Acoustic duo Ethemia are celebrating after signing a record deal with Crescent Records.

Michaela Mott and Berny Poulton, who have been performing together for five years, are releasing their new EP ‘Common Ground’ next month, just weeks after signing a two-year recording deal with the Swindon based record label. “It’s all happened so quickly, we’re just over the moon really,” said Michaela. “For a record label to reach out and offer us a recording contract was just incredible, a dream come true,” she added.

Ethemia have performed all over the UK in recent years and have also toured across Europe, impressing audiences with their powerful lyrics and strong vocal performances. “We write our own songs, we don’t do covers. Our songs are sincere, we’re not afraid of tackling difficult subjects,” said Michaela. The duo have performed several times on BBC Radio, including on BBC Introducing and two appearances on the Gaby Roslin Show on BBC Radio London. Ethemia were also featured on BBC Radio 2 in ‘Faith in the World Week’ and are regular visitors to the BBC Gloucestershire studios. “It’s enormously exciting to be asked to perform on local and national radio. We’re really ambitious, we want to carry on moving in an upward curve, so every media appearance helps us get our name out there. We’re so excited for the launch of our new EP, we’re so proud of the songs and all the hard work that has gone into it,” added Michaela.

Berny Poulton added: “It’s been really exciting working with producer Damon Sawyer. He recorded our EP in a special Hi-Def format called DSD, the same recording format used by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. James Richings, the director of Crescent Records, was really impressed with the sound quality and invited us for a chat. We spoke for hours and at the end of the night he offered us a contract. It was a surreal feeling, we were both lost for words for a while! I’ve been playing guitar every day of my life since I was 17 years old, music is my life. Performing with Michaela is a real joy, it’s the coming together of two like-minded musicians.”

It’s a busy summer of performing for Michaela and Berny, who say their debut performance at the Wychwood Festival in Cheltenham at the start of June will be one to savour. Continued Michaela: “This will be our first time performing at Wychwood, we’re both really looking forward to getting on stage. We’ll be performing tracks from our new EP as well as some of our older songs. Playing in front of a big crowd is a great thrill, something you never tire of.”

The duo are fiercely ambitious and say their hopes for the future revolve around performing and recording. Said Michaela: “Writing and performing our own music is a dream. We both love getting on stage and putting our heart and soul into every performance. I’ve always had a desire to perform at the Royal Albert Hall, maybe one day we’ll be lucky enough to grace the stage there!”