Photo: KIMWENDT.COM
With an acclaimed debut EP as well as two strong albums, the songwriter, singer, multi-instrumentalist and producer Mirja Klippel has claimed her place as a distinctive voice on the alternative folk scene. Having grown up in rural Finland, she now lives in the Danish countryside, and her poetic songs and intimate live performances have moved audiences all over Europe.
Both her music and lyrics are rounded by the stark beauty of Nordic landscapes. A stream of longing runs through her songs that draws on both Finnish folk, americana, spherical dream-pop and indie. Listening to her songs is like breathing the fresh winds on a mountain top with a view over open and harsh landscapes.
Mirja Klippel’s debut EP, Lift Your Lion (2016) introduced her as a strong voice on the Nordic folk scene and brought her a Danish Music Award Folk as ’Songwriter of the Year’. In 2018 the EP was followed by the acclaimed full-length debut, River of Silver, which sent her on an extensive tour.
Besides singing and writing songs, Klippel plays guitar, waldzither and piano and honed her musical craft in music academies in Finland, Sweden and Denmark. As a vocalist, she is on high demand and appears on releases from i.a. I Think You’re Awesome, Kristina Issa and Liv Vester Larsen.
In spring 2021, Klippel released her second full-length album, Slow Coming Alive on Stargazer Records. It presented a matured artist who continues to expand the width of her songwriting. Klippel herself has both written, produced and arranged the album’s nine songs, which unfold in a fresh chamber music universe with the support of the acclaimed string trio Vesselil and her long-time musical companion, guitarist Alex Jønsson. On the album she creates an intimate space, both diving into her Finnish poems from her youth and exploring new directions with English songwriting that touches on universal topics such as social injustice, whilst leaving hope for a better future. The album brought in three Danish Music Awards Roots nominations.