MEGHAN MAIKE & THE CACTUS FLOWERS
In true country tradition, this Canadian singer-songwriter has found inspiration on the road - from Montreal to Mississippi, and now Melbourne.
Born into folk and honed in country, Maike’s influences (from the greats; Emmylou, Gram, Neil, Lucinda, to indie heroes, The Sadies) spurred her to process the world through songwriting. Sights, sounds, places, experiences, textures, and seasons, find their way to the page.
From childhood years in a folk community on Canada’s west coast, Maike was drawn to the buzzing music scene of Montreal - a move meant for a year that lasted a decade, and made a home for life…until the next calling, and it was no mistake that Maike then landed in the vibrant musical tapestry that is Melbourne.
Circumstances brought Maike to live in Clarksdale, Mississippi, for seven years. With some time on her hands, and absorbing the magnetic musical energy of the delta, she kept on writing. This album is a faithful representation of time and place, and the relationship with the delta is ongoing.
Settled back into Melbourne, she’s assembled a stellar band of musicians to lend the songs new light: Meghan is joined by Mark McCartney on guitar (John Dowler’s Vanity Project, Joe Meares), Matthew Cotter on drums (Even, Bagful of Beez, The Swarm), Nicholas Pollock on keys, Julien Chick (John John Dowler’s Vanity Project, Blackbirds FC) on bass, and Paul Thomas on pedal steel (Huxton Creepers, Weddings Parties Anything).