“IT IS FUN. IT’S FUCKING FUN!”

Mika on making music, meeting the Queen and performing at Lovebox…

 

Where have you been?

I’ve been hiding, re-cooking something. I was on tour for almost 3 years and it made me approach my third album, which is what I’m finishing now, in a very different way.

Who have you been working with on it?

A lot with Empire Of The Sun, Pharrell Williams and 21 year-olds I found on the internet – a real mixture. I think this record has only been possible because of Skype and DropBox. It’s clear that I haven’t been isolated in this writing process.

Didn’t you work with Benni Benassi? He’s a favourite of mine.

We wrote a piece then I got it replayed by the London Symphony Orchestra. We took a dance approach to writing a song, and then re-humanised it in the production.

So is there going to be much of a club sound within the album?

I’ve taken electronic music and given it as much heart as I could so that it doesn’t just feel like it’s coming out of a box. I really wanted to use a lot of live instruments and work with programmers who make their own sounds. Far too often people are like, ‘Oh I want to make a record that has more of an electronic sound’ so they go shopping for a load of tracks, write some very linear top-lines and call it ‘progressive’. I wanted to make something that had an organic quality to it mixed with a very electronic side as well. I think my music has always been vaguely danceable. It’s also weird enough to be danced to by freaks and three year olds.

And we love a freak. So you wrote a track for Madonna’s album! Erm, amazing!

Well, yeah I did! I wrote something called ‘Bang Bang’ with William Orbit, who took it to Madonna and she loved it. She recorded it, adapting it to suit her album, and renamed it ‘Gang Bang’. Her version sounds quite different, but an artist who writes themselves is always going to interpret.

Would you like to work with her more directly?

I’m happy with the way this turned out. I’ve got Madonna singing one of my songs – that is good enough.

Do you read your own criticism?

Sometimes I read criticism if it’s intelligent, well structured and somebody’s actually spent a lot of time doing it. If I’m doing a tour I’ll definitely read the critics’ reviews for the first few months and then stop. It’s a funny balance – the good stuff can be equally destructive as the negative stuff because too much good feedback can just warp you. I go through periods of feeling like I’ve got elephant-like skin and periods where I just completely hide away in a bubble.

Are you comfortable with the term ‘pop star’?

Yeah, absolutely. It means something different to each person and it means something different in each country.

‘I praise your energy and your sense of life’ – The Queen on Mika

With the Jubilee coming up, what are your thoughts on the Royal Family?

They are absolutely fascinating, We’re really lucky to have them. They are held together by the monster of matriarch that is the queen, who is so incredibly impressive.

Have you met her?

I have. She said ‘I praise your energy and your sense of life’ which was really nice. But then the Duke of Edinburgh walked over to Michael Buble and said ‘It’s so good to meet the face behind the voice’ because apparently the Queen listens to Michael a lot, and I was like, “Shit! I just got ‘You jump around a lot, boy’.”

You’re a snappy dresser. How do you choose your clothes?

I have a weakness to choose things that I think are beautiful even if I know I’ll never wear them just because they’re nice pieces of art. The problem with that is nothing ever fits together, so now my approach is to stick within a brief. The devil’s in the detail. Technical stuff like structure is important. If your arse looks amazing and your legs look great and you feel good in them, then the trousers are working.

Lovebox, June 17th. Your first show in the UK in ages, and it’s on my stage! What have you got in store?

It’s either gonna be really up or completely, like, just stopping in it’s tracks for two minutes and then back in again. Full of contrast. I’m actually really looking forward to it.

Is it hard being Mika?

No, it’s not. It’s amazing. I have never been pushed into anything that I don’t want to do. I sell records and manage to fill at least a theatre or whatever around the world doing what I love.

Is it fun being Mika?

It’s full of extremes. You always want to create something better or new or contrasting. It is fun. It’s fucking fun. I can’t complain. There’s just nothing to complain about.

 

• Mika performs on the ‘This is… Circus stage’ in association with QX magazine at Lovebox on Sunday 17th June. Tickets: www.lovebox.net

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