Do you love Mika?

[IngievV]

NEW YORK -- It's the diversity of his roots that Mika says propelled him to a global audience.

 

The Lebanese-born recording artist, who grew up in London and Paris, says his brand of pop music is universal. His first CD, "Life in Cartoon Motion," produced the hit single " Grace Kelly" and the disco-y "Relax (Take It Easy)."

 

He covers a lot of pop ground in his new sophomore CD, "The Boy Who Knew Too Much," and recently talked about the album and how his past shapes his music.

 

QYou can see lots of styles and flavors in your new album.

 

AIt's set within the context of my adolescence. I wanted to do something that was almost a sequel to the first record. It is a comic-book version of my teenage years. And even the title, "The Boy Who Knew Too Much," is the kind of title you'd get on some "Tintin" (a Belgian comic-book series).

 

QYou say the album is autobiographical. Please talk about a song and how it reflects on your life.

 

A"We Are Golden," and that is about being 17. I wanted to write a song that made me feel like I was 16 or 17 again. On the way to the studio one day, I said to myself, 'If I had the courage as a teenager to go back to university' -- which is something I dread the thought of doing ... when I was a teenager I felt like a freak -- I said to myself, 'If I could turn myself into a beautiful freak, then my life would be all right.' And through music, I try to do that."

 

QWhy do you embrace pop music when others shun it?

 

AI'm totally 100 percent unapologetic about the fact that I make pop music. I'm fascinated by it. I think I was always an outsider when I was growing up, and so the concept of a populist art form was something that was really attractive to me. I said, 'Well, if no one is going to speak to me at school, then why don't I write a song that they will all sing -- then one day I will have some value.' "

 

QDo you think your varied roots provide you global appeal?

 

AI don't come from a particular place, so my music is not tied down to a style, genre or scene. It gives me certain boundlessness, and I can adapt, and my music can find a home in many countries.

 

QYou say you can deal with difficult subject matter within a pop song. Any examples?

 

AEven if it's sad or bitter, it becomes universal. Paul McCartney called it empowerment. When he wrote "Blackbird" he originally wrote it as 'Black Woman Cries in Little Rock.' He took away all of that, and he abstractified his lyrics a little bit more in order to make it more universal. There's nothing wrong with that. That's one of the cornerstones of pop music."

 

QWho else has influenced you?

 

AI was always in awe of artists who were able to create music which wasn't defined by a scene, or a style, or a genre, or a particular fashion. So I always looked at stand-alone artists, like (David) Bowie and Prince and Michael Jackson.

 

QWhat other art forms influence your music?

 

AI'm massively influenced by illustration and by comic books. I think that comic books, and comics in general, are very much like pop songs. It's an immediate populist art form that implies a lot of depth, but has to be presented in the most simple and instantly immediate way.

[xlindee]

T4P

 

Nothing we didn't know yet, but worth reading anyway.

[Dark Angel]

Thx for posting!

[Marilyn Mastin]

Yes we know it all, but it's nice that he's getting into so many publications etc. T4P

[Fmbm]

I swear, this article has been posted like 10 times, and it's because "journalists" or whatever steal the interview and change the title, so it's not your fault