| | | |  | Mirra Jensen started performing at the age of two. It wasn’t long before this youngster, born for the stage, began performing with the Johnny Young Talent School and soon after their exclusive performance troupe Melbourne Young Company. In these early...
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| Interview | Access All Areas.net.au: Where did your music interest come from?
Mirra Jensen: Music has always been a big part of my life... I don't think there was ever any question what I would spend my time doing. The bigger questions were always how and why.
Access All Areas.net.au: How do you describe your style of music?
Mirra Jensen: There are so many so called styles of music these days, and I think that in many ways the categories discourage people listening to whatever grabs them. I tend to describe my music as crossover, I get strange looks from this because I rarely elaborate what the crossover is between... I tend to just shrug and say it's music!
Access All Areas.net.au: When a fan goes to one of your shows what can they expect?
Mirra Jensen: To see something outside the box! My shows aren't crazy in a theatrical sense, but I've spent a long time defining my style and being ok with something that just represents who I am as a person and musician.
Access All Areas.net.au: How has the band progressed in the time you've spent together?
Mirra Jensen: Being a solo artist is a bit different in a band sense as you don't get the same level of bonding as you do when there is only one line up. But on the flip side, every new musician you work with brings something unique to the mix.
Access All Areas.net.au: Do you feel your style has changed?
Mirra Jensen: Your artistic style always changes, it changes as you do as a person, and as the industry changes around you, it may just be subtle but your influences and always changing and shaping the way you work creatively. This is essentially what makes all artists different from one another.
Access All Areas.net.au: Do you prefer the recording or the live experience? Why?
Mirra Jensen: They are both just so different. I don't think I prefer one over the other, you definitely go in phases. Right now I'm keen to get back in the studio, but you just go with the flow cause you really have to do both (to stay sane as well as building your career).
Access All Areas.net.au: What are your thoughts on the current musical climate within Australia?
Mirra Jensen: It's a really nutty industry wherever you are, I don't think Australia's any different. As with anything it changes and grows, what might be a boom for some people is really difficult for others, and the other way around. The business side of things can swallow you whole if you let it, but there will always be a market for music. Whilst the technological advances may be shaking up the way that we enjoy it as consumers and the way we market it as creators, the market is still there.
Access All Areas.net.au: How do you feel you fit into that climate?
Mirra Jensen: I just keep keeping on. I love what I do, music always has a place, it always will.
Access All Areas.net.au: What have you learnt from being in the music industry?
Mirra Jensen: I think there is a huge contradiction in the type of people that the music industry attracts. It's hard work, you have to really live it, it's never just a job, and whilst most people know this, it's funny just how many people try and find a way around it. The reason it seems so glamorous from the outside is because when you do have successes, it's generally so triumphant because there has been so much sacrifice along the way. The biggest thing that I've learnt is that it's about the journey.
Access All Areas.net.au: Is there anyone you would like to record with?
Mirra Jensen: I love collaborating. If someone new crosses my path I always give co-writing a shot with them as you never know what will eventuate from there influence. But I think the right people to work with pop up at the right time, I've found it always works this way, so I just keep trusting what the universe provides. Who knows who I'll record with?
Access All Areas.net.au: Is there anyone you would like to tour with?
Mirra Jensen: I'd hate to be on tour and feel like I was just going through the motions. Touring, and especially travelling is generally a really inspiring time for writing, so as long as I'm continually inspired I'm not so fussed who it's by.
Access All Areas.net.au: What is the plan from here on in?
Mirra Jensen: It's all about getting your stuff out there. For me it's been really important to know that I'm creating the best stuff I can before really putting my profile up for inspection. I'd hate to have my 15 minutes with stuff that was created just to have 15 minutes!
Access All Areas.net.au: What can you tell us about your new release?
Mirra Jensen: My debut album titled "The Sound" was an amazing experience, we recorded it in Tuscany, Italy, after a few weeks of meetings in NY and LA. The whole thing put me on this huge learning curve, and I think the album really reflects the journey, not just in terms of getting a debut album completed, but all the inspiration along the way that is expressed through the project.
Access All Areas.net.au: Do you have any words of wisdom for any up and coming musicians?
Mirra Jensen: Do everything you can to better yourself as a musician and as a person and then trust the rest to the universe!
Access All Areas.net.au: Do you feel you have more control over your career as an independent singer/songwriter?
Mirra Jensen: Yeah, definitely. Very much so. Right now it suits me to stay independent as I just feel there is so much that I want to accomplish before being ready to co-exist with a major. The major's have there place, but it's just not a smooth ride if you're not ready for it, also it depends on what you want to achieve. If it's glory at any cost then start knocking on doors, but that's just not me... |
| Biography | Mirra Jensen started performing at the age of two. It wasn’t long before this youngster, born for the stage, began performing with the Johnny Young Talent School and soon after their exclusive performance troupe Melbourne Young Company. In these early years Mirra gained a vast array of credits and experiences including; commercials, voice over work, modelling work, television appearances, and live performances at major Australian festivals such as Moomba and The Melbourne Show. These experiences paved the way for leading roles in theatre productions such as Michael Gow’s ‘Away’, Oklahoma, Gigi, Sweet Charity and South Pacific, to name a few.
Having gained a coveted place at the prestigious Victorian College of the Arts, Mirra completed a Bachelor of Music Performance with Honours, and soon received the Murray Vagg Vocal Scholarship singing arias from opera. Through this time there were many guest appearances; as soloist with orchestra at a series of Bach Cantata’s (2001), at the State Theatre of Victoria, the Melbourne Concert Hall, as part of the Shakespeare festival (2003), and return performances at the exclusive Athenaeum club on Collins (2000).
Having embarked upon a European Performance tour through to recording the film score for ‘With What Caution’, and the premier performance of the new Opera ‘Deaths Messengers’ (2002) you realise that Mirra Jensen’s performance experiences are as diverse as they are numbered. After meetings with WMA in L.A. and other agents and attorneys in New York in 2004 Mirra Jensen’s first studio album ‘The Sound’ was recorded in Tuscany, Italy at Le Bozze Studio’s with producers Michael Puskas, Fillippo Gaetani and Sandro Ferrini.
Mirra Jensen is an artist who stands alone. She is quickly becoming renowned as an artist with an unwavering work ethic culminating in a respect for her growing artistic endeavours. Mirra’s creativity has a flare for all that is stylish, underlined with an earthy edge, let her music ignite your senses with unbridled positivity and a spark of enthusiasm that is truly contagious… |
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