The Historian is out now!
While multidisciplinary artist Miranda Martini is currently best known in the Calgary arts world as a sound designer, music director and composer for theatre, she has been quietly performing her own songs to a dedicated audience for over a decade, self-producing her first album, Calendar, in 2014. Now she's back with a new album, The Historian—her first in 10 years.
Produced by blues legend Tim Williams, the album marks a return to Martini’s roots, freely blending bluegrass and R&B/soul in tribute to Martini’s Black prairie ancestors.
“Spring 1902,” originally penned for “John Ware Reimagined” (the award-winning play penned by Miranda’s mother, historian and writer Cheryl Foggo, and for which Miranda penned much of the music), speaks to the gnarled roots of Black identity within Alberta’s cow country, while the title track is a loving reflection on the Black prairie communities of Maidstone and Campsie from which Martini descends.
The Historian marks a return to Martini’s roots, freely blending bluegrass and R&B/soul in tribute to Martini’s Black prairie ancestors.
Heard on:
Key of A with Tarik Robinson (CBC)
CKUA
CJSW 90.9 FM
Thanks to Martini’s molasses-rich voice and Williams’ restrained-but-elegant arrangements for organ, upright bass, mandolin and fiddle, the album has a distinctive voice all its own, while nonetheless citing Martini’s cultural and musical influences. In it, you can hear Tracy Chapman and Patsy Cline, doo-wop and dobro, slide guitar and Stax Records, the McGarrigles and Muscle Shoals.
Vinyl & CDs available at:
Hot Wax Records
114 10 St NW, Calgary, AB
Sloth Records
736b 17th Avenue SW, Calgary, AB
Melodyia Records
2523 17 Ave SW , Calgary, AB
Blackbyrd Myoozik
1126 17 Ave SW, Calgary, AB
What people say about Miranda Martini
I had a chance to see Miranda perform at the 2024 High Performance Rodeo in Calgary, and I was blown away by her unique voice and the quality of her songwriting. I’ve known Miranda for years and have had the privilege of watching her hone her craft. She possesses the talent, drive, and vision necessary to make a meaningful impact through her music.
Tim Williams, blues and roots artist
Miranda’s voice has a timeless beauty. Her writing shows understanding of genre yet is wholly unique and authentic. Her songs, while universal, also tell stories of local significance, of her family and their past, and achieve an emotional depth rarely heard in music today.
Kris Demeanor, inaugural poet laureate of Calgary from 2012 to 2014
