Meskerem Mees

About

" Stunning minimalist tunings and stark personal writing "

Beneath Meskerem Mees music’s melodic surface are depths of emotion and insight that few singer-songwriters can approach. The 22 year old Belgium-based artist has won significant press coverage for her burgeoning songwriting skills and delicate, distinctive vocals. As a singer, she displays self-assurance far beyond her 22 years, combining folk influences with soul-tinged phrasing. Such tracks as her debut singles ‘Joe’ and ‘Season Shift’ (“And just like the seasons shift you’d always change your mind/We kept on moving forward until I got left behind”), as well as ‘Astronaut’ and ‘The Writer’ capture longing and loss in moody watercolor tones, pondering on the dark corners of emotional connection.

The talented young musician owes much to her observation of nature and its poetic substance. Her songs are not just words combined with music; they exhibit a remarkable level of subtle expressiveness. With just her voice, an acoustic guitar, and the cello of friend and collaborator Febe Lazou, the sparse songs carry so much more weight than their simplicity might suggest. All of the outside exposure and critical acclaim led to a string of awards, starting with Sound Track in 2019, Humo’s Rock Rally in 2020 and The Grand Jury Award in 2022, during MME in Eurosonic Noorderslag. Her debut album, ‘Julius’, came out in 2021 as a stark stunner, with her style drawing comparisons to Nina Simone, Nick Drake and Joni Mitchell, among many, relying on a series of minimal guitar tunings and writing from a bare and personal perspective. The result is nothing short of beautiful.