worlds and ages she sings of, and that fascinates me. Curiously, although the music style is so very different, the vocals and tune in 'The Changeling' remind me of an early reflective Lush too (the recently reformed 90's UK shoegaze band), whilst tracks such as 'I Know You' will take you straight into the courts in medieval times. If she ever comes to the UK to do gigs, we'll need to find her a castle to play in.
Anyway we try to feature artists from across the musical spectrum, and often think about influences to bands and artists back to the 1960's. Merrigan unashamedly takes us back a few hundred years, but in a captivating style that is so easy to listen to, and title track 'The Changeling' in particular is worth adding to any of your playlists. We look forward to finding out what she gets up to next, and at some point we will try to explore the music of the Åland Islands further too.
Merrigan photo by Magnus Ulenius