Mijo You've Got Your Life Interview

You've got your life… so what are you going to do with it?

Melbourne musician Mijo Biscan is a songwriter willing to go the extra mile for his craft. Eager to push the concept of solitude as a pathway to inspiration, Mijo travelled to Iceland where he stayed alone in a remote weatherboard cabin, surrounded by mountains and a breathtaking fjord. "It was dead quiet. Shockingly quiet", he says. "In the midst of the silence, the only thing I could hear were my innermost thoughts waiting to manifest into new songs." Mijo's month-long songwriting retreat formed the genesis for a creative shift. It was the crucial starting point for his latest record Golden Moment.

A prolific songwriter, creative mindset coach, vegan of 18 years, sunny optimist usually seen sporting a bright yellow t-shirt, Mijo is determined to find the golden thread running through the mess of life. Golden Moment is Mijo's debut solo album.

Already an established and respected artist for over a decade, Mijo has enjoyed a rewarding career as the co-creator of the critically acclaimed band Lamplight and as a solo artist. Beat Magazine praised his work as "Moody, heartbreaking, stunning, fucking epic". As a solo artist, Mijo toured 13 countries of Europe and featured as a support act to Goyte, Missy Higgins, Clare Bowditch and Tommy Emmanuel, both in Australia and abroad.

Golden Moment is a full and symphonic collection of contrasting sounds: sometimes melodic and melancholic, theatrical and bombastic, or dynamic and intense. Soulful moments when Mijo's tender lyrics are draped delicately across strings contrast with joyous upswellings of guitar over which his bold voice soars. He says, "The album takes you into some darker territory and I explore challenging ideas but I'm a real optimist at heart. I'm really a fun guy, but even fun guys have feelings."

The album was created during a turbulent time. Mijo was re-establishing himself in Australia after working in Berlin for four years. "I threw myself into creating this album. I found a room in a house by the Yarra and pretty much locked myself inside for six months." What followed was "one of the most intense creative periods in my life. I was making music, painting, writing… pushing myself and feeling energised by all that creative energy".

This optimism is tied closely to Mijo's manifesto. "I place a lot of attention on self-actualisation", he says, "and everything I do is tied to the idea of reaching my full potential. I believe it's possible for everyone to live in alignment with their strengths, and that concept runs through each of the songs." This idea dominates the album's title track, which Mijo says is about experiencing the depth of the present moment instead of being trapped in the past or future. For Mijo, life is about extracting the gold in every moment.

Mijo wrote and pre-produced the songs for Golden Moment in Gotye's barn studio near Melbourne, before recording the album in Newmarket Studios with Callum Barter (Courtney Barnett/Kurt Vile/Foy Vance/). He says, "It was important for me to deliver an intimate, warm, rich sound. We recorded the album to tape and the musicians summoned every fibre of their being for each performance." The album is co-produced with Marty Brown (Art of Fighting/Clare Bowditch) and will be released in the second half of 2019.

With this swag of songs, it's no wonder that Mijo's own future looks so golden.

Interview with Mijo

Question: How would you describe your music?

Mijo: I'd say it generally falls under the umbrella of Alternative Rock. I think there's more to it than that. I aim to explore a breadth of ideas, moods and situation as a reflection of what life has to offer. I'd say that directs me towards thoughtful, poetic, considered, intense, uplifting, enlivening and hopeful.


Question: What motivates you most when writing music?

Mijo: I'm motivated to be present and open to whatever story or subject wants to be told or explored. I want to get to the heart of it. I want to stay authentic and express myself as purely in the moment as possible.

Question: Do you prefer performing live or recording?

Mijo: I love both. They are two very different ways of engaging with creativity and expression. There's a wonderful luxury of recording where you can tinker, build, go down dead-end alleyways and layer up extraordinary sounds. Though you can't do that live to the same extent, you get the chance to be totally present, focused and connect directly with an audience in an intimate way that can't be replicated later. I think of recording as perfection of the creative vision and performing live as connection with the vision and the audience.


Question: Which is your favourite song to perform live and why?

Mijo: One of my favourites would be "Golden Moment". I often start with it. It's a song about becoming deeply present in the current moment, rather than being stuck in the past or longing for a different future. It helps me get present and it gives the audience an access point to let go of their day and all be present in a shared experience of a night of music together.


Question: Which music/artists are you currently listening to?

Mijo: I'm always listening to Chet Baker (not Chet Faker). He's a jazz singer and trumpet player, most famous in the 50's. Though my singing style is very different to his, I love the Chet Baker Sings album. I think the link between us is the beauty on top with a dash of melancholy beneath. A well-rounded combo. It's my vocal warm up album and anytime album. It's likely the album I have listened to the most in my life.


Question: What or who was your inspiration to go into the music industry?

Mijo: In my late teens when I started singing more and thinking about writing songs, I came across a few bands I loved, started going to live shows and being inspired and activated by music. Augie March showed me a way that you could be expressive and poetic. Jeff Buckley showed me that you could do that AND be vulnerable and intense as well as quiet and gentle. Another immediate inspiration was my friend and songwriter Nick Lovell. We played music together in school, in a band together and he loaned me his guitar for my first open mic at The Arthouse in Melbourne. After that night I declared that I was doing this for life.


Question: If you could collaborate with another artist, who would it be?
Mijo: Rufus Wainwright. I love his music and singing along with his albums. There's something about singing harmonies with Rufus that feels perfect. When I saw him live recently, I could not stop singing at the show. I closed my eyes and imagined I was on stage with him doing the whole show as a duet (laughs)!


Question: What is the biggest challenge you have faced along the way to your musical success?

Mijo: Time to check out, write songs and develop as an artist. A few years ago, I decided to get me more of that, so I went to the far north of Iceland, on my own, in a cabin I rented, with no internet, TV, phone, and I just wrote songs every day for almost four weeks. It was a dream come true to just be immersed in that creative space.


Question: What's a typical day like?

Mijo: Get up, walk down to the beach, watch for dolphins, prepare my mind and body for the day, do some exercise, plan my day and then I go at it! That might include song-writing and always includes singing, recording or making music videos, etc. I also mentor other artists and run workshops for artists to get their own mindset right to do more of what they love. So, I spend time planning and doing those things too. The thing I run is called Creativity Mindset Mastery.


Question: What has been your favourite part of becoming a music artist?

Mijo: How challenging it is. Most artists don't dig that part of it, but I believe that my music practice gives me the place to work on myself in order to become a better person, artist and musician. It's my dojo where I learn about myself and work towards mastery of me and the music and building a career.


Question: Can you share your socials?
Mijo: Facebook.com/mijobiscanmusic
@mijobiscanmusic
Youtube.com/user/MijoBiscanMusic
@mijobiscanmusic
https://www.mijobiscan.com


Interview by Brooke Hunter