Interviewing singer Mia George

1. How would you describe your musical journey, and what first inspired you to become a singer?

I never set out to be, and I’ve never really pursued it. I left school and did some mundane jobs, got interested in marketing, got involved in my local music scene, starting using social media to promote brands and bands and then a couple of quite significant life events made me step away from that. Social media can be toxic and I reevaluated what I was doing and why. Then a few years later I met a guy who became a really good friend to me and heard me sing, and I opened up about how I liked writing songs. We had very similar taste and ideas and he helped to record my music.

2. Was there a particular artist or song that made you realize music was something you wanted to pursue professionally?

My dad’s a huge George Michael fan, but also a huge music fan, totally eclectic taste, and so growing up I was treated to these wide ranging sing-a-longs in the car with him – from ABBA to Creedence Clearwater Revival to Santana, The Stones, Fleetwood Mac, contemporary pop songs, dance music, even Hip Hop. If he loved a song, connected with it in anyway, the genre or the artist didn’t matter but it made me realise how different people could express themselves in a multitude of ways. But I remember hearing those first few bars of ‘Faith’ as a small child and being instantly hooked.

3. How would you describe your sound and your identity as an artist?

I guess other people define you, that’s really something that I hint at in my songs but for me I just strive for authenticity. I want to express something true and real, and hope that connects or resonates with other people. In terms of my sound, well that’s pretty eclectic too, I guess. I am part Spanish and currently live over there and I’ve become increasingly drawn to that sound, and passion, so that’s definitely formed a big part of my musical identity and the sound I want to create.

4. What emotions do you hope your audience feels when they listen to your music? 

Passion! Mine, theirs… I think music, art, is about connection. Finding an emotional truth, I hope people can hear that and find it when they listen to my music.

5. How do you approach the creative process when you are writing or recording a new song?

I tend to think in concepts… or I get a line or a thought or feeling I want to explore and then my mind makes crazy connections to other things, books, movies, etc and I start to build a story from there.

6. Is there a song in your career that has a particularly special meaning for you?

I said my dad was a big George Michael fan, and there was a moment when I first heard ‘One More Try’ that just gave me goosebumps. If you know the song it’s the moment George sings “And I think it’s time, you let me know.” WOW. It went through me in a completely different way to anything I’d heard before. His voice, the production, just blew me away. I’ve strived for that moment ever since.

7. How important is it for you to tell a story through your music?

Storytelling is everything! I think it’s how we make sense of the world, of our lives, of our identity, so it’s really important to me that my music reflects the way I think. 

8. What has been the most memorable moment of your career so far? 

I think when we first recorded and finished Desperado and we played it back to the team. It was the first song that was complete and I was blown away by how good it sounded, the musicians we found to work with were phenomenal and it just captured this really live, raw sound that we’d been looking for. I’d never heard myself like that before.

9. What challenges have you faced as an artist, and what have they taught you?

 I think the biggest challenge has been searching inside for the inspiration and pushing through the hard bits, finding the resilience. This isn’t just musically though, that’s like a life lesson. After I was attacked, when I was recovering in hospital, I kind of made a vow to myself that my second chance wouldn’t be wasted.

10. How do you prepare yourself mentally and emotionally before going on stage?

It might sound strange but I don’t really get nervous. Obviously if I perform in front of people I worry that I won’t put on a good show, an audience deserves their money’s worth, and in a studio you can just retake. So yeah I don’t tend to need to have any rituals or mental psyche up, I want to do it and get out there. It’s probably more like staying prepared in life, looking after my health and mental well-being, spending time in nature, staying focussed and present in life, and then I can translate that into a performance.

11. If you could collaborate with any singer or musician, living or legendary, who would you choose and why?

To share a stage with George Michael would obviously be a dream, an impossible dream, and there are so many legendary artists it would be amazing to collab with. Mostly I just want to do my own thing though, although it would be hard to turn down Gaga if she called me up!

12. What do you think makes an artist truly unforgettable?

I think there’s an obvious iconography to so many people, like their image, place in our culture but I think it’s actually a very unique and personal thing. For example, I don’t find the artists I love unforgettable because they’re giants of music, it’s because of the way their songs make me feel.

13. What are your dreams and ambitions for the next chapter of your career? 

I’m not in this for fame or fortune. I’ve enjoyed making the songs, the whole creative process and I’d obviously like them to find an audience I can connect with, but most of I set out to make good songs, stretch myself imaginatively, creatively but also make something that was accessible and fun. I think we achieved that and so I will just be happy to find an audience at this point and try to develop my sound. I think when the rest of the songs are released you’ll see they move into an interesting direction that I want to explore more.

14. Finally, if you could describe your musical journey in just three words, what would they be?

Unexpected, exhilarating, blessed