Sephira Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 This interview is lovely but nothing new is say what he said several time but in a different way. I'm just happy to see Mika happy, and he is cute when he's shy This is not the interview that will make me love the album it's all a matter of taste, I'm waiting to hear and we'll see Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 I don't know but I got this impression that he's not really happy with the way this whole Madonna/Gang Bang thing was handled Don't feel too sorry for him. He's crying all the way to the bank. I agree with him about buying music after you've connected with it and in fact those of us who were around in the 80s will know that it was really always this way. Unless I was already a big fan of an artist I never bought an album that I knew nothing about. It may be even easier today but everyone shared music before digital files were readily available. We recorded off the radio and made mix tapes from our friend's records, etc. You bought something once you loved a few songs so much you wanted to hear more of them. My approach is the same today except that I have the chance to sample even more music, which is good for the artist IMO. I'm sure I would never have even heard of Mika if it wasn't for the internet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellody Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 i LOVE this interview, thanks for posting! it's so good to see him so happy! and i also love what he has to say about music piracy - i agree with every single point he says! there's so much discussion about it in the (german) media atm, because of ACTA, and because of a relatively new political german party who call themselves the pirats and want to reform the copyright law. and in this discussion, i've read interviews with german artists who say that people have to be forced to keep on buying music instead of stealing it, by blocking all ways how people can steal music, etc. - but mika just has a very realistic view about it, it's absolutely true what he says! i illegally downloaded his first album, before buying it, and before buying a concert ticket - and i've bought every single cd (or music download, if it didn't come out on cd) he has released ever since! and the other side is also as true, those people who think it's ok to steal music and never buy it are wrong. although i think some of them do it because they hate the music industry as such - they want to support an artist, and not the record companies (they don't understand that not buying any music is the wrong way though...). i think this was one reason why GK was so successful, because it was a song that pointed a finger at the music industry, and many people could relate to that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeAreGolden* Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Strangely, I really don't want to know who the lucky one is. For me just seeing Mika so happy and talking so warmly is completely enough. As long as this person has such effect on Mika I don't have to know anything. I even want that he keeps his private life private if he feels it's better for a relationship. Does that sound sane? Of course it sounds sane I was so happy to see he's happy with someone too, don't get me wrong. It's just my curious side, I can't help it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basicamenteyo Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Don't feel too sorry for him. He's crying all the way to the bank. :lmao: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathouzouf Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 you're more than welcome Christine! Amen to what you say It's interesting what he states about music, and I agree with him. And I'm sooo glad to see him happy and at ease with himself It's obvious these days but there were slight signs last summer already (call me crazy if you want ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miro Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Don't feel too sorry for him. He's crying all the way to the bank. Already on digital spy Mika on Madonna hook-up: 'She wasn't asking for my opinion' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mari62 Posted June 21, 2012 Author Share Posted June 21, 2012 It's obvious these days but there were slight signs last summer already (call me crazy if you want )I think he changed a lot after his sister's accident Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kumazzz Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 A picture was taken at out of the door. Twitter @PurplePRMusic We're with @mikasounds doing some promo. Can you spot him? http://twitpic.com/9ym5te Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sienna Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Nice to watch an interview in English! Thank you for posting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hippieibbie Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Nice to watch an interview in English! Thank you for posting! Yeah something you atleast can understand:teehee: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeAreStrong! Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Oh what a nice interview, t4p! I can notice he's very happy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nenartus Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 It's obvious these days but there were slight signs last summer already (call me crazy if you want ) You're not crazy! He WAS kissing his microphone passionately while singing BIOTW with Ida last summer. How to forget such kiss. http://gifsoup.com/imager.php?id=2880654&t=o' alt='imager.php?id=2880654&t=o'> GIFSoup[/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzie Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Nice to watch an interview in English! That was my fist thought as well.. At first I was even reluctant to play it, thinking I wouldn't understand it anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimacuito Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 So hes not dating Dita! Think its Alex now! Anyways he looks really happy, hope he tells us who he is dating later Mika looks in love! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAK1 Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 So hes not dating Dita! Think its Alex now! Anyways he looks really happy, hope he tells us who he is dating later Mika looks in love! I honestly hope he doesn't say who it is. The poor person won't get a minutes peace, one way or another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzie Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 So hes not dating Dita! Think its Alex now! Yes, and hopefully it's me next - I'll ask him to keep it private though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 That was my fist thought as well.. At first I was even reluctant to play it, thinking I wouldn't understand it anyway. My biggest issue with French interviews is that Mika doesn't express himself in the same way. They are never as revealing as when he sits down for a long period of time with an English interviewer or writer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatagordinha Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 What a lovely interview! It feels like so long since we've had one like this . It's great to see him so happy and obviously in love..awwwww I agree with him completely word for word about the piracy issue, just for the record. t4p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiibet Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Finally managed to watch the interview and it really is as lovely as everyone is saying He sounds so open and so very happy and so pleased with the album I can't believe we can watch interviews like this, it's been a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Here's a transcript that should be easier to translate: I: Hello who are you? M: I'm Mika. I: Hi Mika, nice to meet you. M: Nice to meet you too. I: Hello, so how's your day been? M: It's like a date. I: How exciting. Tell me 3 things about you. M: Um, I can cook good tomato sauce, I have a dog and I'm pretty obsessive compulsive. I wash my hands a lot. A lot! I: Well good to know, good to know. So have you been on many dates at the moment? M: Not, no, actually not at the moment, not as many. I don't need to at the moment, let's put it that way. I: Ah, okay, you're currently seeing someone? M: Yes. I: Oh, okay, do we know this person or is it a mystery? M: No, uh. It's discreet. Which is, as always, if you ever want to have a relationship the more discreet you keep it (in my world?) the more chance you have of having it last. I: And how long have you been seeing this person for? M: Uh, awhile. I: Tell us more, go on. M: Awhile now, awhile. A lot of the record is the result of all that. I: Does this person have a name? Don't want surnames. M: No not yet, not yet. It wouldn't be fair. I: It's not Dita, is it? M: No, it's not Dita. It's far from Dita. Dita's...no. I: You went out with Dita last night. How was that? M: It was fun. I did, I went um on...well I have got this little kind of like old banger from the 1960s. It's an Austin Healey and I never drive it around because it's always raining and unfortunately because it's not a very high end vintage car it kind of stops running when the rain goes. We were driving around London and then when we came out we were kind of swamped and surrounded. The only thing I could think of when I was sitting in the car trying to get the car to start was if this car doesn't actually start and I'm stuck with Dita von Teese in a convertible - minute little Morris Minor convertible - it would probably be quite an embarrassing pap moment. It's cool. You know who doesn't want to go pick up Dita von Teese in the middle of Soho in a little red car? It's kind of perfect. I: Indeed. Did you play her any of your music? M: Yeah, we may be cooking something up together for one of the songs actually, so that's what we were kind of figuring out. I: So saying that, percentagewise, how complete is the album? M: The album is about 90% there now. I: Oh, so can I audition for it? M: You wanna be the last 10%? Uh yeah, you're welcome to. What can you do? I: So tell us a little bit about the album. M: The album is called The Origin of Love and it all started in Montreal and it's quite a collaborative record between me and Nick Littlemore from Empire of the Sun, who I started the album with. It's extremely joyful. It's kind of love songs that - like non traditional love songs. It's an alternative pop record fundamentally and it's full of joy and it's very honest. My heart is very much on my sleeve in this record and some of it is really exciting to me. I mean I kind of feel like I've got an album that I'm really proud of. Believe it or not that's a really...it doesn't happen that often where you actually sit there and you're like you know what some of this stuff is really stuff that I would hold up and just say "this is what I've done". I just want people to hear it, more than anything. I: So in mood and tempo does it vary from the previous two albums? M: It does vary. I mean it's so obviously still me but it's definitely an evolution. I had a couple of things that were very much at the forefront and I wanted to write a record that was joyful, that was mature at the same time. I wanted a record that had a certain lightness of touch in its production so that everything from Celebrate, for example, to the title track The Origin of Love has this kind of...it's pop, it's joyful, but it's not kind of like, it's not as frenetic or as hyperactive or attention seeking. Even though it's very, kind of, catchy, it's still got a lot going on. It just has this lightness to it which I really love, sonically. I think Nick helped me find that. I: So in that process as well you got involved with Madonna on Gang Bang. How did that come about? M: I was working with Priscilla Renea who is a co-writer of mine and we wrote this song called Bang Bang and it was full of all the statements that my grandfather used to say like, you know, "like a fish out of water", "like a bat out of hell". Things like "you may think it's you that I like the most but I'm just keeping my enemies close". These are all things that my granddad used to say. He was this kind of burly Arab guy who lived in New York. She, Madonna, heard the song because William Orbit presented it to her and I didn't know. As far as I was concerned it was just a song I was writing for myself. And then Madonna liked it and she recorded her version and in the end she adapted it. I was never in the studio with Madonna. The song got changed, I think, countless times and in the end it was called Gang Bang. Probably because there were so many people that worked on it and um it's kind of cool. I think it's probably - it's my favourite thing off that last record. It's kind of grown up in a weird sort of way. It's kind of, it's got this bitterness about it which is kind of cool to hear her (?) I: Did you hear the finished product when we heard it or did she send it to you? M: I heard the finished product along with everybody else. I wasn't... I: She wasn't asking for your opinion? M: She certainly wasn't asking for my opinion. I don't think she was interested. I: So going back to your debut album, a lot has changed musically since 2007. How do you feel you've changed as a person? M: I think I, I mean, I've changed tons. When I first put out my record I was in my early 20s. It was a record that was developed while I was at school at music college in London. And ever since then I've been on the road. I've been writing more songs. I've been becoming - I got my first job when I was 10 because I was kicked out of school and I started working in classical music. Really I've been working since I was 10 but at the same time I'd never been working as an artist writing my own material. Finally I've been doing that now for 5 years. And yeah, I've changed a lot. I've kind of, I've found a way to be happy and fundamentally that's the most important thing when you're a musician. You kind of just want to do things that make you happy. I: A few times in the past the press have asked you about your sexuality and you said you didn't believe in labels. Did that have anything to do with being unhappy? Do you feel that now that you're happy you...? M: Well that's actually a really good way to put it. I mean I have this really kind of strong opinion about when you have, when there's a young artist that the press are chasing. Especially the sort of hardcore press, chasing about labels or getting someone to come out or something like that. And really it has to be... each individual is completely different. It's about your terms, it's about being comfortable in yourself, it's about blooming. And then once you're really happy, isn't that when you want to make those decisions about being more open in your private life? I certainly am much more happy and I feel like I've afforded myself a lot of privacy and a lot of discretion over the past 5 years of my life. I guess now, much more than ever before, I'm in a far more comfortable place to be a little bit more open about my private life. I write about it now in my songs. The album's called The Origin of Love and The Origin of Love as a song, it deals with a lot of my perspective on love, on joy, on sexuality, on the politics of sexuality, on even my relationship growing up in a Roman Catholic household. So yeah, I think that that is a much healthier way to approach the topic of sexuality when it comes to an artist. Deal with it when someone's happy. I: When you played me the album last time you said that some songs had leaked. What do you think of music piracy? M: My thoughts on music piracy... listen I think there's a balance. Firstly, I used to steal a lot more music than I do now. Now I kind of don't steal anything. I stream a lot of stuff off Youtube, like everybody. I kind of listen to a lot of stuff off Spotify. Inevitably I think me, like anybody else, I'll buy something once I connect with something. I think the days where you buy something outright before you have a chance to connect with it are kind of over. It's unrealistic for anyone to think that that's gonna happen. There's so much music, there's so much content nowadays that I just think that getting people to hear your music is the most important thing at the beginning of a project. Of course if someone likes one song, great. If they like two songs, great. If they like a little bit more than that, why not buy the record? That's kind of how I see it. Or even if not buy the record, then come to see a show. But definitely respect the process that goes in to making music. And I think that piracy as a kind of outright lifestyle - like just kind of stealing all your TV shows, stealing all your music, kind of doesn't make sense. You don't really get anything back. You know, you want to buy that ticket to go see somebody. You want to be part of someone's process and career legitimately. So I think there's definitely... to say that you have to pay for every single time that you discover music or to say that an advert should be placed in front of every single song when you hear it online is ludicrous. It's just like, for real? It just doesn't work like that. I: So apart from your music whose music should we buy this year? M: Uh, whose record should you buy this year? Um... I: It's fine, you can tweet it at us. M: You should buy my record this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ce_mika Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Here's a transcript that should be easier to translate: THANK YOU CHRISTINE!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyaboutmika Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 I just finished translating it in French I might edit it as I have the transcript now , but tomorrow I guess because it's getting late Thanks a lot Christine I did miss a few things Voix: Bonjour , qui êtes vous? Mika: Bonjour, je suis Mika. Voix: Ravi de vous rencontrer. Mika: Moi aussi. Voix: Dites moi trois choses sur vous? Mika: Je fais une délicieuse sauce tomate. J'ai un chien. Et je suis un peu omnubilé par le lavage de mes mains... Voix: Vous avez beaucoup de rendez vous amoureux en ce moment? Mika: Non, je n'en ai pas besoin en ce moment (grand sourire) Voix: D'accord, alors vous sortez avec quelqu'un? Mika: Oui (grand sourire) Voix: On peut savoir qui où c'est un mystère? Mika: Non, cela reste discret pour le moment. Comme toujours quand on veut qu'une relation fonctionne bien, il vaut mieux rester discret pour que ça dure. Voix: ça fait longtemps? Mika: (immense sourire) Un moment, ça fait un moment.Une grande partie de l'album résulte de tout ça. Voix: Un nom? Vous ne voulez pas donner de nom? Mika: (hyper souriant ) Non, pas encore. ça ne serait pas juste . Voix: Ce n'est pas Dita, n'est ce pas? Mika (rieur) Non, ce n'est pas Dita. (Mika rit) C'est loin d'être Dita) Voix: Mais vous êtes sorti avec Dita hier soir? Mika: Oui, on s'est bien amusés. On a pris ma vieille décapotable de collection (que je ne prends jamais d'habitude parce qu'il pleut tout le temps) et elle tombe en panne quand il pleut et je me suis dit si je me retrouve en panne avec Dita Von Teese dans ma décapotable, ça va être un moment très délicat . Mais qui ne rêve pas d'aller chercher Dita Von Teese dans un voiture rouge décapotable? C'est un moment parfait. Voix: Vous lui avez fait écouter vos chansons? Mika: Oui, il y a de fortes chance qu'elle collabore à l'une de mes chansons, c'est pour ça qu'on s'est vus. Voix: Quel est le pourcentage de l'album qui est fini? Mika: 90 pour cent. Voix: Je peux encore faire une audition pour y participer alors? Mika: Vous voulez faire les 10 pour cents restants? (rieur) Bien sûr. Vous savez faire quoi? Voix: Dites moi, on parle un peu de l'album? Mika: L'album s'appelle "The Origin Of Love"? Tout a commencé à Montréal et c'est un album avec beaucoup de collaborations notamment avec Nick Littlemore avec qui je l'ai commencé. Il se compose de chansons d'amour non traditionelles /conventionnelles, c'est fondamentalement un album de pop alternative . C'est un album rempli de joie, très honnête, j'ai laissé voir mes sentiments. Je me sens vraiment fier de cet album et je suis heureux du résultat ce qui n'est pas toujours le cas. Mais là, j'ai hâte de le partager. Voix: Il est different des albums précédents? Mika: Oui, il est très different. C'est tellement évident que c'est toujours moi , mais il y a une évolution. Ce que je voulais en priorité, c'était écrire un album joyeux, et plus mature en même temps , un disque plus léger au niveau de la production donc de Celebrate à The Origin Of Love qui donne son titre à l'album , c'est de la pop joyeuse mais sans être trop ostentatoire tout en restant en tête , légère et pleine de vie . Je voulais une sonorité légère pour mes chansons. Nick m'a aidé à trouver cela. Voix: Vous avez travaillé sur Gang Bang de Madonna. ça s'est passé comment? Mika: C'est Priscilla Rene , une de mes coauteurs , on a écrit cette chanson appellée Bang Bang qui est pleine de ses phrases que mon grand père disait comme par exemple, comme un poisson hors de l'eau , comme une chauve souris hors de l'enfer , ce genre de choses, ou encore vous pensez peut -être que c'est vous que j'aime le mieux , mais j'aime garder mes ennemis près de moi. Mon grand père disait vraiment ces choses là, il vivait à New York (deux mots de description du grand père que je ne comprends pas ) Madonna a entendu la chanson (mais je ne le savais pas) Je l'écrivais pour moi cette chanson. Elle a plu à Madonna qui a enregistré sa version, ensuite elle l'a adaptée, je n'ai jamais été en studio avec Madonna , la chanson a connu plein de changements , même le nom a changé , de Bang Bang, c'est devenu Gang Band (sans doute parce qu'il y a eu tellement de personnes qui ont travaillé dessus (rire de Mika) . Elle est assez cool, c'est ma préférée dans le dernier CD de Madonna . Elle a évolué d'une manière curieuse. Il y a de l'amertume dans cette chanson. Elle est assez cool à écouter. Voix: Quand avez vous entendu la version finale? Mika: Comme tout le monde quand elle est sortie, on ne m'a pas demandé mon avis, ça n'interessait pas Madonna (rires de Mika) Voix: On revient sur ton premier album, vous avez beaucoup a changé depuis 2007 musicalement parlant. Et en tant que personne? Mika: Je pense , je veux dire j'ai changé énormément (rires de Mika) Pour mon premier album j'étais encore proche de l'âge de vingt ans , j'y avais travaillé à l'école et aussi au College de musique de Londres . Depuis, j'ai passé beaucoup de temps sur la route et j'ai écrit beaucoup de chansons . J'ai eu mon premier travail à l'âge de dix ans parce que je m'étais fait virer de mon école et j'ai commencé à travailler dans la musique classique. J'ai donc commencé à travailler à dix ans, mais cela fait seulement cinq ans maintenant que j'écris des chansons . oui j'ai beaucoup changé , je trouve que j'ai trouvé une manière d'être heureux et fondamentalemnt c'est la chose la plus importante pour un musicien, on veut créer des choses qui vous rendent heureux . Voix: A plusieurs reprises dans le passé la presse vous a posé des questions sur votre sexualité et vous avez dit que vous ne croyez pas aux étiquettes , est-ce que ça a quelque chose à voir avec cette aptitude au bonheur que vous avez développé? Vous êtes heureux. Mika: C'est une jolie manière d'en parler . Mon conviction très forte est que en tant que jeune artiste , la presse met la pression et cherche à outer quequ'un par exemple, il faut savoir que chaque individu est different , l'important c'est d'être bien en accord avec soi même , mais c'est quand le coeur s'épanouit, quand on est vraiment bien avec quelqu'un, là c'est peut être le bon moment pour prendre une décision , vous savez de communiquer davantage sur votre vie privée . Il est certain que je me sens beaucoup plus heureux et je me suis offert beaucoup de discrétion les cinq dernières années de ma vie, je suis maintenant beaucoup plus à l'aise qu'auparavant , je peux peut-être me permettre d'être plus ouvert au sujet de ma vie privée . J'en parle dans les chansons de mon nouvel album. Il y a une chansons dans "The Origin Of Love" qui parle de ma vie, de mes perspectives , de l'amour, de la joie, de la sexualité, de la politique concernant la sexualité . Et le fait de grandir dans une famille catholique . C'est une façon plus saine de parler de sexualité pour un artiste. Faites avec quand quelqu'un est heureux. Voix: Il y a eu une fuite pour une de vos chansons. Et le piratage des chansons alors? Mika: Je crois que ça s'équilibre. Au début , je volais beaucoup plus de musique que maintenant. Maintenant je ne vole plus rien . J'écoute beaucoup de musique en streaing sur youtube comme tout le monde en strealing et je l'écoute aussi sur spotify. Mais inévitablement , chacun a besoin d'avoir un contact avec la musique avant de l'acheter , moi le premier . Le temps ou les personnes achetaient un CD sans l'avoir d'abord écouté en ligne est révolu . Ce serait irréaliste de penser autrement. Il y a tellement de musique, de contenu de nos jours . Le plus important , c'est que les gens écoutent votre musique dès le début du projet. c'est super si les gens aiment une chanson , s'ils en aiment deux ou plus pourquoi ils n'achéteraient pas le CD ou pourquoi ils n'iraient pas à des concerts? C'est mon point de vue. Cela fait partie du processus. La piraterie totale n'a pas de sens. Si on apprécie l'artiste, on veut participer à sa carrière et assister à ses concerts de façon legitime. Et non pas pirater. Donc je pense qu'on ne peut pas obliger les gens à payer à chaque fois , il faut un temps pour découvrir la musique, il ne devrait pas non plus y avoir une publicité en face de chaque chanson quand on l'écoute en ligne, c'est impossible, ça ne peut pas fonctionner comme ça. Voix: Et quels CD devrions nous acheter cette année? (à part le vôtre ) Mika: (rire) Quel CD cette année Je ne sais pas. Voix: Tant pis, ça ne fait rien. Mika : Just le mien alors . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyaboutmika Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 My biggest issue with French interviews is that Mika doesn't express himself in the same way. They are never as revealing as when he sits down for a long period of time with an English interviewer or writer. I totally agree with you Christine and I love this interview with Mika happy and in love I sensed that when I heard Make Me Happy and Celebrate And yes English is a more spontaneous language than French , it's the same way for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katydid1994 Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 well well well what a pretty smile oh to be the person putting that smile on his face Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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