"The Origin of Love" - the pieces of a puzzle

[tiibet]

Thanks for posting Droopsy, this is an interesting interview:thumb_yello:

I really like what he says about not wanting to buy a sound and work with someone like Timbaland.

My fave quote from this interview is "Je fais des chansons qui me plaisent, qui me font sourire, qui me font pleurer". I really admire and appreciate that. Thats how real proper songs are, they arent being written just as potential hits but instead they reflect different feelings and emotions:wub2:

 

Is there a translation of the interview because translator isn´t good ? Please, thanks.

 

Sounds like an interesting interview indeed, thanks for posting, Droopsy! Would love to read it translated, at least the most intersting parts...

[macboll]

Mika : my new album ? "It's about love, tolerance and joy"

 

Mika is back. A year after having made France danced with "Elle me dit", the Lebanon-born singer has come to reveal to us 2 titles of his new album, "The Origin Of Love" which will be released September, 17th. These two tracks foreshadow a new electro dance sound. New direction or not? How did he work? Why is Pharrell Williams featured in "Celebrate" ? Pure Charts met MIKA: he told us everything about his third opus.

 

 

"The Origin Of Love" is the opening track that gives your 3rd album its name ( read our review)… It's a very elaborated title, very electro dance, the opposite of "Relax" or "Rain, and, to some extent, gives the album its sound". (Steven Bellery, journalist)

 

MIKA : It's the first title. It introduces this album's theme and sound. I listen to loads of different sorts of music. I love all kinds of music, there's no limitation, from jazz to classic. That's why I thought about making an album with an electro side (vibe?). The first electro instruments appeared in the 60s and they inspired me. But, at the same time, music from the 80s inspired me too: Blade Runner's soundtrack, French house music. Even Daft Punk.

Edited June 25, 2012 by macboll

[Sabine64]

Mika : my new album ? "It's about love, tolerance and joy"

 

Mika is back. A year after having made France danced with "Elle me dit", the Lebanon-born singer has come to reveal to us 2 titles of his new album, "The Origin Of Love" which will be released September, 17th. These two tracks foreshadows a new electro dance sound. New direction or not? How did he work? Why is Pharrell Williams featured in "Celebrate" ? Pure Charts met MIKA: he told us everything about his third opus.

 

 

"The Origin Of Love" is the opening track that gives your 3rd album its name ( read our review)… It's a very elaborated title, very electro dance, the opposite of "Relax" or "Rain, and, to some extent, gives the album its sound". (Steven Bellery, journalist)

 

MIKA : It's the first title. It introduces this album's theme and sound. I listen to loads of different sorts of music. I love all kinds of music, there's no limitation, from jazz to classic. That's why I thought about making an album with an electro side. The first electro instruments appeared in the 60s and they inspired me. But, at the same time, music from the 80s inspired me too: Blade Runner's soundtrack, French house music. Even Daft Punk.

 

Thank you very much for translation Muriel

[macboll]

So an electro sound with Mika's touch... Last week, you introduced your new single after "Elle me dit", "Celebrate". It's a title produced with Pharrell Williams. It's very different from your former titles…

 

I wanted to make music with an electro side (vibe?) but with a lot of vocals( note from macboll: "choeurs" can mean vocal, choir or chorus.Yes, French is a poorer language than English) . I did not want something made by a computer. In "The Origin Of Love" or "Celebrate",it's me and the musicians playing in the studio. We edited the songs afterwards, we devided them into sequels to arrange them. But all the ingredients are acoustic. It was a way to make warmer something that tends to be robotic, cold/heartless…

 

When listening to your album, we can feel that you've integrated most of pop music's 50 years of history … By the way, the second part of your cd is definately pop and no longer electro, it sounds more like the Mika we know.

Edited June 25, 2012 by macboll

[macboll]

Thank you very much for translation Muriel

 

 

you're welcome. I'll try to go on. I wanted to do some ironing but had the bad idea to come to MFC

[Sabine64]

you're welcome. I'll try to go on. I wanted to do some ironing but had the bad idea to come to MFC

 

The ironing doesn´t run away while you are here. It´s a good idea to be here

[macboll]

The aim of this album was to talk about love, tolerance and joy. I also wanted to show, embody the music I'm fond of. I've been listening to music since my early childhood. I didn't know what it was. In Paris, I was listening to Gainsbourg, Moustaki, Nina Simone, Louis Armstrong, reggae… I don't know what kind of music I make most of the time; it's just songs I love, songs that make me smile or make me cry…

 

Didn't you proceed differently for "The Boy Who Knew Too Much"?

 

Yes, I did it the other way round. I worked on my own, in front of my piano. This time, I wrote and edited at the same time.

 

Can we talk about a new direction then?

 

I think it's a continuation of a process. Honestly. It's not a new direction even if there are lots of developments. My intention was not to give Timbaland 500,000 dollars and make an album with him. It never was. I was told "why don't you work with RedOne ?" I answered "I already made a title with him and I hated it"…I like what he did for Gaga but that's not for me. I was not willing to buy a sound!

[macboll]

Well, in the end you've called Pharrell Williams to feature in "Celebrate" ?

 

I wanted to work with him for my second album. I got in touch with him. He said ok, it's 100,000 dollars. You give me 50.000 dollars now and the other half when the album's done. I sent an email to his management, asking : "Is this a joke ?" This time, we made 2 titles together. No agreement, no money, no conditions.No problem at all. He was completely cool/laidback, he realized that I wanted his musicality not his name. All I wanted was to have fun with him.

 

--Steven BELLERY

[macboll]

The ironing doesn´t run away while you are here. It´s a good idea to be here

 

The ironing's calling I was happy to pop in and help.

[tiibet]

Thank you Muriel!

[Sabine64]

The ironing's calling I was happy to pop in and help.

 

Thank you again

[Etoile2roses]

You said that Mika stated that he cannot listen to jazz and therefore he is a liar and it's been demonstrated that he did not say he doesn't listen to jazz. I don't see how "everybody's right and wrong". It's not a matter of opinion, it's a matter of fact.

 

I have been going to jazz clubs for 25 years and was at the opening of the Toronto Jazz Festival on Friday night. I think it is entirely accurate to say that I like jazz but I would never say that I "understand" jazz in the way that Mika must understand pop and classical music since he studied classical music and makes pop for a living. Obviously his relationship to jazz is different but that doesn't mean he is incapable of listening to it and is therefore lying.

 

I did not talk only for "jazz music" when I said sometimes he sounds like a "liar" or like some one you say: "he is coloring his stories", it is more "kind"... there are plenty of example here on MFC, of how Mika make contradictions on differents subjects, so stop to "jump" on me like that... and for Jazz music it is how I "understand" between the lines what he said during this interview...

 

ok now you can speaking about the kick ass theory: so 2 days, 1 week written and how he said that it was his favorite song and now that he always hated it... another one ?

 

And about the flood, what can we say ?

[suzie]

for Jazz music it is how I "understand" between the lines what he said during this interview...

 

When someone asks Mika "jazz, pop or rock" and he answers "jazz, because I don't understand it", for most people it is clear he'd choose jazz as a territory to explore, whilst others seem to interpret it as him uncapable of listening to jazz.

Sure some people also believe 2+2 add up to 5 sometimes and that's what we were talking about when he was called a 'liar'. Not everyone has the same understanding of even the simplest things he says.

[Christine]

there are plenty of example here on MFC, of how Mika make contradictions on differents subjects, so stop to "jump" on me like that... and for Jazz music it is how I "understand" between the lines what he said during this interview...

 

I am not jumping on you. I am not even trying saying that Mika never lies. We all know he makes up nonsense about having a dog named Gertrude and exaggerates numbers when he's bragging about how many people turned up at his secret gig or fainted in the audience. I am just trying to clarify this one point of fact.

 

You can draw whatever conclusions you want about what Mika says but you can't put words in his mouth. It is a simple fact that he did not say that he "can't listen to jazz" and I don't like seeing misinformation spread on MFC. I've been around here for a long time and I know that by next week this will become "fact" in people's minds and 2 years later people will still be talking about what a liar Mika is because he said he "can't listen to jazz" and later on pretended that he listens to jazz. If it's not clarified now we will have to have this conversation over and over again because the myth will never die.

 

ok now you can speaking about the kick ass theory: so 2 days, 1 week written and how he said that it was his favorite song and now that he always hated it... another one ?

 

Does anyone know where he said this thing about Kick Ass being his favourite song? I don't remember it. I always suspected he had an issue with it because he refused to perform it for the longest time and we had to nag, nag, nag for him to play it live.

 

And about the flood, what can we say ?

 

What flood? Sorry I'm lost now.

[mari62]

Does anyone know where he said this thing about Kick Ass being his favourite song? I don't remember it. I always suspected he had an issue with it because he refused to perform it for the longest time and we had to nag, nag, nag for him to play it live.

 

I did a little bit of research but I couldn't find any proof, that he ever stated he liked the song

[guylainem123]

When someone asks Mika "jazz, pop or rock" and he answers "jazz, because I don't understand it", for most people it is clear he'd choose jazz as a territory to explore, whilst others seem to interpret it as him uncapable of listening to jazz.

Sure some people also believe 2+2 add up to 5 sometimes and that's what we were talking about when he was called a 'liar'. Not everyone has the same understanding of even the simplest things he says.

 

it could be a mix up between the word "stand" and "understand"

 

i can't "stand" jazz versus i can't "understand" jazz

 

[Sabine64]

I did a little bit of research but I couldn't find any proof, that he ever stated he liked the song

 

As far as I know he stated that he liked the film and that the music on the film was fun because Matthew Waughn was so picky with music, he told it here

And then I can remember him talking about working with Red One and all he said about it was that Red One was a very fast worker.

Btw when I read this interview now I think he didn´t mean he hates the song Kick Ass but the way how he made it with Red One ( in two days, only by computer ), this is my interpretation of this one sentence

 

What I forgot to say is that I think it´s not Mika making the most contradictions but we fans do that. We read something and interprete things into it, it´s quite normal, and then we say " he said....!", this also happenes often enough with things he never said in a special sense.

The Gertrude story was clear, he was annoyed by the stupid way the interview went and he wanted to fool the hosts.

Edited June 26, 2012 by Sabine64

[suzie]

it could be a mix up between the word "stand" and "understand"

 

i can't "stand" jazz versus i can't "understand" jazz

 

 

You mean for a non-native speaker? yes, could be:dunno:

But since Mika himself incorporates swing-jazz elements into his live performances to me there is no question he likes jazz.

[guylainem123]

You mean for a non-native speaker? yes, could be:dunno:

 

yes, that's what i mean

 

But since Mika himself incorporates swing-jazz elements into his live performances to me there is no question he likes jazz.

 

you mean like in Billy Brown?

 

i'm not a fan of jazz myself But i might find myself at the opening of the Montreal jazz festival this week.. Rufus will be there

[suzie]

Does anyone know where he said this thing about Kick Ass being his favourite song? I don't remember it. I always suspected he had an issue with it because he refused to perform it for the longest time and we had to nag, nag, nag for him to play it live.

 

I thought so, too. Maybe that's why he sent someone around to ask Sara's opinion on that?

It must be difficult to be politically correct and evaluate a piece of work that is only partly his and what he needs to stand by as a song because of commercial reasons.

In my opinion, it must take a while for a musician to be able to reflect on their own songs in an objective manner so it would be good to have his view on his two earlier albums now.

[suzie]

yes, that's what i mean

 

I agree. The subtleness in what he says gets lost in translation, so someone who may not speak English that well or does not understand Mika's sense of humour might have difficulty in figuring out if he is joking, unsure or tries to make hints without revealing it all...etc.

 

I used to have problems years ago on MFC and off-line, too, when trying to figure if some 'sarcastic' people were joking or not. Now since I know them from their posts or in real life there is no problem with that.

 

i'm not a fan of jazz myself But i might find myself at the opening of the Montreal jazz festival this week.. Rufus will be there

There are several varieties in jazz and historically as well it went through an evolution. I don't "understand" () them all but the intro to Lollipop he performed with the clarinet player ( ) two weeks ago sounded pretty much like 1920's swing jazz to me - something people used to dance the charlston to -, to name a current example.

 

PS. Lucky you with that festival - and Rufus. Will Nikki Yanofsky perform as well?

Edited June 26, 2012 by suzie

[Christine]

What I forgot to say is that I think it´s not Mika making the most contradictions but we fans do that.

 

Yes, exactly. Although in all fairness...

 

I agree. The subtleness in what he says gets lost in translation, so someone who may not speak English that well or does not understand Mika's sense of humour might have difficulty in figuring out if he is joking, unsure or tries to make hints without revealing it all...etc.

 

...in all fairness I think he doesn't communicate his thoughts very clearly sometimes. I think he says misleading things that would lead anyone to believe things that are not true.

 

This happened when he said one of his favourite things was driving in a car and later said that he didn't have a driver's license. I don't think his intention was to lie about this at all and in fact he is the one who cleared up the misunderstanding later (I just came across this last week in one of his old blogs, where he explained.) Anyone, even an English speaker, will assume when you say "driving" that you mean you are the driver and not that you are being driven.

 

But to characterize this lack of clarity as some sort of lie is ridiculous IMO.

[Marilyn Mastin]

I thought so, too. Maybe that's why he sent someone around to ask Sara's opinion on that?

It must be difficult to be politically correct and evaluate a piece of work that is only partly his and what he needs to stand by as a song because of commercial reasons.

In my opinion, it must take a while for a musician to be able to reflect on their own songs in an objective manner so it would be good to have his view on his two earlier albums now.

Well I think Kick-Ass would have left a sour taste in Mika's mouth. It certainly left one in mine. Not because of the song itself, but how it was handled.

Mika was asked to write a song to a big movie.

He duly obliged.

It wasn't in the movie. It got stuck at the very end of the credits.

He made a video for the single and it didn't even get onto the bonus features of the DVD

There was no promotion and no radio play. No one outside of Mika fandom knew it existed.

Therefore, someone was taking the you-know-what out of Mika. It was disgraceful.

So if he has no affection for the song anymore, I'm really not surprised.

[mari62]

As far as I know he stated that he liked the film and that the music on the film was fun because Matthew Waughn was so picky with music, he told it here

And then I can remember him talking about working with Red One and all he said about it was that Red One was a very fast worker.

Btw when I read this interview now I think he didn´t mean he hates the song Kick Ass but the way how he made it with Red One ( in two days, only by computer ), this is my interpretation of this one sentence

 

What I forgot to say is that I think it´s not Mika making the most contradictions but we fans do that. We read something and interprete things into it, it´s quite normal, and then we say " he said....!", this also happenes often enough with things he never said in a special sense.

The Gertrude story was clear, he was annoyed by the stupid way the interview went and he wanted to fool the hosts.

Thanks for the link, Sabine: doesn't he say "I actually quite liked it" (meaning the song) ? Edited June 26, 2012 by mari62

[suzie]

Thanks for the link, Sabine: doesn't he say "I actually quite liked it" (meaning the song) ?

 

That's exactly the subtleness in language we are talking about. Logically thinking, when he is talking about writing a song in a hurry and comments on the end result as 'I quite like it' sounds to me like it was ok but not something he is particularly proud of.... (?) What else was he supposed to say, in any case.

 

It's not that he hates KA otherwise he would have objected to its release but it probably runs with some other songs he does not feel strong enough to perform live and I think he is right about it.

Edited June 26, 2012 by suzie