démira

Démira is a singer-songwriter, a classically trained guitarist and a poet. She produced at Electric Lady Studios in New York City where she developed her own sound. The Dutch transplant is an explosive performer and regularly played shows in clubs throughout New York, Denmark, The Netherlands, Sweden, Malta and Germany. Being a classically trained guitarist and published poet, Démira first drew praise for her alternative folk music and intense lyrics as a singer songwriter at the age of 14. She won the national “High School Music Competition” and released her first solo EP “Pay Attention” in 2012. Reviewers called her “the illegitimate daughter of Bob Dylan and Joan Baez” and in 2013, she took part in the television programme “The Best Singer­/Songwriter of the Netherlands.” She recorded a second EP named “Indigo” together with her band, after which she played three sold out tours in the Netherlands. She won two poetry prizes, performed at several festivals in the Netherlands, Germany, Malta and Norway and was the supporting act of Maria Mena, John Newman, King Charles, Boy & Bear and Ben Howard. Her third EP “White Ravens” entered the top 3 of the Dutch iTunes Charts in 2016. Since 2017, Démira has been revising her sound due to neurological problems caused by a tumor. In the meantime, she wrote music for artists among which Endymion, ASH, Quentyn and played 52 sold out shows of semi-electronic music at theatre festival Boulevard. She revised the national anthem for the EuroHockey Championships and worked with film composer Ilan Eshkeri on the music for British Academy Film Award nominated TV show The Athena (2018) and Riviera (2020) starring Julia Stiles. Producing music became a new means of catharsis. In 2018, Démira was signed to Electric Lady Studios Management in New York City, where she flourished as a multi-instrumentalist and producer by combining their traditional instruments with her own field recordings of i.a. windscreen wipers, jet fighters and electronic toys. She played her autonomously created analogue electronic music in New York nightclubs including House of Yes, Berlin and The Sultan Room. She recorded her EP “New Voodoo” with friend Sam van Hoogstraten (Robin Kester, A.M. Sam) and Gosha Usov (Frank Ocean, A$AP Rocky). The songs are mixed by Joe Visciano (Blood Orange, Lianne la Havas) and mastered by Heba Kadry (Björk, Nicolás Jaar). The EP came out in April 2021. The now 25-year-old ex-resident of Electric Lady Studios, audio geek and art history student does not make any concession in song structures or sound: her tracks are both catchy and experimental, intuitive, personal and always in motion. Her music is ambitious, but accessible — dark, dancey, intense, and smart. In the autumn of 2022, Démira releases her debut album titled “Iggy.” Every month until then, a song will come out. Singles “Cheap Date” and “Salai” already have seen the daylight. Next up is “Metropolis,” a song about gaslighting, women's bodies and ownership, out on July 8.