Introducing… Miri

A soulful indie-pop songwriter inspired by soul and Motown, for whom the most important thing in her music is connection

Name: Miri Hirsh

Age: 34

Location: London, England

Style: Soulful indie-pop with the innocent charm of The Cardigans

Look out for: Three of her songs in the upcoming British feature film Fear Of Water

Indie-pop has long been known for its playful sense of endearing simplicity. Artists such as The Cardigans and Garbage inspired a sense of kinship that led to both devotion and commercial success. Soulful indie-pop songwriter Miri is one such artist you could find yourself becoming devoted to, too.

Born in Essex, Miri had an interest in music from an early age, taking classical piano lessons from the age of five until, aged 12, she decided to shelve the lessons in favour of writing her own songs. As she recalls, “I was really sensitive to the social issues around me, to the pain and strife that I saw people going through in their everyday lives. I felt a naive desire to make the world a better place and that led me to begin writing songs about what I was experiencing.”

Aged 17 she took a music course at Raw Material Music And Media, but it was when she was 22 that she made the transition from raw songwriter to an artist with the poise to secure interest from Plan B’s management company, Tribal Sound And Vision. This led to her 2009 debut album Canvas. A move to indie label Reel Me Records saw the release of 2011 EP My Heart’s On My T-Shirt, with the track Patterns And Quilts featuring in the web series Brothers With No Game.

As Miri explains though, that’s not the only occasion the moving picture industry has taken a shine to her music. “Kate Lane, the director of upcoming British feature film Fear Of Water, heard my music and asked if I could write a song for the film, and I said I would see how it went.” It went just swimmingly, with the songs Red, Broken City and Blue Skies accordingly featured in the movie.

It’s not all been smooth sailing though, with Miri confessing to feeling “quite burnt out from knocking on doors”. It’s the influence of manager Jimi Lyons, as much as the Motown, soul and folk songwriters who inspire her songwriting, who’ve helped to bring her to the position of positivity she finds herself in today. Speaking of Jimi’s influence Miri says, “Jimi gave me the confidence to believe in myself. She’s worked with Sade previously and is so upbeat. I now really feel like I’ve come into my own with my music.”

What then does the future hold for this talented songwriter? Miri says she’d love to collaborate more with other artists. “I really love what I do, writing is such a lovely form of expression, and I would love to write for other artists. The main thing is to keep expanding, keep loving it and keep working with passionate people. I just want to connect with people.”

Miri’s EP My Heart’s On My T-Shirt is available on iTunes now. The film Fear Of Water is currently in post-production and will be out in 2014. Below, you can watch Miri performing her song Barcelona.

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