Spotlight.
Miwa Nagato-Apthorp
INTRODUCTION
Described as a "visceral new voice in Scottish folk”, Hawick based Singer/Songwriter Miwa Nagato-Apthorp draws on folk traditions to explore multicultural understandings of history, climate, gender and home, giving voice to lesser told stories through song. In 2025 she has released her debut EP, performed at John McCusker's Southside of the Tracks, supported Eddi Reader and was awarded Best Acoustic in the Scottish Alternative Music Awards.
INTERVIEW
How did you get into your creative practice? What initially inspired you?
Music was always a big feature of our household when I was growing up and when I showed an interest in singing my parents were really encouraging. Looking back, I never doubted that I would be wholeheartedly supported if I decided to pursue a creative career. I was fortunate to have lots of musical friends who I spent summers singing with, it was always folk music for us. Over the years I started to realise that the music I loved had a magical ability to connect me with the land and the histories of where I live. So along with the joy of self expression, there’s also a sense of grounding which is so important for my soul.
What themes do you tend to interrogate in your creative practices?
I’m truly heartened by the power of songs as conduits for stories, when stories are told through song they settle in our consciousness differently. I have a particular interest in lesser known stories and so far my songwriting has touched on themes of history, land, gender, grief and home. As a mixed heritage person I often grapple with the feeling of belonging to more than one place at once. Rather than avoid that complexity, I am trying to employ the particular lens that I have as a result.
What is your favourite project you’ve ever worked on and why?
I’ve been so fortunate to be involved with some really amazing projects over the last few years but I have to shout out Alchemy Film & Arts, my time as Musician in Residence with them was so special. I first started working with Alchemy in 2022 at a time when I wasn’t even confident in my ability to write a song and by the end of my residency in May this year we had released an EP, delivered a programme of singing workshops with local community groups and researched local histories in a way which felt truly meaningful. The Alchemy team have such a sensitive understanding of how to support artists and are an embodied example of how solidarity unfurls from the local to the global.
What advice would you have for creatives of colour looking to get into your creative practices?
Recently, during the Watery Commons Residency run by Connecting Threads, sound artist Bint Mbareh encouraged us to give thought to how we as artists are influenced by one another, to be vocal about those influences and to think of this as a feminist practice. I think that as creatives of colour we should celebrate and highlight our collaborators and be vocal about our politics. Building webs of mutual support uplifts our communities and gives us all strength to face the inevitable challenges of being a person of colour in the creative industry. We Are Here Scotland is a beautiful example of this. Also, on an individual level, it’s so important to have faith in the fact that people want to hear what you have to say.
What are you currently working on?
I’ve had a busy summer of gigging and have some exciting shows coming up next year- I’m particularly excited to support the incredible Angeline Morrison at her AMPLIFI Show at Queens Hall on Wednesday 4th February along with Djana Gabrielle and I’ll be supporting the wonderful Eddi Reader for her Scottish tour in April. As the winter has drawn in, there’s a moment to pause and I’m finding myself itching to return my focus to writing for a while. I’m reflecting with deep gratitude on the beautiful people I’ve had the opportunity to make music with this year and thinking of ways to involve them in a project (hopefully an album!) soon.