Miro Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 http://www.eyeweekly.com/blog/post/64063--making-plans-for-mika Making plans for Mika by: Kate Carraway June 23, 2009 12:00 PM Comments: (0) Although most of them are still feeling the free-booze aftershock of the MMVAs, a Czehoski’s full of music-industry people (and me) are cooperatively nodding along to new tracks played at a hangover-unfriendly volume by UK pop star Mika, who has joined us at the Queen Street restaurant for a Monday-morning listening party. Mika’s new album won’t be released until September, but Mika is a young and savvy pop star with his own ideas about how his business rolls, so we’re here now. Wearing white sneaks, hot orange pants, a khaki jacket and a cloth-doll necklace (“it’s Belgian”), the very tall and very pretty Mika stares at the ground while his songs play, focused but unworried. A suited member of the entourage hangs back, mouthing the words. Between songs, Mika offers intros and explanations with a delightful Britishness that suggests little of his gypset upbringing (Lebanon; Cyprus; France). After making 2007’s Life in Cartoon Motion (which included the monster single “Grace Kelly”), Mika realized that the record was the soundtrack to his childhood; this year’s maximally-exclusive EP Songs for Sorrow (available online and at ****-you retailers Lanvin and Paul Smith) was about, he tells me later, the “transition” into adolescence; the new one will narrate Mika’s teenage years. Will subsequent records maintain the autobiographical bent into adulthood? “It’s going to be monsters and aliens for all I care.” First we hear “Blame it on the Girls.” It’s an up-tempo clapper-alonger, and is better than what I’ve heard before from Mika, he of the phantasmagorical pop that minivan moms and sophisticate gays die for. Of “We are Golden,” the first single to-be, Mika says, “When I wrote it I wanted to feel like I was 17 again.” Indeed, it sounds like High School Musical 4: Out of the Closet, which, to those of us who really do like the tingliest pop the way we say we do, means awesome. Funny, creepy “Toy Boy” and the peppily heartbreaking “Blue Eyes” from Songs for Sorrow are being reused on the new record (which for now seems to be without a title); “I See You” is hugely theatrical. “Rain” is a dance track that Mika took to several collaborators before settling on a version punched up by Owen Pallett (who else?). Of Pallett’s contribution, Mika says “It has an evil twin, as well, on his album, where he does the same ‘do-be-do, do-be-do.’” Mika is a fan-boy of Toronto’s string king, just like the rest of us: “I think he’s amazing. I think he’s one of your finest musicians, and I think his path is only just beginning. I think his new album is going to open him up internationally; he’s going to be so in-demand.” Despite the millions of singles he’s sold, Mika is down with a boutique business model. “There are only 10,000 copies of the EP available worldwide. The record company was like, ‘Are you ****ing crazy?’ I was like, ‘No, let’s do something small.’ When you get to a second album, why do you have to stop doing all the things that make you have fun? Stay small, grow big. Don’t set everything up to be big. Do all the things that got us to where we are the first time around; don’t just suddenly divorce yourself from that, and pretend that it’s the '90s. It’s not like that.” The “we” here is not a conceit. Mika lives in a flat in his folks’ house in London, and works closely and constantly with his sister Yasmine Penniman, better known as the artist DaWack. The Songs for Sorrow EP is packaged as a storybook with work by 16 different artists, including Alber Elbaz. Mika also employs a full-time filmmaker; his multimedia immersion isn’t unlike some other Top 40 types. “Kanye West is so obsessed with the way things look and feel. He knows the value of that. [Lady] GaGa, she loves the concept, loves the way things look.” Mika’s response to the ever-shifting industry is similarly ambitious. “I’m not saying like everybody else ‘[The changes] mean you don’t have to do anything; it’s all about singles and streaming sites.' It’s the opposite. You have to encourage singles, streaming sites, all of that, but you have to make lots of different types of videos. Not all of them have to be big-budget… You have to spend a lot more time, to really invest in the visuals, the artwork, the packaging. Now more than ever is there a necessity to do that. When everything is becoming so digitized and paperless, it’s important to create something that’s really worth getting.” And, apparently, to push the product months in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DANI56 Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 god bless you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Droopsy Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Oh thank you for finding it!!! T4p:thumb_yello: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CazGirl Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 The only negative thing I'm gonna say is that I don't want Toy Boy or Blue Eyes on the album. Lol Other than that roll on the album Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatagordinha Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 T4P Miro She reckons We Are Golden sounds like High School Musical? That's not what I wanted to hear..but I'm sure it'll be good nonetheless. This journalist strikes me as something of a Mika sceptic but nothing wrong with that; at this stage of the game I'd rather read balanced reviews from more or less neutral observers/listeners, rather than a load of gushing ones from the already converted, as the former are more telling . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xlindee Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL? I hope they were wrong about that.. Oh, and I thought Blame it on the girls would be the first single? This article says We Are Golden will be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CazGirl Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL?I hope they were wrong about that.. Oh, and I thought Blame it on the girls would be the first single? This article says We Are Golden will be? Yeah, The Observer said that as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucrezia Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Thanks very much Miro!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikalollipop_karla Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL:aah: what is hair god, that I can not bear, but MIKA do things well and is sure that his songs will be great:naughty: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyn Mastin Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 T4P Miro She reckons We Are Golden sounds like High School Musical? That's not what I wanted to hear..but I'm sure it'll be good nonetheless. This journalist strikes me as something of a Mika sceptic but nothing wrong with that; at this stage of the game I'd rather read balanced reviews from more or less neutral observers/listeners, rather than a load of gushing ones from the already converted, as the former are more telling . Well look how succesful HSM is! There are parts of that review I don't like, but on the whole, I think it will make people curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyn Mastin Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 The only negative thing I'm gonna say is that I don't want Toy Boy or Blue Eyes on the album. Lol Other than that roll on the album I have to disagree with you. Toy Boy and Blue Eyes are too good to be only on a limited edition EP. I'd love to hear them on the album too. There will be plenty of other new songs there as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gracekelly85 Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Thanks for posting, Miro! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CazGirl Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 (edited) I have to disagree with you. Toy Boy and Blue Eyes are too good to be only on a limited edition EP. I'd love to hear them on the album too. There will be plenty of other new songs there as well. Well yeah. Toy Boy I can...get. But Blue Eyes? Everyone seems to really dig this song and...although I do like it, I don't really think it's album material personally and it's not my favourite. I like the verses and the bridge, but not a fan of the chorus...yet for some reason it's the one song from the EP that gets stuck in my head the most But say there are 12 songs on there like LiCM. We know "Blame it on the Girls", and we know "Good Gone Girl". We also know "Toy Boy" and "Blue Eyes". And we know "Rain". I mean, I know we only heard the acoustic version but from the clip we got from Mika's V-Log we kinda get the drift, right? So that leaves 7 songs we haven't (fully) heard yet. Sure, 7 is still quite a lot, but that's also 5 songs we've already heard and the album isn't even due out for another three months. Edited June 23, 2009 by CazGirl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IngievV Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Aaah so that's why he was in Toronto! Thanks for posting! I can see We are Golden becoming my new anthem:mf_rosetinted: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Droopsy Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 But say there are 12 songs on there like LiCM. We know "Blame it on the Girls", and we know "Good Gone Girl". We also know "Toy Boy" and "Blue Eyes". And we know "Rain". I mean, I know we only heard the acoustic version but from the clip we got from Mika's V-Log we kinda get the drift, right? So that leaves 7 songs we haven't (fully) heard yet. Sure, 7 is still quite a lot, but that's also 5 songs we've already heard and the album isn't even due out for another three months. I have to say I agree with you on that, and it has been on my mind as well:wink2: But if we think about it, it's not inevitable (sp?) right? I mean, before licm, there was 'nothing' for most of us, so every song on the album was new. Now we have all the scoops on new songs, song titles, hearing new songs at gigs... It's something that we'll have to live with Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CazGirl Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 I have to say I agree with you on that, and it has been on my mind as well:wink2: But if we think about it, it's not inevitable (sp?) right? I mean, before licm, there was 'nothing' for most of us, so every song on the album was new. Now we have all the scoops on new songs, song titles, hearing new songs at gigs... It's something that we'll have to live with Well yeah I understand. But Toy Boy and Blue Eyes are on a CD on their own. I just think that's where they should stay lol...personally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keti Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Thanks for posting, Miro! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IngievV Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Stop the moaning start the loving:mf_rosetinted: That's an Ingism, you can quote me on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 “I’m not saying like everybody else ‘[The changes] mean you don’t have to do anything; it’s all about singles and streaming sites.' It’s the opposite. You have to encourage singles, streaming sites, all of that, but you have to make lots of different types of videos. Not all of them have to be big-budget… You have to spend a lot more time, to really invest in the visuals, the artwork, the packaging. Now more than ever is there a necessity to do that. When everything is becoming so digitized and paperless, it’s important to create something that’s really worth getting.” Yay Mika!!!! And I knew it!!! I knew that Toy Boy and Blue Eyes would be on the album. I hope we'll still have some songs to discover in September... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CazGirl Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Stop the moaning start the loving:mf_rosetinted: That's an Ingism, you can quote me on that. Oh I'm really looking forward to the album, don't get me wrong, just don't like how we already know almost half the songs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babspanky Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 He's done these showcases all over Europe and now Canada. I'm not aware he's done USA or London yet though. Or did I miss that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CazGirl Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 He's done these showcases all over Europe and now Canada. I'm not aware he's done USA or London yet though. Or did I miss that? I don't think he's done those places yet either. Unless you kinda count The Observer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babspanky Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 I don't think he's done those places yet either. Unless you kinda count The Observer? I don't . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CazGirl Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 I don't . Okay. Then he hasn't done those places lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IngievV Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Oh I'm really looking forward to the album, don't get me wrong, just don't like how we already know almost half the songs Maybe he'll add a surprise second disc:mf_rosetinted: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now