We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Miriam Nissan. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Miriam below.

Hi Miriam, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

The most meaningful project I have worked on was my second EP “Colorado 1996.” under the stage name Mimi Pretend. It was completely written and produced by myself as well as partially performed by myself as well. It was a culmination of stories, real life experiences, and a musical education I had taught myself as well as refined at my Grad school, CalArts. That record felt like a real maturation process of my art and my musical voice. Whereas previous songs I had written and put out felt like an experimentation with other people’s sounds. “Colorado 1996” felt truly and purely my own. The main influence was my life and the need to create a sonic universe rather than sound like a certain musician. Although I still have my musical influences, nothing is created in a vacuum after all, “CO 96” felt 100% Mimi Pretend.

Miriam, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am mainly a musician but I have a visual arts background as well. I studied printmaking for my BFA and then studied Composition and Experimental Sound Practices for my MFA at CalArts. Through my education at CalArts I focused on songwriting, audio engineering, sound design and film scoring. I have always loved the theme of duality in art. The beautiful with the ugly, the harsh with the soft, the surreal with the real. I incorporate a lot of field recordings into my music, scores, and sound design project to achieve this.

My goal for any musical project, whether it is a film score or an album, is to create a world sonically. I am very interested in creating an auditory story. I want people to listen to my music and feel like they are watching a movie or reading a book. Above all, I want people to listen to my lyrics and feel understood.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

As artists and creatives, a lot of us are hard wired to be driven and passionate – almost to a fault. I am very obsessive with my work and often will put friends, family, social obligations, etc., aside until I feel I have achieved what I set out to do creatively. This is something I have struggled with for a long time and is both a blessing and a curse. Most creative people understand this need and obsession – but I have also encountered a lot of people who don’t understand why they are “put second” in my life compared to my art.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Like I said earlier, my main goal with music is to make people feel understood. If someone can listen to my music and feel a shred of happiness, sadness, joy, grief, etc., because they too have had the same life experiences I have, that would make me feel complete. I just want to do for other people what my favorite artists did for me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mimipretend.bandcamp.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/mimi_pretend
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/mimipretend
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mimipretend
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/mimi-nissan

Image Credits

Anders Weirdo Music Forever, Brooks Gallo