After finishing an intense tour at the beginning of the year, Miriam Bryant felt something was wrong.
"It's a lot of fun touring, with lots of people and big production. At the same time, everything was so time-coded and meticulous, and I needed to shut off all my emotions to be able to row everything to port," she says.
The new EP “Isby sessions” is a selection of Miriam Bryant’s previous songs, both older and newer, including “Okej att dö”. She felt a strong need to reinterpret her songs and give them a more raw and stripped-down expression, to get as far away as possible from studio tricks, the overly composed, imposed and “tracksy”.
"Dope" music
Music making in general has become so automated that it feels like doping, Miriam Bryant believes. And for her, it eventually got to the point where she didn't recognize her own voice when she heard the recordings.
Shortly afterwards, the vocal cord spasms occurred. However, the doctors could not find anything wrong and believed it was psychosomatic.
"I thought everything sounded tense and contrived," she says.
There and then the paranoia grew.
I had a huge loss of self-confidence. My voice, my instrument, was broken. The voice that is my identity. If it doesn't work, who am I?
Singing from the heart
Working on the album has been a process for her to find her way back to herself and a more original expression.
For once I sang without headphones, I just stood upside down and sang straight into a room. I had almost forgotten what it felt like, natural sound. It was wonderful.
A tour with concert hall performances awaits in the spring, which according to the artist will be in an intimate format. No autotune as far as the ear can reach. No fat LED screens. Miriam Bryant says she is feeling good now and is excited for the tour.
2026 will be the year I turn the page, try to have more fun and gain more self-distance. I will devote myself to what I really think is important.
The acoustic EP "Isby sessions" contains old favorites in a new, stripped-down version. The title refers to the studio in Isby where the recordings for the album were made.
On November 7th, the first taste will be released in the form of the single "Okej att dö (igen)" and the entire EP will be released in early 2026. In conjunction with the album release, Miriam Bryant will be giving a concert tour in the spring. Tickets for the tour will be released on November 10th.
Tour stops in spring 2026: 30/1 Norrköping, Arbis, 31/1 Gothenburg concert hall, 5/2 Uppsala concert and congress, 6/2 Umeå, Idun, 7/2 Luleå, Kulturens hus, 8/2 Skellefteå, Sara kulturhus, 11/2 Helsinki, Kulturhuset, 21/2 Stockholm, Konserthuset, 26/2 Malmö, Slagthuset, 8/3 Oslo, The opera.
