Mitski

Singer, songwriter, and musician Mitski - born Mitsuki Laycock-Miyawaki on September 27, 1990, in Mie Prefecture, Japan – was raised in places as diverse as Malayasia, The Congo, China and Turkey, which added a truly international influence to her music. Her first two albums - Lush (2012) and Retired from Sad, New Career in Business (2013) - were recorded as part of her studies whilst attending SUNY Purchase College’s Conservatory of Music. The second of those two albums received some interest, but the ambitious project left the artist suffering from exhaustion due to mental and physical stress. Her third album, Bury Me At Makeout Creek (2014), reflected the strain suffered during that album and was a collaboration with a group of close friends. The critically acclaimed album paved way for a deal with the label Dead Oceans and the release of the album Puberty 2 (2016). Her next album, Be the Cowboy (2018), barely missed the top 50, climbing to number 52. The video for the album’s “Nobody” won a Libera Award from the American Association of Independent Music in 2019. After a four year wait, partially due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mitski returned in February 2022 with the album Laurel Hell. The album was her most successful to date, reaching Number 5 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. Laurel Hell also charted in the UK, Australia, Canada, Germany Belgium, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, and the Netherlands. That year, she won the Best Live Performer honor from the AIM Independent Music Awards. In 2023, Mitski released her critically acclaimed seventh album, The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We, which included the singles “Bug Like an Angel” and “Star” as well as “My Love Mine All Mine” and “Heaven.” The album utilized a 17-member choir on several tracks.