Mika Penniman Still suffering from His Sisters Fall from window
Maverick singer-songwriter: In the past five years Mika has grown up, fallen in love and become more open about his sexuality
A great deal has happened to Mika Penniman since his chart-topping debut single Grace Kelly and six-million-selling debut album Life In Cartoon Motion.
In the past five years, the maverick singer-songwriter has grown up, fallen in love and become more open about his sexuality.
His 2009 follow-up album, The Boy Who Knew Too Much, might have sold ‘only’ two million — a substantial drop from its 2007 Brit-winning predecessor — but it still gave Mika a platform to tour the world three times . . . and become an unlikely star in the Middle East.
Nothing, however, prepared the Beirut-born, London-raised star for the near-tragic events of late 2010, when his sister Paloma — who worked as his stylist — fell 50ft from the window of her fourth-floor flat in Kensington. Mika, who was working on a new album at the time, put everything on hold as Paloma fought for her life in hospital.
It is only now, with his sister having made a ‘miraculous’ recovery, that Mika can put the accident into perspective.
The family have always been close — they were evacuated from war-torn Lebanon when Mika was a baby then lived in Paris until he was nine before moving to the UK. Paloma’s accident affected them all profoundly, and made Mika take stock of his life.
He explains: ‘Paloma has been weak on her left side since birth, and has a tendency to lose her balance. That’s what happened when she leant out of her bedroom window that night. She fell and impaled herself on the railings below.
‘A neighbour heard the crash and held her for an hour. He saved her life by slapping her face to keep her conscious.
‘They operated on her for 17 hours, starting while she was still in the helicopter, and the medics prepared us for the worst. She should be dead but she was saved by the NHS. She’s since had tendon transplants and is learning to walk again.’
He goes on: ‘It was only after she had made a recovery that doctors said defied medical science that I could work again. The incident had a massive effect on me.
‘It showed me that you could lose everything you take for granted in five seconds, so I vowed to make the most of my situation. It’s bizarre that something so tragic, albeit with a happy ending, was the catalyst for a set of really joyous songs.’
Those songs can now be heard on Mika’s forthcoming third album, The Origin Of Love. Drawing once more on his distinctive, five-octave voice, it dampens down the widescreen approach of his first two albums by adding subtle electronics and more heartfelt, acoustic flavours.
'Miraculous' recovery: Only now can Mika put his sister Paloma's accident into perspective after she fell 50ft from the window of her fourth-floor flat in Kensington and impaled herself on the railings below
While none of its 13 tracks deal directly with his sister’s accident, the album’s life-affirming tone has its roots in her recuperation.
It also brings a lot of other talent into the mix. For instance, new single Celebrate was written with American rap pioneer Pharrell Williams and produced by Australian electronics wizard Nick Littlemore.
Pioneer: Mika wrote new single Celebrate with American rapper Pharrell Williams
As one half of dance duo Pnau, Nick enjoyed a hit in the summer with Good Morning To The Night, an album recreating Elton John’s classic hits. Mika says: ‘Celebrate is the kind of song that is only possible when everyone throws themselves into a session without any ego. And that open attitude is at the heart of the album. You might recognise my fingerprints but it’s an evolution. You can’t stay in the same place.’
The new, upfront Mika is more open about his sexual orientation, too. In the past, he would only evasively talk about the ‘blurring’ of sexual labels. Now the 29-year-old admits: ‘My sexuality isn’t relevant to my music but if someone asks me about it I can say I’m gay.
‘My sexual preferences have always been the same but my comfort level has changed. In the past, it weighed on me because nobody in my family is gay. I had no role models so I had to find my own way. It wasn’t always easy, as I’m naturally a private person, but I’m now in a happy relationship and I can write more openly about love.
‘In my older songs, I used to hide behind fictional characters to deflect attention away from myself. The new songs are more honest.’
Having limbered up for his new album with open-air concerts in Lebanon and North Africa - plus an ‘insane’ gig at London 2012’s women’s beach volleyball final - Mika is hitting the road again. One of our most idiosyncratic talents is firmly back on the map.
‘My goal was to write songs that pushed my career forward,’ he says. ‘Are they commercial? I don’t know. But it’s a beautiful album - the kind of record that needs to be made.’
MIKA’S single Celebrate is out on Sunday. His album The Origin Of Love follows on October 8. The UK tour starts on December 13 at The Roundhouse, London (gigsandtours.com).
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