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Eszter Mics & The Sisters are an all female band fronted by – you guessed it – Eszter Mics, the Hungarian born songstress who uses her songwriting to convey powerful, meaningful messages to her audience.
Their sound is defined as playful (agreed), captivating (agreed) and eclectic, which we also agree with, considering that the 6-piece are comprised of ACM students from all over the world.
They are: Romania’s Ana-Marie Lazar (Bass), Ishara Andrews (Drums), Grace Jolly (Guitar), Latvia’s Nora Geidmane (Vocals) and Hungary’s Boglárka Mics (Vocals).
Whilst still in the month of International Woman’s Day, it feels only right that we should speak with such a strong female collective, and delve a little deeper into their musical operation. International Women’s Day may have come and gone, but that doesn’t stop us. Every day is International Women’s Day, right? #GirlPower
Eszter, great to catch up with you! Can you tell us how the band came to be?
When I moved to the UK one and a half years ago, I didn’t know anyone and Ana (our bass player) was one of the first people who helped me with my first recording project at ACM and because our personalities are so similar, we understood each other so easily. So, when later on I decided to put a band together around my music, she was the first person I asked. Following on from that, someone recommended Ishara (our drummer) and Grace (our guitarist).
To be honest, ACM is a community where everyone pretty much knows everyone, so if someone is a good player, that news spread quickly 😉 I also worked with Nora before, singing BVs in a different project, so I knew that she was wonderful and that our voices blend well. I was really happy that she said yes to me. Boglárka was the missing piece, so when she arrived in last September I finally got the sound that I was dreaming of.
It begs the question.. was it a conscious decision to have a women-only band?
Absolutely! I had that vision for so long to work together with strong female characters who can represent the message of my songs and also are wonderful players. As a bonus, I wanted it to be quite international as well. So I am extremely lucky that I found the people I was looking for.
Are you part of, or do you know of, any women-specific groups?
Yes, fortunately there are more and more groups working towards building a better future for all of us! One that I would definitely recommend to follow is the ‘Girls I Rate’ movement which has been launched by Carla Marie Williams, who is a a really successful songwriter. I’ve been lucky enough to be able to attend on her very intimate masterclass last year and she is such a inspiring, hard-working, lovely lady. Her movement aims to champion women in the creative industries which is such a timely initiative. I am hoping to get more involved with them in the future as well.
How does it feel to exist in an industry that has been dominated by men for decades? Do you see a need to restore the balance?
Definitely! I think in general we are living in a world where people tend to underestimate the female principle in life. I strongly believe that our society would benefit from finding a balance between the genders in every area. Being under-represented in the creative industries (such as the music industry) is especially bad since that is the place where we should create art, and art benefits so much from the different aspects that women can bring to the table. Not to even mention that music is one of those things that has got the greatest effect on future generations, so if we want to make a change, this is a good place to start.
I don’t want to sound negative though because we have made a lot of progress in the past century – in terms of women’s rights. At least in the Western world, the differences are becoming more subtle, but still very recognisable. So the “Sunshine Ladies” will try to work hard towards changing that. 🙂
Two of you share the same surname. Is this an accident, or are you sisters? The band name may give us a clue…but it’s worth asking.
Haha, yes our names are suspicious! 😀 Mics is not a very common surname so people always ask if it’s an artist name, but it’s not.
Yes, Boglárka and I are sisters by blood. I feel like it’s such a privilege to have someone by your side from the very beginning who is not only there for you as a family member but also works in the same field and supports your career… but yeah, with the others we are “just” sisters by heart 😛
Tell us a bit more about the band, what you’re up to and what we can expect to see in 2017.
Well, since I am a big dreamer I always have loads of plans in mind for the future, so you can definitely expect a lot of things from us this year. I’d say the most exciting thing right now is that we are working on our first EP which will be out at the beginning of May. Besides that, we’re just trying to gig as much as possible. Playing live is one of the most enjoyable parts and the best way to connect with new people.
Shout out your socials, and where we can find your music online…
We keep everyone updated on our newest events and projects on our Facebook Page and share the highlights of our journey on our Instagram. Of course, we also have our YouTube Channel where we share our newest songs with everyone. So if you want to show some love and support than you know where to find us! 😉
If you’d like to be a student at ACM to kickstart your career in the music industry like Eszter, please call our Admissions Team on 01483 500 841 or visit www.acm.ac.uk/open-days/ to book a place on an ACM Open Day today.
