Victoria and Vancouver Island have a lot of musical talent, and Victoria Buzz wants to highlight some of the best and brightest local artists and bands.
Every Monday, there will be a fresh ‘New Music Monday’ article to help people find and support local artists and bands that are up-and-coming, well established or hidden gems!
For this endeavour, Victoria Buzz has partnered with our good friends at CFUV 101.9 FM, UVic’s campus radio station, to find and select the musicians and bands for this regular column.
To date, there have been 68 New Music Monday features published through this collaboration.
This week, MIINA is the New Music Monday highlight!
MIINA is the project of Laura Mina Mitic and her friends following her past band Carmanah dissolving.
She said she loved playing in Carmanah, but after the pandemic, things felt a bit different as everyone came out of that time in a slightly different headspace.
“There was this moment of stepping back and reflecting, and I did a lot of songwriting during that time that focused inwards a bit more on my artistry, my maturity and my voice, and I started playing more keys,” Miina told Victoria Buzz.
The new band formed in 2023, and though it is primarily a solo project, it frequently features Mitic’s husband Pat Ferguson on guitar, Jamil Demers on bass, Graham Keehn on drums and Chelsea Kanstrup and Lo Waight-Keehn on backup vocals.
MIINA likened the project to that of one of her idols, Feist, who often plays solo shows but frequently has a band working with her depending on the performance.
“It’s nice because it gives me the flexibility to explore my own musicianship,” said MIINA.
“I can perform solo as MIINA, but I can still play with a band and really honour the musicians that I’ve been playing with for so long, but also bring on new musicians and be inspired by new players.”
In 2023, MIINA released her first EP, Slow Motion, and has since been working hard to hone her alternative dream pop sound.
Now, just three short years later, MIINA is getting ready to release her debut full-length record, Where the Light Goes, which is set to come out on March 20th.
She says that the new album ended up revolving a bit around themes of motivation.
“It ended up being a bit of a pep talk to me and hopefully to the listeners too,” said MIINA.
“The driving force of the album is strength, inner-strength, and sort of urging on people who maybe feel similar to how I do, where I have a lot of empathy for the planet and for my fellow humans, and so I feel like anyone who is resonating with the words will hear some of that.”
She added that she wants this record to feel like a loving message to anyone who is struggling.
MIINA says that for the first time she allowed her music to get a little political on this album as well.
“There’s a couple of songs that really criticize the world as we know it,” she explained.
“There are a couple moments that really call out some of the things that really get to me, but with a bow on top, like, we got this if we stick together and tackle this with love and kindness.”
Highlight Track – “Live My Life on Holiday”
MIINA just released a music video for one of the album’s singles, “Live My Life on Holiday.”
She says that the song is one that she demoed at home as she kept layering instruments and vocals until it gradually grew into what ended up going on the album.
MIINA explained to Victoria Buzz that the song fits well into the themes of the record, about finding peace but not by becoming numb to the world at large.
“[It’s about] strength and awareness, and embracing all parts of ourselves while not getting bogged down by all of the many things there are to be upset about,” she said.
“It ended up as this song that is about breaking free and that was intentional… It’s got this sassy verse with this full, cinematic chorus that was really fun to create.”
MIINA says that for the music video, she got to go out and have fun on an old, abandoned road.
“Essencially, I just ran around with a bunch of dogs,” MIINA laughed.
“It’s all about someone who is on the run, but I’m not sure how much to give away because there’s a moment in the video that is almost an ‘a-ha’ moment.”
She did tease that the central theme of the video revolves around fighting back against the daily grind.
See the full music video for “Live My Life on Holiday” by MIINA below:
Listen to the song and the other singles from MIINA’s forthcoming album, and pre-save the release on Tidal, Apple Music and Spotify.
Where the Light Goes is slated to drop in its entirety in less than a month, on March 20th.
To promote this new record, MIINA will be hitting the road on a nationwide tour that will see her take a bus that runs on veggie oil across Canada along with fellow Victoria singer-songwriter Dana Sipos.
Sipos also just released a full-length album, Golden Molten, that can be described as “cosmic folk.”
They have booked the Capital Ballroom while on their way back from out east on May 9th, and will also be playing in Nanaimo, Cumberland, Port McNeill and Tofino.
Follow MIINA on Instagram to stay up-to-date on all upcoming shows and music releases.
Related:
- New Music Monday: Dana Sipos releases ‘Golden Molten’ ahead of nation-wide tour
- New Music Monday: CORRODE releases split EP with hockey-themed hardcore band Slewfoot
- New Music Monday: Porcelain Horse release chart topping EP years after break up
CFUV is a non-profit campus and community radio station that plays a ton of local music of all kinds across Vancouver Island. If you like to support local music they are an amazing resource with a plethora of new local tunes in their arsenal.
“I remember being a student at UVic and going into CFUV, and thinking it was such a cool space,” said MIINA.
“It’s so important to have spaces like that to not only discover music as a listener, but also for people to experience being a DJ, or being on the back end of radio.”
“Spaces like that are so sacred and I’m really happy that Victoria has that,” she added.
Tune into CFUV 101.9 FM on air or online!
Let us know what you think of MIINA in the comments below!
