Mia Borders

Mia Borders is the personification of cool. From the stylish trilby atop her curly locks, to the trademark aviator shades, both her music and persona appropriately mirror the sound and style of her legendary influences. A self-proclaimed fan of Bill Withers, Etta James, Simon & Garfunkel and the genuineness of classic soul, it’s no surprise she snags a diverse mix of fans.

“I guess what I like most about my music is that you can’t really label it with any one genre. And I think that’s what attracts so many different listeners,” says Borders.

Although Borders credits Bill Withers as most influential, she is flattered by comparisons to personal favorites Lenny Kravitz and Tracy Chapman, but suggests, “I think it has more to do with my hair and sunglasses,” she says with a charming grin.

Loyal fans of the 24 year-old singer/guitarist are familiar with the crooner’s love songs and tales of imperfect romance. However, with the official release of her third album “Wherever There is,” fans (old and new) are introduced to a new artist- perhaps a more complete Mia Borders.

The 12-track disc highlights the turbulent yet gratifying journey between the painstaking productions of the first official album “Southern Fried Soul” released in 2009, a second album “Magnolia Blue” released in 2010, to where she is now her career.

The title for the current album, spawned from a brief moment of self-reflection, was a mumbled response to a friend who commended Borders’ for overcoming some personal battles. The friend implied Borders was gaining a better perspective on life by suggesting she was “almost there.” Borders’ sarcastic reply was “yeah, wherever there is.” This response emerged as the title for her third LP.

“I heard myself say that and I knew that’s what it was going to be,” says Borders.

Borders, a New Orleans native, is a more confident woman and business savvy artist from her shier days working with her original band MNSKP who first assembled in 2006. With an embarrassed grin, she reflected on the band name. A name she says did not last long, as she made everyone say it as one word- emineskipee.

In the infant stage of MNSKP gigs were few and far between, and the band would have to rehearse by dimming the lights and play facing the other way because she would be so ridden with anxiety.  

“They knew I had a lot of stage anxiety and was freaked out by the idea of playing alone. They made me feel comfortable and were very encouraging,” says Borders, but added “the band believed something very special was going to happen for me and they were not going to be able to go.”

By fall 2009 “Southern Fried Soul”, produced in Nashville, TN was released. The quirky band name had been replaced and many tough lessons, both life and business were being manifested. It would be her band and her name that would carry the group forward.

Life experiences leading up to the ‘09 album and shortly thereafter display a young woman obsessing over love, exemplified by the album’s highly popular female break-up anthem “Scream,” a song written about a boyfriend who played in the band, lambasts cheating boyfriends everywhere.

“I’m in a much better place,” says Borders, relieved of the emotional torment connected to her past relationships.

The band has since dissipated. A performance at last year’s 2011 Jazz Fest marked an end to their five-year run with each member opting for different life and career paths.

Borders says the current album reveals emotional and musical maturity. As sole composer of “Wherever There Is,” she revisits the past with bold irreverence on one of her favorite tracks titled “Never Going Back to Nashville.” What could be mistaken as a love song, actually details the grind of the music business experienced during the production of “Southern Fried Soul.”

 “It was very much an introduction into the music business. I realized how naïve I was. I learned a lot from the experience,” declares Borders and insists “I’m not who I used to be.”

Borders relishes “Southern Fried Soul” and “Magnolia Blue” and considers them both personal as she knows the stories behind them.  “That’s why I wrote them, that’s why I like them. That’s why I enjoy listening to them or playing them,” she says.

She is no less appreciative of the experience and acknowledges it made her better, but is completely confident that the April release of “Wherever There Is” is undoubtedly her best work yet.

The current project exhibits growth and development and becoming a better artist. “I think there is more depth and each individual song conveys something very specific and I hope that I made that very relatable and more than just nice melodies and beats.”

“I hope there’s something more that draws people in the same way that I’m drawn to it,” she says.

The blossoming musician can be found every Wednesday night at Irvin Mayfield’s IClub stringing songs from each album with her new four-piece band. Her on-stage characteristics can be strikingly different from how she functions off-stage. “That’s why I wear sunglasses,” Borders says referring to her on-stage alter ego.

Typically calm and collected, Borders readily admitted she “says” and “does” things on stage that she would never do anywhere else. She recalls a time when an incoherent fan gave her an ill-advised kiss on stage. Though slightly jolted, Borders recovered and continued playing the set.

She slowly nodded her head as she reemphasized the potential danger of such an incident.

“It’s okay though, I’ll take some kisses,” she said in an almost snap moment of forgiveness.