This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Artist News Gigs & Festivals Releases
Mika announces new album
By Andy Malt | Published on Monday 3 June 2019
Mika has announced that he will release his fifth album, ‘My Name Is Michael Holbrook’, in October. Getting the ball rolling, he’s put out new single ‘Ice Cream’.
“‘Ice Cream’ was written on a day of extreme heat”, says Mika, which makes sense, I guess. “It was the last few weeks of writing for the album; a writing period that lasted two years. Through the writing I had confronted personal, serious and at times painful issues, now I felt lighter and freer”.
“It was August in Italy”, he continues. “I wanted to run away to the sea, or just about anywhere. I dreamt about summer flings with someone totally stunning and out of my reach, I dreamt about the other person I always wish I was during the summer. Instead I was left with all the discomforts of summer heat. Sweat, work deadlines, bee stings, and all this with no AC”.
Is he finished? No. He goes on: “The song is a daydream fantasy. It shimmers like a mirage, and makes me feel like anything is possible. Inspired by the irreverent attitude of the music of the 90s; George Michael among others. Dare to be the more proud version of yourself. Dare to be a sensual man, dare to express out loud the desires you always keep inside your head. That’s why and how I wrote it”.
‘My Name Is Michael Holbrook’ is set for release on 4 Oct. And yes, that is his real name, if you were wondering. Actually, apparently his full name is Michael Holbrook Penniman Jr, but that would make quite an unwieldy album title, I suppose. Maybe you could make a nice banner asking if that’s the reason he shortened his name for the album’s title to hold up when he plays Shepherds Bush Empire in London on 10 Nov.
