Mïka Gets Honest and Raw About Music, New Sounds and Release of "Happy"

It's nothing new, ladies are taking over the industry. Sitting down with Mika pushed me to get back into my element. Sharing the stories of songwriters that keeps it 100% real - allowing you to live vicariously through them. Building lasting experiences through music, Mika is doing it effortlessly. We chatted about her new single "Happy" and the legacy of truth she is building with her music career.

Nia Rice: Congrats on your release of "Happy", it sounds amazing, what was the inspiration behind it?

Mïka: Thank you! I’m so excited to be releasing this song. It’s been a lot of hard work but totally worth it.

So with most of the songs that I write, I am working through and processing a specific emotion. I always say that my music is like therapy for me.

So with the song "Happy", I wrote it during quarantine. I was having a really hard time because I had a lot of personal and health issues going on.

I was sitting on my piano and I was thinking about that morning when I woke up and I was laying in my bed and I just wasn’t feeling happy that day. Nothing specifically happened that morning to make me not feel happy, I just woke up feeling sad and frustrated.

And I realize that sometimes we want to be happy and we feel like we should be happy, but for some reason, we just really struggle with it. And some days or even weeks or months you are sad and you just wish that you could be happy.

So I guess this song was just my way of working through the fact that I want to be happy, and sometimes I’m just not.

NR: How did you get started in music? What have you learned since?

Mïka: I have been doing music my whole life. When I was a child - and a teenager - I performed, sang, and danced. I was also in musical theater, I’ve been playing the piano since I was about 11 years old and I’ve been singing basically since I could talk.

Over the years I’ve put a lot of time and effort and practice into refining my skills and learn music theory. A few months ago, I decided I wanted to move forward with the process of recording and producing my music.

With the help of my amazing manager and producer, we’ve been able to create some beautiful music. That has been a huge learning experience for me and something that I have appreciated so much.

NR: Describe your music to me in 5 words?

Mïka: Ohh five words to describe my music. That’s kind of tough; honest, raw, emotional, relatable, real. A lot of people use the word “sad” to describe my music, but I don’t like to think of the emotions I am portraying to be “sad”, I just think that they’re very intense and real emotions that most people can relate to.

NR: What's the biggest message that you want to convey to your fans?

Mïka: I guess I would say that life is hard and complicated, and the best thing that you can do is try to find a way to take all the pain inside of you and work through it. Have a healthy outlet.

That’s what I do with my music-I use it as therapy. So everything that someone’s hearing and everything that they feel when they listen to my music, it is all the things that I’ve been feeling and working through and dealing with. I just hope that someone can listen to my music and relate to it and hopefully it helps them heal.

NR: What else can we expect for you to release this year?

Mïka: I’ve been working on a few different songs! I’m super excited for everyone to hear them. The next few songs are going to be crossing into maybe slightly different styles, as we are trying to be really creative with the way that each individual song sounds.

We are also releasing a music video for Happy on 25 of June, which I’m so excited about. Throughout the year we will be releasing some live acoustic versions of my songs also. I like the idea of my listeners getting to hear my song the way that I wrote it in my bedroom.

NR: What do your dream collaborations look like?

Mïka: Honestly there are so many incredible artists out there, and there are so many people that I would be honored to work with. My two dream artists; My current favorite artist is Julia Wolf. I think she’s so incredible and I would just be so honored to be able to work with her. NF is someone that I think is just absolutely insanely talented, and I know that it’s a totally different genre that I work in, but I think it would be just incredible to be able to collaborate

NR: What's the legacy that you want to leave?

Mïka: Legacy… that’s tough. I suppose I like people always knowing that I’m real and honest with them, even if it is really difficult or isn’t received well. I think being True to yourself, and showing who you really are is so important. And so even with my music, I use that same approach. My music is very emotionally raw and it works through a lot of very intense things, and even though it puts me in a vulnerable position sharing that, I’m hoping that listening to my music can be an experience that makes a positive impact on someone’s life.

Follow Mïka:

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http://itunes.apple.com/album/id/1569619145