Former Carmanah singer Miina launches solo career with new tour.
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Laura Mina Mitic’s soulful singing fuelled the folk pop sound of the Shawnigan Lake band Carmanah over a series of well-received albums.
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The group was a familiar presence on festival stages, regularly touring across Canada.
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Now recording as a solo artist under the name Miina, she released her debut full-length album, Where the Light Goes Out, in March and embarked on a 23-date tour. A previous EP had announced the artist’s new direction.
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You might think that the timing couldn’t be worse, with gas prices peaking due to the continuing U.S./Israel war with Iran.
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Sun Spots
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But Miina isn’t sweating the petrol budget. Her vintage 40-foot, repurposed Greyhound bus is powered by recycled vegetable oil. Speaking over the phone from Guelph, Ont., she talked about the fun involved in filling the tank from greasy-spoon grease.
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“We got ahold of the old bus from a guy for $5,000 plus a concert during the COVID shutdown when we were completely unable to tour,” said Miina. “So, we converted it to become a tiny home/tour bus and then took it one step further and converted it to run on used vegetable oil. We are literally picking up used canola oil and filtering it to use all along the way.”
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It takes both work and luck to source the spent oil along the road. Some folks just can’t wrap their heads around giving spent oil to someone to process and use again, and the filtration process isn’t instant. She says they’ve had some pretty good luck finding stashes in some pretty strange places, but their unique fuel requirements can be a challenge.
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Miina says her partner, who played in Carmanah and on the new solo project, is programmed for this kind of puzzle-solving
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“He just has a bit of a mad scientist’s brain and loves to figure out things like this and is obviously called to the environmental bonuses it brings too,” she said. “It’s not for the faint of heart, but restaurant owners are really interested in the whole process. Even when they can’t help us out, they are really stoked about the whole thing — and that’s cool.”
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With bunks for everyone in the band and most of the requisite amenities of a gas-powered tour bus, the group is finding the tour pretty chill. Between occasional showers at friends’ places along the way plus booking a hotel room here and there, the ‘veggie oil express’ is rolling on down the highway with Miina, special guest artist Dana Sipos and band playing new and old material.
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CBC music has added the single Archetypal Life to its playlist in the No. 18 position and a video has been released for the leadoff single Push It.
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The dream pop vibe of the track is sure to appeal to folks who are onboard with the recent resurgence of popularity of ’90s acts such as Mazzy Star. The new material is more textured and atmospheric than Carmanah, but still in a similar wheelhouse.
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Miina’s voice is perfectly placed in the mix by a top-notch production team of Howard Redekop, whose credits include Tegan and Sara, and Mother Mother, and Gus Van Go, who has had great success with The Beaches and Metric. Erik H.P. Nielsen, who has worked with City and Colour, also lends a hand on the 10-song collection.
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“The decision to move forward in this direction came during the pandemic, which was a tough pill to swallow but also a bit of a silver lining for me to grow creatively and do some different songwriting with my new bandmates,” she said.
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“I also did some writing with Toronto-based Lowell, who co-wrote Beyoncé’s Texas Hold ‘Em, who was really inspiring to work with. Where the Light Goes is my first solo full-length, mostly written by me in my humble home studio and sprinkled with magic from bandmates and the producer who made it what it is.”
