Almost a year after the release of her critically acclaimed second album Theatre, Irish singer/songwriter Anna Mieke releases a special live version of the last song from the album, Red Sun. It was recorded at Black Mountain Studios on a hot September day and it stands as a re-imagination of the iconic closing track.

When I listened to the song for the first time, I closed my eyes and to my mind came an image of a frozen lake in a cold winter scenery. Red Sun is a winter hymn. And the power of the instruments in this live version is just unstoppable. This song is an example of when the music takes the lead role and the lyrics come secondary, however certainly not insignificant. Another beautiful characteristic of the performance is that it carries an old sound that feels like it is taking you on a journey to the past.

On this live rework, Anna Mieke performs an entirely different version of the song, almost making you question if it’s the same as the original. She removes the harp of the initial recording and adds heavy trembling brass, violin, a leading guitar with strong reverb and an insisting cymbal in the background that keeps a somewhat quiet loudness in the song, giving you the impression everything will burst into an instrumental chaos any minute now! In the end, it does exactly that, leaving you with a feeling of release and catharsis. Weightless, as Anna sings.

It is incredible how an artist can reconstruct a song in so many ways and still make it sound so beautiful. In the case of Anna Mieke, the achievement here is that it sounds almost like a completely different song! The live rearrangement of Red Sun creates a deep and circular sound space for the listener – almost making you feel like you are watching this live, like you are a part of it.

Undoubtedly, Red Sun is an electrifying intimate live recording that makes you wish to have been there to witness it. Perhaps we should expect a whole album live rework of Theatre?