Listen up.
Singles.
Nightflowers
Crepuscule
Fallow
Patience
In Search of Lost Time
Ukiyo (A Floating World)
Albums.
Solitaire (The Virtue of Patience)
“Stories of strong women can inspire other women. Solitaire offers a positive representation of femininity, and celebrates women’s contribution to give a fresh cultural perspective.
It’s a story to tell our young women, to inspire and build identities, for the sake of our whole society.”
Story Behind the Album
Mirla (17) and Arthur (19) were falling in love but the Second World War would separate them.
On Valentine’s Day 1942, Arthur waved goodbye to Mirla and sailed from Fremantle aboard the HMAS Perth towards a Pacific War.
Two weeks later, HMAS Perth was destroyed in the Battle of Sunda Strait.
Autumn turned to winter — still no word on Arthur. Had he survived?
In those hardest of times, the blackest of moments, Mirla returned from work to find a bundle of her letters, all unopened, all marked ‘Return to Sender’. Worst of all, there is the letter in which she had declared her love for Arthur.
It was a devastating blow. And so the waiting began. Mirla’s waiting lasted over two years.
Throughout those long months, Mirla learned to survive by protecting herself (her love for Arthur), from self-doubts and fears. Leaning into virtues of hope, resilience and patience, Mirla held on.
Arthur cheated death. He survived the sinking of HMAS Perth. He was captured by the Japanese, held as a Prisoner of War and the forced labour camps on the Burma (Death) Railway.
Later, as he was being transported to another PoW camp, Arthur survived a second sinking. For six days he clung to debris before being rescued by the American's on USS Queenfish.
After the years of waiting, Arthur returned to Mirla. They went out dancing. In time, they were married, for over 60 years.
Their remarkable story has truly inspired generations of Australians, not least their granddaughter and composer Emily Mirla Harrison.
"Nana (Mirla) lived out those long waiting days in a personal battle: between fear and a counter-force of ‘hope’. This is the particular psychology that I explore in Solitaire.
Through a uniquely female lens (by way of an epic musical journey), the album follows Mirla as she moves passed her heartache and longing into stoicism and growth. We explore Mirla's capacity for resilience as she triumphs over adversity: skilfully balancing unwavering hope with a remarkable capacity to maintain hope, remain calm and endure"
- Emily Mirla Harrison.