The musician mistaken for Prince
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Beard game strong: Miguel is flattered by the Prince comparisons, but hopes to outgrow them.
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GRAMMY winner Miguel was quite chuffed when his new song Leaves “wrote itself”.
The song in question is one of the highlights on his highlight-heavy third album Wildheart.
“The guitar riff just came to me in such a subconscious way, the song literally wrote itself in minutes,” Miguel says.
One slight problem: shortly Miguel realised the self-propelled riff was familiar — he’d “subconsciously” recycled the guitar riff from Smashing Pumpkins’ 1996 hit 1979.
“It was kind of reminiscent of 1979,” Miguel admits. “I was a fan of them growing up, but I never bought their albums or saw them live. It’s weird how some things just sink in.”
Luckily for Miguel a costly Blurred Lines legal moment was avoided as the realisation came before Leaves was released. Smashing Pumpkin Billy Corgan was contacted and he approved the use of his song and gets a co-writing credit.
Easy rider … Miguel has an ode to pornos made in the Valley on his new album. Picture: Getty
Source: Getty Images
“Towards the end of the song when the drum programming kicks in it’s even more reminiscent (of 1979), you realise it in a more straight-on way. It’s cool they were cool about everything. It’s all about respect. We’re all standing on the shoulders of giants at this point.”
Wildheart is many things — a love letter to California, a statement against “social programming” and, in one song, a seriously explicit ode to the pornographic film industry.
That track, The Valley, has graphic lyrics which could create a backlash. Miguel doesn’t care.
“That’s the nature of the whole concept of the album,” he says. “I feel absolutely comfortable just saying whatever the f— I think, however I see it and not being apologetic about it. There’s a more aggressive energy which is what makes it stand out from my last album.
“This album is not only a man with talent and vision but a man with talent, vision and purpose. That is the difference between this album and the last album. There’s another level that’s driving this album.”
Miguel, 29, won a Grammy for Best R & B Song for Adorn, from his breakthrough 2012 album Kaleidoscope Dream. The album’s success saw him duet with Mariah Carey, write lyrics for Beyonce’s Rocket and was recruited by Lorde to sing with the Chemical Brothers for the Hunger Games soundtrack she curated.
There was also the unfortunate incident on stage at a Billboard Awards show when he jumped and hit two audience members in the head, one apparently laughed it off, another is reportedly suing. “I’m letting my lawyer deal with that,” he says. “I’m focusing on this album.”
Dangerous jump … Miguel mid-flight at the Billboard Awards. Picture: Getty
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Miguel points to What’s Normal Anyway as Wildheart’s core message — he sings of growing up feeling “too proper for the black kids, too black for the Mexicans”.
“In the journey of becoming wildhearted asking that question is pivotal,” he says. “When you ask yourself what does normality really mean, you realise that normality is subjective and based on people’s experience which has nothing to do with you and everything to do with circumstance and personality. All these variables you have no control over.
“Then you start to care less about how your actions and opinions make you look or how they affect people. Then you operate from a place that is more true to who you are and what you care about, to your core values. It’s not completely selfish in that way, it’s more honest with yourself and who you are.”
Miguel was one of the many musicians who publicly praised Taylor Swift’s open letter to Apple over not paying artists during the launch period of their new streaming service.
“If I had written that letter Apple would have looked at me like I was crazy,” he laughs. “It would have been like ‘Yeah, so what?’ It’s awesome an artist like Taylor Swift did that, not only for herself but for the community of musicians, she really did affect all of us. It’s incredible. You’ve gotta be appreciative of that.”
Loved up … Miguel and his long-term girlfriend, model Nazanin Mandi. Picture: Instagram
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Miguel sees himself as one of the artists proving making album is “not a dying art.” As one operating in the age of streaming, how does he see the set up?
“I understand the mechanics of everything at this point, there are some things that can be improved upon to make sure artists and the people creating the music are being compensated fairly. I have faith we’ll get there. It’s things like what Taylor Swift said and artists standing up for ourselves will help us get there faster.”
Wildheart features a cameo from Lenny Kravitz (”He’s the O.G, he made what I’m doing possible”) but early reviews have continued to compare him to Prince.
“I take it as a compliment in general,” Miguel says. “I do know that with consistency in doing what I do there will be a time when I solidify myself as who I am. When Prince was on his way to becoming iconic people compared him to James Brown and Rick James. But there comes a certain point when you’re consistently doing your thing and people eventually drop those comparisons. I’m hoping to get there. I intend on getting there.”
HEAR Wildheart (Sony) out tomorrow.
SEE Miguel, Soulfest, The Domain Sydney October 24, Sidney Myer Music Bowl Melbourne October 25. Soulfest.com.au
