Mari Samuelsen & Anna Meredith

A genre-bending composer and performer, Anna Meredith first came to prominence within the classical world before branching out into electronica and, as a Moshi Moshi recording artist, with a compositional blend of rhythmically driven electronic music and ethereal avant-pop. In 2004, while in her mid-twenties, she became a composer in residence with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Work for the BBC and various elite media events followed over the next several years. After issuing a pair of EPs, Meredith released her full-length indie electronic debut, Varmints, in 2016, and her first film score, Eighth Grade, hit theaters in 2018. She was named a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for her services to music in 2019.
Born in London in 1978, Anna Meredith moved to Edinburgh with her family when she was just two. At school, she took up the clarinet and percussion and, later, composition. Meredith studied at Napier University and earned a degree in music from the University of York, going on to earn a master’s degree at the prestigious Royal College of Music. A position as composer in residence with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra followed in 2004, and she became the PRS/RPS Composer in the House with Sinfonia ViVA, a post she held until 2007. It was during this period that she composed numerous pieces for the BBC alongside her breakout work “Froms,” which was broadcast to 40 million households on the BBC’s 2008 Proms. This success landed her a spot as Goldie’s mentor on documentary series Classic Goldie, and she was nominated for the 2009 Times Breakthrough Award before winning the 2010 Paul Hamlyn Foundation Award for Composers.
Along with her acoustic classical work and forays into body percussion (2012′s “HandsFree”), Meredith started working on more eclectic electronic music and sharing concert bills with the likes of James Blake and These New Puritans. Her off-kilter, irreverent sonics found a home on the label Moshi Moshi, which issued her debut EP, Black Prince Fury, in December 2012. Her sophomore EP, Jet Black Raider, was released the following year, matching her electronic stylings with more traditional instrumentation. Meredith’s fusion of electronic and classical continued to develop on her 2016 debut album, Varmints, which opened with her standout 2012 single “Nautilus.” The album received significant critical acclaim, winning the Scottish Album of the Year Award for 2016.
Around this time, Meredith turned her hand to a variety of other media. After reworking Vivaldi’s Four Seasons for the 2016 project Anno, she spent 2017 creating installations for Manchester International Festival and the Barbican Centre. 2018 saw her compose her first film score, for Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade, in addition to opening the Proms with “Five Telegrams,” a piece reflecting the centenary of the end of World War I. In early 2019, she became a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). Meredith’s sophomore album, FIBS, was released in October of the same year. ~ Aneet Nijjar & Marcy Donelson