Mika: "My sister's accident made me think"
At the age of only 27, the singer has a great career behind him. Meeting on the occasion of a visit to France, before a concert at Compiègne.
Orange pants, lock of hair the same color, childish smile, Mika is in Paris. Revealed in 2007 with his debut album Life in Cartoon Motion has sold in France to more than 1.2 million copies, it is about to release his third album. Last Wednesday, the singer had also made a special trip from London to talk to some journalists. And it previewed the US-Lebanese singer 27 years will sing some of his new songs during a unique concert in France on July 9 at Compiègne.
You become a star within 5 years...
No, I’m not a star. It’s funny, because I can do several concerts at Bercy, then take a walk in the street, very quietly. People look at me but do not often approach me. I’m not in the tabloids, I’m not a celebrity. Fortunately, because I tell a lot of crap and if it is known, I would be expelled from all parts of Paris!
There is a rumour that you have moved to Paris. Is it true?
I live in London and I also have a home in the U.S. because I work a lot there. For Paris, it is a false info, this is not the first … I love coming here but I could not live there because my whole family is in London. Honestly I do so much touring, it’s been five years since I live nowhere. Or rather everywhere.
Why present your new songs on stage?
I will not present the whole album, I’ll just try a few titles. I did not want to do a concert in France this summer and I wanted it to be outdoors, so that it has a taste of the festival. I chose Compiègne for the place is very beautiful. Well, I do not yet know the city but I downloaded a lot of plans Compiègne on my computer. Like that now I know where it is…
What can we expect on this new disc?
It will be a great pop album in English, also with songs in French. To do this, I chose a songwriter named Dorian, it was he who actually wrote the French version of Grace Kelly. I must admit it makes me a little scared to sing in the language of Molière…
What topics will you discuss?
He spent a lot of things in my personal life lately. The accident of my sister Paloma (who had a fall from fourth floor of his London flat, then impaled on a grid in October 2010, Ed) made me think a lot. So, I took a little break and this time I wanted to securities that are not too childish. I wrote twelve songs of love and tolerance. The album will be called The Origin of Love. I’m trying to record from Los Angeles, Miami and Montreal. For now, there are seven songs ready, and I need two.
How is your sister?
She made enormous progress. She fights. It is now surprising everyone… She wants to prove she can walk again and lead a completely normal life. I have no doubt about its success and the doctors are even amazed. It was hard for me, but, working in depth on this new CD really helped me.
Mika：姊姊的意外令我想深了
現年27歲的歌手Mika背後有著成功的音樂事業。我們就在他貢比涅演唱會前，到訪法國期間跟他會面，談了一會。
橙色長褲，一綹相同顏色的頭髮，像小孩一樣的笑容，Mika現身處巴黎。2007年出道推出Life In Cartoon Motion大碟，在法國的銷量達120萬之多；也是時候推出第三張專輯了。上個星期三Mika就跟了一些記者來了一次特別的倫敦行，也談了自己的一些事；同時這位27歲的美國黎巴嫩混血兒歌手，也預告了他將會在7月9日貢比涅這場獨一無二的個唱上跟大家表演新歌。
5年之內你就成為超級巨星了⋯⋯
不，我不是甚麼巨星。的確是很有趣的，我可以在Bercy（法國巴黎東部城鎮）開完幾場演唱會後，到街上靜靜的散散步。那裡的人即使認出我，也只會望著我，通常不會上前接近我或找我。我不是那些小報上的人物或主角，也不是名人。我實在應該興幸的，因為一直以來我跟人說了很多屁話，如果我真的這樣有名的話，我大概會被逐出巴黎了。
有傳聞說你搬來巴黎住了，事情是怎樣的？
我住在倫敦，但在美國也有一間房子，因為我常在那裡工作。而我住在巴黎的消息嘛，不是真的；已經不是第一次聽到這樣的謠言了。我很喜歡來這裡，但因為我的家人都在倫敦，所以就是不能在這裡定居。老實說我到處遊歷得太多了，已經有5年沒有住處，或者四海為家。
為甚麼要在台上表演新歌呢？
我不會演唱整張新專輯的，只會選幾首來試試。本來我今個夏天不想在法國開演唱會的。我想在戶外開演唱會，這樣會有音樂節的味道。我選擇貢比涅是因為這地方真的很美。嗯，其實我不太熟悉這個城市，但我已經下載了很多貢比涅的地圖到我的電腦裡去。至少現在我知道她的位置⋯⋯
我們可以期望新專輯裡會有些甚麼呢？
它將會是一隻很棒的英語流行專輯，也會收錄幾首法文歌。我找了一位叫Dorian的作曲人，就是當年寫法語版Grace Kelly的那位。我承認要我唱Molière的語言，我是有點怕的⋯⋯
新專輯會用甚麼取材呢？
近來我在自己的私人生活上花了不少精力。我姊姊Paloma的意外（去年10月Mika的姊姊Paloma從她倫敦的住所單位4樓高處墮下，並被圍欄刺過身體）令我想深了點。所以從那時開始我稍息了一會，並決定今次我要表現得不再幼稚。我寫了12首關於愛與包容的歌。新專輯將會叫‘The Origin of Love’。我嘗試在洛杉磯、邁亞密和蒙特利爾錄音。現階段我已經完成了7首歌，我還需要多2首。
你姊姊現在的情況怎樣？
她康復的進度十分良好。她一直在搏鬥，時時刻刻都給每個人帶來驚喜⋯⋯她想證明自己能再次走路，以及能恢復完全正常的生活。我沒有對她的成功有過任何的懷疑，醫生們也為她的鬥志和進度感到吃驚。它對我來說是一段頗艱難的日子，可是深入地為這張唱片努力，真的能幫到我不少。
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English translation by Google Translate
Chinese translation by MIKAmaze HK
Original article in French via France Soir
