Michalina Aleksandra Furtak (earlier active as Misia Ff) is a Polish singer, bassist and journalist known as a member of the

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

group

Très.b très.b was an international indie rock band consisting of a Polish singer Misia Furtak, half Danish/half English drummer Thomas Pettit and a half Dutch/half American guitarist Olivier Heim, also known under his solo artist name Anthony Chorale. ...

, active between 2005 and 2014.

Biography

Furtak was born on 12 September 1982 in

Zielona Góra Zielona Góra (; ''Green Mountain''; ) is the largest city in Lubusz Voivodeship, located in western Poland, with 140,403 inhabitants (). The region is closely associated with vineyards and holds an annual Zielona Góra Wine Fest, Wine Fest. Zie ...

. She is of

Lemko Lemkos (; ; ; ) are an ethnic group inhabiting the Lemko Region (; ) of Carpathian Ruthenia, Carpathian Rus', an ethnographic region in the Carpathian Mountains and Carpathian Foothills, foothills spanning Ukraine, Slovakia, and Poland. Lemkos ...

origin. As a child, Misia Furtak studied violin, piano, and flute. She moved to Denmark and studied at

Testrup Højskole Testrup Højskole (English: ''Testrup Folk High School'') is a Danish Folk High School based on the philosophy of N. F. S. Grundtvig. It was founded in 1866 by theologist Jens Nørregård. The School is situated south of Aarhus in the small rural ...

where she met her bandmates Thomas Pettit and

Olivier Heim Olivier Heim (born 27 June 1986) is a Dutch songwriter and performer also known as a member of Très.b and as Anthony Chorale. Biography Born in the US to Dutch parents and growing up in Luxembourg, Olivier spent his early years playing in vari ...

. They first lived in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, where they shared a room, and later moved to

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; ; ; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital city, capital and largest city of the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Maastricht is loca ...

and

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

. Misia studied a Master's Programme Media Culture at

Maastricht University Maastricht University (abbreviated as UM; ) is a public university, public research university in Maastricht, Netherlands. Founded in 1976, it is the second youngest of the thirteen List of universities in the Netherlands, Dutch universities. In ...

. After having lived in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, Furtak returned to Poland where in June 2010, her and

signed to Pomaton EMI and their debut called ''

The Other Hand ''The Other Hand'', also known as ''Little Bee'', is a 2008 novel by British author Chris Cleave. It is a dual narrative story about a Nigerian asylum-seeker and a British magazine editor, who meet during the oil conflict in the Niger Delta, ...

'' was released 21 September 2010. The album was recorded in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

at Studio 333 and was mixed in New York City by

Victor Van Vugt Victor Van Vugt is a record producer, music producer, mixer and audio engineer, engineer. An Australian based in Berlin, he has had a long association with the careers of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Beth Orton. He has also worked with P.J ...

, who has worked with acts like

PJ Harvey Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English singer-songwriter. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments. Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined local band Automat ...

Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian musician, writer, and actor who fronts the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Known for his baritone voice, Cave's music is characterised by emotional intensity, a wide variety ...

and

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...

. It was well received, and in May 2011 the band was awarded a

Fryderyk The Fryderyk is the annual award in Polish music. Its name refers to the original Polish spelling variant of Polish composer Frédéric Chopin's first name. Its status in the Polish public can be compared to the US Grammy and British BRIT Awar ...

for Best Debut Album of the Year. In December 2011, it was announced that the band was ready to record a new album and finance it through

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance, to fund projects "withou ...

. In February 2012, the band recorded with Michał Kupicz (Indigo Tree, Enchanted Hunters). They recorded everything live, so the whole recording process only took 6 days. The band used unusual ideas to promote the release, e.g. the title was announced in a set of riddles and the first single, before the official radio premiere, was streamed by a local espresso bar where fans could hear it with a set of headphones attached to the wall, after they received gps coordinates to find the location. The album ''40 Winks of Courage'' was released 15 May 2012 and received complimentary reviews. In January 2013 the album was awarded with the prestigious

Paszport Polityki Paszport Polityki (Polityka's Passport) is an annual Polish cultural award presented by the weekly magazine '' Polityka'' since 1993. It is presented in six major categories: literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written wor ...

. Misia (Ff) Furtak is also known for her cooperation with a Polish band Dr.No, with the most recent release being a single called "Disarray". This track will be featured on the upcoming

Polskie Radio Program III Polskie Radio Program III (Polish Radio Three), known also as Radiowa Trójka or shortly Trójka is a radio channel broadcast by the Polish public broadcaster, Polskie Radio. It is a music station playing a wide variety of music from rock, alt ...

compilation Offensywa vol.4. Their earlier recording was a tribute to Polish poet

Stanisław Wyspiański Stanisław Mateusz Ignacy Wyspiański (; 15 January 1869 – 28 November 1907) was a Polish playwright, painter, poet, and interior and furniture designer. A patriotic writer, he created symbolic national dramas accordant with the artisti ...

and was featured on a special compilation released by Polish Radio. She released a digital only EP ''40 Winks,'' on streaming platforms. She has also made appearances on albums by

Lucky Fonz III Lucky Fonz III (born in 1981 as Otto Wichers) is a Dutch singer-songwriter from Nijmegen, Netherlands. History Wichers studied at the University of Amsterdam when he recorded his first titleless album in 2005. After winning the Grote Prijs va ...

, Envotion, and Bajzel. Furtak was also a member of the trip-hop band called Glorybox. in the period 2002–2003. She recently recorded a track with Maciej Werk for his new album ''Songs That Make Sense'' featuring a.o

Mark Lanegan Mark William Lanegan (November 25, 1964 – February 22, 2022) was an American singer and songwriter. First becoming prominent as the lead singer for the early grunge band Screaming Trees, he was also known as a member of Queens of the Stone Age ...

Chris Olley Chris Olley is a Nottingham-based musician and photographer. He was the lead singer and guitarist for Six By Seven and also the band's main creative influence. He studied art at Wakefield College (1990–1991) and gained a BA (Hons) in photograph ...

or Poogie Bell. Their duet "Summer of love", is the first single promoting the album. Her list of favourite/inspiring songs, prepared for a radio interview in January 2011 included works by

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

The Smiths The Smiths were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1982, composed of Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (musician), Mike Joyce (drums). Morrissey and Marr formed the band's songwrit ...

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...

and

John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styles across rock, dr ...

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...

, The National and

Local Natives Local Natives is an American indie rock band formed in Orange County, California, and based in Los Angeles. The band currently consists of Taylor Rice (vocals, guitar), Ryan Hahn (guitar, backing vocals), Matthew Frazier (drums) and Nik Ewing (ba ...

Elle Magazine ''Elle'' (stylized in all caps) is a worldwide magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, and society and lifestyle. The title ''Elle'' means ''She'' in French. ''Elle'' is considered "one of the world's largest ...

(October 2012 issue) listed her amongst "the 12 most promising talents of 2012" In October 2013 she released her first EP as Misia Ff. She holds a master's degree in

media culture In cultural studies, media culture refers to the current Western capitalist society that emerged and developed during the 20th century under the influence of mass media.Thomas (2012p.30quotation: The term highlights the extensive impact and inte ...

from

and works with the Polish public radio channel RDC. She plays a shortscale bass guitar in the shape of a

monarch butterfly The monarch butterfly or simply monarch (''Danaus plexippus'') is a milkweed butterfly (subfamily Danainae) in the family Nymphalidae. Other common names, depending on region, include milkweed, common tiger, wanderer, and black-veined brown. I ...

Awards

, - , 2011 , ''

'' ,

; Best Debut Album of the Year (Fonograficzny Debiut Roku) , , - , 2012 , , Très.B , ,

, Muzyka Popularna , ,

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ff, Misia Living people Women bass guitarists Polish women rock singers People from Zielona Góra Musicians from Warsaw Polish rock singers Indie rock musicians EMI Records artists Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Polish women singers 21st-century Polish singers Polish pianists Polish women pianists