I was absolutely BLOWN AWAY by my first impression of Michalina Malisz when she was featured in a Melodicka Bros cover of Linkin Park’s “Castle of Glass.” I’m surprised I never came across it three years ago when it first released, because I definitely followed them back then. I even remember hearing this cover but never watching the video. But you know the YouTube algorithm and how mysterious it can be. Anyway, here is said cover:

To give you some idea of what Michalina is capable of on both her favorite instrument and with her voice, here’s Michalina’s dark medieval version of Linkin Park’s “What I’ve Done.” It’s extremely haunting and may be my favorite version of the song of all time.

Michalina Malisz also has an extensive Patreon account, with memberships topping out at $108/month for full access. Considering the behind-the-scenes Hurdy Gurdy educational material she offers, it’s well worth that commitment just for music nerds in general. Definitely support Michalina because she’s one of the greatest talents I’ve ever seen. Plus, her videos have SO MUCH PERSONALITY!

She also has her own metal band called LYRRE. Currently, they’re working on their second album. This video from their first album, “Chariot of Sun,” is representative of the massive talent this young lady and her band has!

If that amazing level of talent wasn’t enough, she also teaches hurdy-gurdy lessons online and does remote hurdy-gurdy recording. She has her own company MM Instruments, which specializes in building custom hurdy gurdies. Talk about productive! Definitely an artist I am going to binge for quite some time!

~ Artemis Desertsong, The Phoenix Desertsong

A version of this post originally appeared on T.P.D.