Artistes

Mia-Germain Palencia

Mia Palencia is a 21-year-old singer and songwriter and is by far the best jazz vocalist you can find in Malaysia. This is evident in that, since she started singing professionally 8 years ago at age 14, she has successfully commanded outstanding reviews by world-class critics and journalists from across the globe. She holds the audience spellbound for every minute, every single time. Known for her cheerful disposition, charisma and charm, she is currently the most sought after jazz artist around. This is reaffirmed by the musicians she makes music with.

Mia establishes firm and loyal relationships with the musicians she works with. She chooses them carefully and therefore they are the very best musicians you will find around town. She has worked with great individuals like Jose Thomas, David Gomes, Roger Wang, George Chan, Jo Kukathas, Roland Peelman, Saidah Rastam, Bruce Hurn and Amir Yusoff. And of course her favourite band, The Usual Suspects, are music protégés in their own fields. Their mutual loyalty to her has provided her with a steady medium to experiment with her musicality, and has contributed heavily to her success over the years.

Mia aims to be creative with each of her performances. It is a rare occasion when one can say one has seen the same show twice. Perhaps this is why her gigs around the club circuit are always fully booked in advance.

As a jazz vocalist, Mia experiments with work by legends such as Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Diana Krall and Louis Armstrong. Her regard for the greats has led her to find her scatting ability, and she continues to discover and polish her art. As a musician with Double Take she keeps things pure. Working within the framework of just one voice and six strings, one might say that it’s magic! As a songwriter, Mia’s work centres on the guitar where she simply has fun exploring and expressing her poetic side. She draws inspiration from people, places and everyday things. This helps her to communicate with people from all walks of life.

Mia loves to travel, which is an advantage when her work takes her far and wide. She has performed in Melbourne, Korea, Singapore, Brunei and of course toured around Malaysia for her album launchings and has appeared at numerous jazz and music festivals. She is frequently found among singers of all genres, songwriters, and musicians doing what she loves best as she continues to explore and expand her abilities. This has enabled her to experiment with movies, musicals, operas, songwriter circles, voice-overs and jingles.

Mia has sung before His Majesty our King and His Royal Highness, the Sultan of Selangor, and at impressive addresses such as Singapore’s famous Esplanade Amphitheatre and Malaysia’s Stadium Negara. These are some of her greatest memories.

Mia has received many accolades and achieved many stunning successes. In school she was an outstanding student, a choir conductor, champion debater and champion public speaker, spear-heading Malaysia in Melbourne and London. She was recognised as Malaysia’s ‘Most Promising Musician’ by Louis Vuitton and nominated on several occasions by "The Boh Cameronian Arts Awards" in many categories.

Her recent interests include teaching, travelling, art and design as well as teaching herself to play the guitar and piano. She is a vocal instructor at the International College of Music and sells many of her original compositions to Taiwan and Hong Kong. She is also the current Ambassador to the Urban Youth for the National Cancer Council of Malaysia.

The future holds great promise for Mia Palencia and she believes the best is yet to come. She is excited about the endless prospects of collaboration with people and music and releasing future masterpieces. Mia aspires to lead her comrades to new horizons because she knows for certain that music has the power to touch hearts and bring hope to humankind. She looks courageously with a smile to Europe, London, Australia, America and the rest of the world. She continues to dream and work towards setting up an academy for children gifted in the arts and to work with them. Mia hopes to bring new meaning to singing, her birth gift!

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