Alise Joste is a Latvian musician well known on singer-songwriters’ scene in her homeland since 2008. When asked about her music, Alise says: “As I consider myself as a pretty shy person, it’s always been very hard for me to talk about the things that are happening to me, what I think or feel. For a long time I kept it all to myself, until unexpectedly found songwriting being the way I could finally talk to others and myself honestly.” Alise recorded a self-titled debut album on her own in a country house and released it in 2011. Next year Alise played her first shows abroad in France and Portugal, followed by performances in Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Hungary, including taking part in showcase festivals Tallinn Music Week, Berlin Music Week, Reeperbahn Festival, Waves Vienna, Lost in Music Finland. Every concert attracted new fans, mesmerized by Alise’s well-crafted melodies, personal lyrics, subtle and delicate approach to the live performance. In March 2014, Alise’s debut album was released in Germany, Austria and Switzerland via G-Records (Rough Trade). It took almost five years for Alise to complete the next album but it was worth waiting. “Hardships are Ships” was released in October 2015 and received two most prominent music prizes in Latvia – Austra Award (goes to the best Latvian album of the year) and Golden Microphone in singer-songwriters’ category.