Mirel Wagner (born 3 December 1987) is a Finnish singer-songwriter. She was born in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

and raised in

Espoo Espoo (, ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the west of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. Espoo is part of the Helsi ...

, Finland.

Career

Wagner has been writing songs since the age of 16. Her self-titled debut album was released in February 2011 by the Finnish indie label Kioski. It was later released in United Kingdom and Europe by Bone Voyage Recordings and in North America by

Friendly Fire Recordings Friendly Fire Recordings is an independent record label based in Brooklyn that was founded by Dan Koplowitz in 2004. Bands under the label include Asobi Seksu, Faunts and David & the Citizens. Friendly Fire is distributed in the United States by R ...

. In August 2012

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York Cit ...

listed Wagner as one of the "11 Great Bands You Don't Know (But Should)". Although her debut album was not a big success, it created a lot of attention and in February 2014 Wagner was signed by the American record label

Sub Pop Sub Pop is an independent record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana (band), Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the gru ...

. Wagner's second album '' When the Cellar Children See the Light of Day'' was released in August 2014. The album peaked number one at the Finnish Album Chart. It was a nominee for the 2014

Nordic Music Prize The Nordic Music Prize is an annual award for the Best Nordic Album Of The Year, inspired by the Mercury Prize and introduced in 2010. The prize was initiated by the by:Larm conference in Norway. The first Nordic Music Prize was presented by the ...

which is an annual award for the Best Nordic Album Of The Year. She won the prize. On 21 April 2015, Wagner performed on the music television show '' Later... with Jools Holland''. She also did the trailer song for

Gore Verbinski Gregor Justin "Gore" Verbinski (born March 16, 1964) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for directing ''Mouse Hunt'', '' The Ring'', the first 3 ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' films, and '' Rango''. For '' ...

's 2017 film ''

A Cure for Wellness ''A Cure for Wellness'' is a 2016 psychological horror film directed by Gore Verbinski and written by Justin Haythe. Haythe and Verbinski were inspired by Thomas Mann's 1924 novel ''The Magic Mountain'' while coming up with the idea for the fil ...

'', which was a cover of

The Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of t ...

song "

I Wanna Be Sedated "I Wanna Be Sedated" is a song by American punk rock band Ramones, originally released on the band's fourth studio album, '' Road to Ruin'' (1978), in September 1978 and as the B-side of the UK single "She's the One" released on September 21, 19 ...

Discography

;Albums * '' Mirel Wagner'' (2011) * '' When the Cellar Children See the Light of Day'' (2014) ;Singles * "No Death" (2011) * "Lean" (2012) * "Oak Tree" (2014)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wagner, Mirel 1987 births Musicians from Espoo Finnish people of Ethiopian descent Finnish women singer-songwriters Finnish singer-songwriters Finnish blues musicians Sub Pop artists Living people 21st-century Finnish women singers