Divine Intervention
Mica Millar
Feature Interview
Halfway through making her debut album Heaven Knows, Mancunian soul artist Mica Millar began to feel unsure of herself. Heavily invested in the project, which she had self-produced and funded out of her own pocket, Millar felt stuck, as if she wasn’t really getting anywhere.
“I thought to myself, ‘What have you done? This is endless!’” Mica explains, able to reflect now on the process of creating and releasing an album independently that, ultimately, would be nominated for industry awards (voted Soul Act of the Year by the listeners of Jazz FM) and receive widespread critical acclaim.
“I was in quite a bad way,” Mica adds, the ‘c’ in her name pronounced hard—as in Michaela—unlike the ‘sh’ sound that fellow soul singer Mica Paris favoured. As Mica talks via Zoom, it’s mid-morning, and she’s seated, looking relaxed, wearing a white, cosy knit turtleneck jumper in the comfortable confines of her home studio in Levenshulme, located in the southeast district of Greater Manchester.
“Basically, I had already spent quite a lot of money,” she continues, “and I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. I was sort of in this state, not sure whether it was good enough or how I would finish it—every day just sitting at the computer, constantly changing and editing things.”
In an effort to take her mind off the project, she went trampolining with a friend. That's when tragedy struck: Mica ended up with a broken back, suffering the agony of a long-term injury. After surgery and a week-long stint in the hospital, followed by an intense 9-month rehab program, Mica effectively had to learn how to walk again.
At first, she was determined to carry on as normally as possible—even holding a PRS (Performing Rights Society) meeting in her kitchen just days after returning home—until she realised the pain was too much and that she had to stop until she felt better.
“I was in a back brace, in agony, and it was really difficult, but I felt relieved in a way. It was like, 'Well, you can’t do anything now!'”
Having originally committed 17 songs to tape, which would eventually be whittled down to 14, during a marathon session—a five-day residency at Middle Farm Studios in Devon, southwest England—the enforced break provided Mica with much-needed time to take stock and ponder what was required to complete the production. The additional disruption caused by the pandemic also helped clear the schedules of a who's who of industry icons, some of whom she perhaps wouldn't have had the opportunity to work with under normal circumstances.
Fortune favours the brave. Behind Mica, in her home studio, a framed quote reads, "If your dreams don't scare you, they aren't big enough." In that spirit, Mica boldly reached out to David Z, who produced the Prince classic "Kiss," securing his services along with bassists Vince Chiarito (Ikebe Shakedown), Jerry Barnes (Chic), and Brandon Rose (America's Got Talent); keyboardists Bobby Sparks (Kirk Franklin), Marc Morrison (Emeli Sandé), and Ricky Peterson (David Sanborn); drummer Jim Bertini (Johanna Warren); her mentor Brian Malouf (RCA Records); and mastering expert Geoff Pesche (Abbey Road Studios). After applying the finishing touches, completing the project wasn’t easy, but she got through it with the help and support of her family, especially her dad, she says, who really rallied round. “It was hell,” says Mica. “I had post-traumatic stress disorder from being on the medication and a lot of difficulty with the therapy, but I was like, ‘I’m not going to let this thing beat me when I’m halfway there.’ But I feel better now and really, the record was the thing that got me through."
“I’m not going to let this beat me when I’m half way there.”
Displaying a polish and sheen typically reserved for major-label releases (even down to the packaging and artwork, which Mica designed herself), Heaven Knows is a classy affair from the off, beginning with the ethereal opener “Girl” and rolling deep into “Preacher Man,” the second track. Written entirely by Millar, her debut album evokes the earthy and emotive spirit of Soulsville, channelling the essence of Ann Peebles and Dorothy Moore, with the contemporary revivalist nous of a Leela James or Amy Winehouse.
The singles that followed—the insistent "More Than You Give Me" and the after-hours blues of the title track (a song she wrote the day after her grandfather died), along with the assured "Flashlights"—have amassed more than 4 million streams on Spotify. With its warmth and crisp staccato strings, the sound of "Flashlights" is reminiscent of "Holding Back the Years" by Simply Red, the famed Manchester band from Denton, which is about a 15-minute drive from Mica via the A57. Not something Mica was striving for, at least not consciously.
"There's some Simply Red stuff I think is great," Mica responds initially, then smiles and adds, "But y'know, I don't like all of it." She believes that influences are absorbed over time, gathered through life's experiences, and eventually manifest in her expression. "I can't deny that anything could be an influence—it could be a sound, a conversation, or even that annoying siren going on outside," she laughs. "Flashlights” started out on the piano and then evolved, so it's not a direct reference, no, but if it sounds like that, then perhaps it's in there somewhere," she says, charitably.
The songs for Heaven Knows were mostly conceived during an intense six-month period of songwriting. Millar would wake up at 7 a.m., sit at the piano, and not retire until 2 a.m. A melody would often spark the stream of consciousness, inspiring a feeling or emotion that would then become a lyric. The misty-blue ballad "Will I See You Again" was crafted in this way, composed on the Roland keyboard within view on the other side of the room. She first played the song to her younger brother, James, who had the twinkle in his eye that Mica referred to in the CD credits. “My brother was involved in a long-distance relationship, and I was with somebody who was on tour, and I think my sister had split up with somebody. I remember saying to my brother, who was living with me at the time, ‘Listen to this,’ and he was like, ‘Oh, right. OK…'”
Growing up in Withington, South Manchester, James was into “emo” and used to wear a hoodie with Limp Bizkit written on the front. Music of all kinds was always playing in the Millar house; it was more than just a hobby. Mica’s dad was a musician, and her mum worked in public relations for EMI Records. Despite owning an album or two from the Now That’s What I Call Music! series (who hasn’t?), Mica was pretty much a soul girl from the beginning.
“I went to my room and played it on repeat. It gave me the sort of feeling that I just wanted to have.”
“My aunty gave me my first record player when I was eight years old,” Mica remembers. Her parents had stacks of vinyl but took time to carefully consider what to give their daughter to listen to, opting for four staples: Stevie Wonder, the Jackson 5, the Beach Boys, and the Beatles. But it was Wonder that resonated the most. “For me, it was “My Cherie Amour” and “For Once in My Life”—both of those were on that album. “For Once in My Life” has probably become overplayed, hasn’t it? But I still love it; it’s a classic. I had never heard anything like that before, and so I went to my room and just played it on repeat. It gave me the sort of feeling that I just wanted to have.”
Whether it was hip hop, house, or R&B, Mica found herself gravitating to music rooted in gospel and soul. “When I was a teenager, that was my thing”—Mica says 'thing' with a pronounced 'G,' as a proper northern lass should—"it was in my late teens and early twenties that I discovered there were people like me who loved soul music, and my understanding of the different cultures within soul music evolved over time, like the Northern Soul scene. To be honest, when I was introduced to it, I wasn’t sure about it, d’you know what I mean?"
Mica broke one of the cardinal rules of a Northern Soul event and carried her round across the dance floor.
“I took my drink, and they were like, ‘Noooooo!’”—she says, waving her hand to demonstrate panic— “I was told off. ‘There are NO drinks on the dance floor!’ I understood then that this was serious stuff!”
Identifying herself as a soul singer, it’s refreshing to have an artist in this day and age so confidently nail their colours to the mast, undaunted by the fear of being pigeonholed by genre.
"Ultimately, what's very important to me is to be very clear about the inspiration because, as a white woman singing soul music, there are complexities around that, so you have to have respect for the genre, the understanding, and the empathy. And it is soul; it comes from soul—all of my inspiration. Even the stuff that is a little bit left or alt-pop has got my voice on it, they can be defined as soulful as well [laughs]. So, yes, it is a soul record.”
Back when she sported a new-wave quiff, Mica's initial forays into being a recording artist were with the electronic dance band Red Sky Noise. She later recorded an entire unreleased album as part of a duo. However, after a rehearsal, her backing singers—who were soul singers in their own right and loved the way Mica’s voice sounded raw and unembellished—staged an intervention and had a word. From that point on, the soul became purer. The stunning single “My Lover” from 2017 is stark and solitary, with just Mica’s piano for accompaniment, and would thankfully be included on Heaven Knows. The next single, “The Defender”—which included a stirring multimedia campaign highlighting the work of good Samaritans—retained its soulfulness despite a heavy trip-hop feel, no doubt influenced by co-producer Goldie.
“It comes from soul - all of my inspiration.”
Renowned engineer Lewis Hopkins also assisted with production and continued into the initial sessions for Heaven Knows in Newton Abbot, on the cusp of Dartmoor National Park. Mica stayed in the mezzanine above the studio for the duration, not that there was much time spare to chill and take in the scenery.
"It was very challenging for me," Mica reflects. "Middle Farm is a really beautiful studio space, and it was summertime, so the surroundings were particularly gorgeous. Devon has this very spiritual feel. But it was the first time I was in an environment where I was paying everyone, and there was a lot of pressure. Everything was organised down to the bone; we had two hours to get it done and then move on. If I were to go back and produce another studio session, I would definitely try to do less in the same amount of time."
After the initial tracks were laid down, Hopkins and Millar parted ways, leaving Millar to take control as the sole producer. Although there have been pioneering female producers like Sylvia Robinson, Missy Elliott, Sammy J, and Georgia Anne Muldrow, it’s a field that remains predominantly male.
"Producing is a techy role as well, and while I don't want to stereotype, I think there are certain tendencies that are more common among women or men. It's not always the case, but I think men like to fiddle with drum EQs [laughs]. I'm not that kind of producer, I take advice from the people who are knowledgeable about the technical aspects because I know what I want sonically.”
Having crafted such a high-quality production as Heaven Knows, have there been offers to work on other artists' projects?
"I've met a lot of amazing artists, and often the conversations I have—especially with female artists—are very similar to where I was at the beginning. It's like, 'I want to make this album; I've got the songs, but I'm just not sure how to go about it.' And every time I have those conversations, I find myself on the verge of saying, 'No problem, I'll produce it for you!' But I have to keep winding myself back in," [laughs] Mica says. "I’d like to do one or two of my own records before I think about producing someone else’s because, I’ll be honest, I fumbled through this process, which is partly why it took me three years. But also, I’m a perfectionist," she admits before giving herself a pep talk. "No, you've got enough to do, thank you very much."
“The record was the thing that got me through.”
It's true; she has a lot on her plate: writing, recording, producing, directing, designing, and performing. Mica has so many credits on her album that probably even Prince would have been jealous. However, there are hints of what’s to come next. For instance, a song entitled "When You're Gone" has been showcased during her gigs. "I’ve got ideas that I’ve compiled into a playlist, but it’s not a quick process—not a D’Angelo-type of delay, mind—but there might be a wait for the next record. Besides, we’re still touring with this one."
Mica's vocal flourishes, both on record and live, have caught the ear of the UK jazz scene. Jazz FM, in particular, has heavily supported her album, and over the past year, Mica has been booked for numerous jazz events and festivals. She has appeared at the EFG London Jazz Festival, the Wigan Jazz Festival, and Love Supreme in East Sussex, to name a few, gracing the stage with an elegance and poise usually reserved for superstar torchlight singers. So much so that jazz aficionados feel justified in trying to claim her as one of their own. With an element of desperation, I feel it necessary to warn her of their intentions.
"I'll maintain it, don't worry," she says reassuringly, banging her palm on the desk in mock determination, steadfast in her commitment to soul music and as a keeper of the faith.
“Heaven Knows”
is available via bandcamp.com.
Words by Dan Dodds | Sketch by Russ Braun
Originally published on this site Nov 10th, 2023
