Jan 2007

Take a light sprinkle of Freddie Mercury, add a dash of Beck, mix with a drop of Prince, a pinch of Bolan, stir well eh voila! Ladies and Gentlemen, please meet Mika. 'Life In Cartoon Motion' is the debut album from musical virtuoso Mika, the sort of goose-bump-brilliant star that British pop is in desperate need of right now, and who is being tipped as a major breakthrough artist for 2007

Debonair, with a touch of degenerate dandy, Mika has a stunning, you-wouldn't-believe-it life story (born in Beirut, grew up in the war, a father held hostage in an embassy in Kuwait, self-imposed exile in Paris before settling in London) and you have the first chapter in a story that is destined to keep us enthralled for the foreseeable future. You may already be aware of his signature song, 'Grace Kelly', a sensational 4/4 opera set to a technicolour pop backdrop. The infectious pomp of 'Grace Kelly' became a benchmark for where Mika wanted to go, with the results displayed in gloriously full effect on 'Life in Cartoon Motion'.

A songwriter, performer, producer and orchestrator, Mika's songs combine a heady euphoric rush with darker unexpected elements: daytime melodramas and night-time tales of love, loss, abandonment, hope and happiness. The album also comes with some brilliant artwork created by Mika himself.

HMV CD Editor

Having witnessed Mika perform the debut album live twice already in 2006, he was unknown, I knew this Beirut-born talent was going to be massive.

His first download/vinyl only single "Relax (Take It Easy)/ Billy Brown" is a marvellous piece of music and has a dance/electro feel about it which was automatically A-Listed on Radio even though it wasnt getting a proper physical release.

Lollipop and Love Today are 2 tracks that Mika sings about young females not getting forced into certain situations too early and sounds like tracks the Scissor Sisters wrote.

Not only are there up tempo tracks on the album but also ballad tracks such as My Interpretation and Happy ending, never the less, still beautiful. The album is a wonderful energetic piece of powerful pop ballads and will be a cert to be an album of the year.

Daniel Crann, HMV Harrogate