Olivia Bouyssou Merilahti is a Finnish-French musician, best known for being the lead singer in The Dø. She was born in Paris the year 1982 to a French father and a Finnish mother.
She grew up in the suburbs of Paris but always spoke finnish with her mother and considered it to be her secret language.
At the age of 9 she learned cello at the Conservatoire de Sèvres, then the piano and the guitar, an instrument that allowed her to write her first songs. After some classical singing lessons, she joined her first rock band at the age of 14, which mainly includes songs from the 1990s (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Hole, Nirvana).
The Icelandic Björk also had a big influence on Merilahti’s art development.
After obtaining her bachelor’s degree, she moved to Helsinki where she studied contemporary music at the Pop-Jazz Conservatory. There she was introduced to Finnish folk songs and American musicals.
She returns to France and is working on music for the film Empire of the Wolves, (starring Jean Reno) when she met Dan Levy, with whom she formed the indie rock band The Dø. The band’s name is derived from the first note of the solfège scale, do. It’s written with the nordic letter Ø, but it is just so it resembles a half note, it is really just an o as the band’s name is pronounced as the English word “dough”, with a long “o” sound.
The Dø has made 3 studio albums so far, all with much commercial success. They have even been cited by Billie Eilish as one of her major influences.
In 2021, Merilahti released the solo album “Beginnings”, under the artist name Prudence.
Discography
2021- Beginnings / Prudence
2014- Shake, Shook, Shaken / The Dø
2011- Both Ways Open Jaws / The Dø
2008- A Mouthful / The Dø
2005- Empire of the Wolves / Soundtrack
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Click her for Olivia Bouyssou Merilahti / Prudence on Instagram
Click here for the official website of The Dø
Click here for The Dø on Instagram
Click here for The Dø on Spotify
