Exposed Vocals Interviews Miu

Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?

Miu:I was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. That’s where I grew up, with my dad who’s a saxophone player and my mom, a milliner. Growing up, I always felt different from the other kids, I always felt that I had a lot to express, when I got around 9, I started writing, sketching, and singing everywhere, anytime. I was dealing with many issues in my mind, I wanted to express it someway without bothering my family. When I turned 18, a friend convinced me to enter a local contest, I composed my first song, distributed it to local radio stations. And It all started from there.

 

Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?

 

Miu: My birth name is Murielle, Miu (pronounced: me-you) was my nickname at home, I never really wonder how to spell it, until my best friend gave me a purse she handmade for me with my name on it and she wrote it that way M-I-U, I liked the spelling so I have decided to keep it as my stage name. Later on, I realized there was an Asian Miu out there, so I made a difference by adding the country I’m from behind my name: Miu Haiti.

Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?

 

Miu: When I was starting my music career, I knew it was important to give a free taste to the public , because I needed people to listen to my music, have their feedback. In Haiti, at that time, the only way to get heard was mainly from the radios, witch is difficult to achieve when you have no references and no background, the only option left was the internet and direct distribution to the public, through demos and performances. That’s how I made fans and build up my crowd.

Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?

Miu: I have 2 quick tips that I think is important to any start-up band or artist. First, producing the music is not the final point, when the song is ready for release, your work just got started, you need branding and listeners and you should be always looking for new ears. Second, you got to keep the production going, don’t stop: performances, new songs… keep working. When opportunities come your way you have to be prepared.

 

Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather song writing inspiration? What is your usual song writing process?

 

Miu: My inspiration can come from anything, a word I have heard randomly, people around me, their lives, any artistic work that catch my attention, my personal feelings, nature… anything. I don’t really have a process when I write my music, I may start with a melody itself or a melody with words, I may have the text written down waiting for the melody to come, I may have just a pattern in my head. As any project it always starts small, then it reaches the point when I feel it’s kind of complete, knowing the work of an artist will never be complete from his point of view.

Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?

 

Miu: My official website is: www.miuhaiti.com. I also can be found on all the social medias, that’s where I feed my public with news, so they can keep track of what I’m doing. My music is available on most of the music selling platforms online and also on https://soundcloud.com/miuhaiti and my official music videos on https://www.youtube.com/user/MiuHaitiVEVO

 

Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?

 

Miu: Well I would take that money and put it into work, preparing the next big move. I don’t need a year off, life is short and I have a lot of goals on my radar.

Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?

 

Miu: I promote my music in different ways: using online distribution and promotion services, social medias, with radio distribution and live performances. Overall, online advertisement and distribution works best for me.

Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

 

Miu: I always have things cooking in the oven, I’m not sure witch one is going to pop out first, as schedules can be shifted sometimes. Mainly I’m working on some collaborations with local and international artist, new songs and music video should be coming out soon. You must stay tuned.

Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?

 

Miu: I think I would be a fashion stylist. As a milliner’s child I grew up breathing fashion. I’m actually dipping my toes into this world. I’ve been making my stage outfits for a long time, I’ve even released a clothing collection two years ago, and I’m thinking of renewing the experience this summer.

Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?

 

Miu: Music is my number one priority, but there’s a time for everything in life, I make sure I keep mine balanced by allowing a time for each important part of my life.

Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?

 

Miu: As I said earlier, some collaborations; ll will have more music, more videos available to the public, and maybe some tours.