Introducing #146 - Mia Nicolai
Let us introduce you to Mia Nicolai - who has just released her anthemic pop diamond of a single ‘People Pleaser’. She took a moment to talk to us about her music.
Hey Mia, how are you?
I'm really great actually! It's been a rollercoaster this last year in many ways but it seems that finally, things are starting to settle and go back to normal a bit which I'm super excited about!
So your new track ‘People Pleaser’ is out now - can you tell us what it is about?
Absolutely! It's about realizing you're people-pleasing and wanting to get out of that way of being as it never helps anyone, neither yourself as the person you are pleasing cos, in the end, i think everyone prefers people who are true to themselves right? this song is kind of a self-help book where i describe the problem, tell myself it's okay, but also realise that I NEED to find who I truly am in my own values and not in other people's values..
You were born in Amsterdam to a Russian mother and Dutch father - where are you based now?
Currently, i am "based" back in Amsterdam after years of living overseas but I don't see myself staying here much longer so I think this answer is going to change soon to "I'm based in LA or London or some other crazy place"
Where do you go for adventures?
I definitely go overseas for adventures!!! I love moving to a city and not knowing anyone and starting over and just meeting people randomly in coffee shops or on the street or in the subway and yes all these different things happened and I still got great friendships with some of the people I met in the most random ways.
Music started at quite a young age for you, can you tell us a bit more about that? What are your fondest childhood memories when it comes to music?
it did! my mom told me that when my sister started playing violin and piano at age 6 I was so eager to learn as well and if her stories are correct I used to walk in my sister's classes and go behind the piano and play what i heard them playing, sadly though my personality was a bit in the way to becoming a professional instrumentalist of any kind haha I'm horrible at practicing.. but working on it now so maybe i'll be able to play guitar during my gigs soon!! when the world opens and stuff
Fondest childhood memory would be the intensity of the music at cirque du soleil i really loved feeling the bass frequency in my tummy and actually I still love it when this happens, it kind of feels as if you got butterflies flying around! as if I'm falling in love with the music.
What are your key musical influences?
That would be depth! I love layers and depth in songs when the production has elements that give a new meaning to the story like how Ryan Raines put the telephone effect in the mutual needs song, it just showed everything that the song is about in one effect. I love that kind of stuff!
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never listened to your music before?
I like calling it Attitude Pop which to me means pop music with a lot of elements from quirky indie genres and raw concepts in the lyrics about big feelings sung in a big feeling type of way.