Mija (DJ)

Mija
Birth name Amber Giles
Born (1992-05-30) May 30, 1992
Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • DJ
  • music producer
  • promoter
Instruments
  • turntables
  • synthesiser
  • sampler
  • sequencer
  • personal computer
Years active 2012–present
Labels
Associated acts
Website www.hi-mija.com

Amber Giles (born 30 May 1992[2]), known professionally as Mija, is an American electronic music producer, DJ, and promoter, originally from Phoenix, Arizona, who came to attention in 2014 after she played with Skrillex. She is known for playing genre-crossing sets and her "signature disheveled sea foam green hair".[3]

Personal life

Giles was born in Phoenix, Arizona, where she was in a choir that toured France and Canada.[4] She gave up singing as her family could not afford it,[4] and she became a rave promoter aged 17;[2] she was a fan of drum and bass and happy hardcore, including DJ Hixxy.[5] She has dyed her hair since she first worked, including pink, blonde, and blue, but prefers aqua seafoam green.[6] She is into skateboarding.[5]

Career

As a promoter she booked Skrillex before he came to mainstream attention.[5] She lived with several DJs when she was 18,[7] and after briefly studying fashion she dropped out[1] and started DJing full time in Phoenix in 2012 aged 19. Initially she played events such as weddings,[2] and later the Sheraton Hotel[4] and parties in Downtown Phoenix.[2] She moved away from rave and played more disco house,[6] collaborating with Eric Daily on Deux Yeux, a French house and nu-disco duo.[8] She got the name "Mija" (Spanish for "my daughter") as a nickname from her then-boyfriend.[4][9] Billboard listed her among "15 Female DJs You Need to Know Now" in October 2015.[10]

Giles describes her musical style as "fk a genre", not liking to be categorised.[1][2] Her manager is Jeffrey O'Neill of Blood Company[11][12] and her agents are AM Only.[12] Giles feels that she has been the equal of her male peers and that the male domination of the EDM scene is slowly changing;[3][7][13] she says "I don't think about it often -- only when asked in interviews".[6]

Discography

Year Artist Track Label
2014 Aden X Claude VonStroke X Kill Frenzy "Whip It Down Girl (Mija Mashup)" Self-released
2014 Diplo feat. Angger Dimas & Travis Porter "Biggie Bounce (Ghastly x Mija Ass & Titties Mix)" Self-released
2014 Anna Lunoe "BBD V NBD (Mija Mashup)" Self-released
2014 Ghastly & Mija feat. Lil Jon "Crank It" OWSLA
2015 Major Lazer feat. Wild Belle "B2GETHER (Mija Remix)" Self-released
2016 Darren Styles "Come Running (Mija Remix)" Never B Alone
2016 Zimmer feat. Emilie Adams "Escape (Durante Remix) [Mija x Fan Fiction NXC Edit]" Never B Alone
2016 DJ Snake feat. Bipolar Sunshine "Middle (Mija Remix)" OWSLA
2016 Mija & Vindata "Better" OWSLA
2016 Massive Attack "Paradise Circus (Mija Remix)" Never B Alone
2016 A-Trak & Tommy Trash "Lose My Mind (Mija Remix)" Fool's Gold Records

Breakthrough

In June 2014 she played at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Tennessee on the Burning Man art car Kalliope after being spotted at a local gig in Phoenix on her 22nd birthday the weekend before.[1][2] She played the "sunrise set" at 6 a.m. and Skrillex, who had been driving around in a golf cart as the silent disco was closed, came across the stage and asked to play a back-to-back set with her, though Mija is not sure he recognised her from when she had booked him in Phoenix. The set received significant attention, but Giles was unaware their sets had been recorded until two weeks later.[4][14][15] That August she played Burning Man[2][9] and then in September of that year she played TomorrowWorld in Atlanta on the Black Butter Records stage after winning a mix contest.[7][16] She began to learn production and organised a tour in Mexico.[4] Encouraged by Skrillex, she moved to Downtown Los Angeles in October 2014.[3][4][9][17]

Appearances

In March 2015 she played at Miami Music Week in Miami,[4] then in April she played Coachella.[5] That June she did a back-to-back set with Anna Lunoe in LA, before they performed in the Full Flex Express Tour around Canada over eight nights.[18] In August she played at the Shambhala[6] and HARD Summer music festivals, playing a remix of Major Lazer's Be Together.[19] In September–October 2015, she did a sick af. World Tour, ending in Asia supporting Skrillex's tour.[3][13][20] She was the only female performer on the lineup for the Road to Ultra in Singapore and the Philippines, closing the Philippines festival with Skrillex on stage.[3] She announced her second world tour "sick af. V2" from February to May 2016 of the US, Canada, Mexico and Australia.[21]

Releases

On Skrillex's label OWSLA, which she has described as being like a family,[5][7] she released "Crank It" with Ghastly featuring Lil Jon, her first music video.[2][7] She has also released a remix of Major Lazer's "Be Together",[2] and is planning an EP release.[4] In January 2016, she remixed "Come Running" by Darren Styles and "Middle" by DJ Snake.[22]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "[Interview] Crankin' it With Mija". Only The Beat. February 6, 2015. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Barna, Ben (August 25, 2015). "Band Crush: Mija. Introducing EDM's Next Superstar". Nylon. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Mija: Green and Mean". Status. November 6, 2015. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Ohanesian, Liz (July 22, 2015). "A Chance DJ Set With Skrillex Helped Make Mija a Rising Star of EDM". LA Weekly. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Newhallmay, Theo (May 12, 2015). "Post-Chella Interview – Mija". Your EDM. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Advincula, Christina B. (September 11, 2015). "What You Need To Know About DJ MIJA: Before she rocks Road To Ultra Singapore". Clozette Insider. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Wan, Jasmine (September 15, 2015). "A Moment With... DJ Mija". Lifestyle Asia. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  8. ↑ "People's Imports/Party to the People". ReverbNation. April 28, 2012. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
  9. 1 2 3 M, Logan (December 1, 2014). "Artist Spotlight:Mija". The Well. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
  10. ↑ Medved, Matt (October 3, 2015). "15 Female DJs You Need to Know Now". Billboard. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
  11. ↑ Fiction, Fan (May 2015). "Interview:Mija". Nest HQ. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
  12. 1 2 "Mija". Blood Company. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  13. 1 2 Wycech, Olivia (July 28, 2015). "Skrillex Announces a Massive Tour Across Asia". Mixmag Asia. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
  14. ↑ Medved, Matt (September 28, 2014). "15 TomorrowWorld 2014 Day 2 Highlights: Skrillex, Dillon Francis, Bob Moses & More". Billboard. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Download Mija's B2B Sunrise Set from Bonnaroo w/ Skrillex". 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Mija". AM Only. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  17. ↑ «Shredding a tidal wave of whiskey on a surfboard made out of don't care.»
  18. ↑ Orenstein, Carré (June 23, 2015). "Mija & Anna Lunoe in the Lab LA". Mixmag. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
  19. ↑ "8 Tracks That Smashed Hard Summer". Mixmag. August 3, 2015. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Q&A: We Talked to Mija Before She Sets Out on Tour With Skrillex in Asia". Mixmag Asia. September 11, 2015. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
  21. ↑ "Mija Shares a New Remix of Darren Styles and Announces Her Second World Tour". Magnetic. January 22, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  22. ↑ Yau, Jeffrey (January 27, 2016). "Mija Gives Us a Colorful Flip of DJ Snake's 'The Middle'". Your EDM. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
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