Music > Audioline
Milly Hirst
28/05/15
WHO?
Milly Hirst – vocals and guitar. One guitar, no loops, no pedals, but one very special voice. Milly was born in Chatteris, moving to Cambridge as a teenager before coming to the City at the age of 21 to study Visual Studies at what was then the Norwich School of Art and Design (now NUA.) You’ll find her performing in the back room of a smoky pub to an audience with tables filled with half drunken ale. That's the best way to see her (minus the smoke these days). An intimate experience witnessing one of the world's purest voices. Milly plays beautiful music, not because she wants to be discovered, but because that's what she enjoys most.
WHAT?
A stripped back guitar accompanies lyrics full of pathos with pitch perfect delivery. Imagine a young Joan Baez, a Joni Mitchell; that's the standard we are talking here, which is why in recent years Milly has begun to gain interest from the likes of Lauren Laverne at BBC 6 Music.
LIVE?
Milly is a regular performer at venues around the City and clearly loves the bond she can build with an audience at a live gig. She’s careful about the way she brings new material to the public, though. A song can take time to develop, which is why each new one can seem like an old favourite when heard for the first time. And old favourites can be heard again and again without ever losing their appeal. You might also catch Milly playing with Wooden Arms providing those haunting, soaring moments within their acoustic orchestral driven sound.
MILLY GOSSIP
Milly includes life experiences in her songs with volunteering trips to East Uganda, Kenya and the Middle East finding their way into her music (listen to Kampala Roads.) She’s released a couple EPs a couple of years ago, one through Barefeet Records (Milly Hirst) and one through Barn Independent Records (Equator) that paired her up with a band. Both capture the beauty of her music in different ways; Milly admits that recordings take time for her as she finds the process hard to get right. Milly’s back on the trail of more studio based work at the moment and there might be another release this year. Check out her sessions on the BBC Introducing in Norfolk YouTube site, and hear a brand new song from the soundtrack of a new short film called Falling Asleep from Norwich based Cheesemint Productions.