Your passion and love for music can start at any age. That’s something that hangs in curiosity for many fans. What did this person listen to when they were younger? Who influenced them?
The ‘Where It Started’ series is a platform for artists of all kinds to speak on the anthems that raised them to be who they are now.
Meet Midoca: singer/songwriter from Los Angeles, California. With hopes of providing an emotional safe space for his listeners, his music helps you escape the lows of reality. The self-reflection in his art makes it so endearing that it keeps you glued to your headphones at day’s end. Fresh off his latest EP “Dry The Rose,” we couldn’t find a better time to discover his musical roots.
Where It Started: Midoca
“This playlist includes songs from artists that have inspired me in a variety of ways. The first few songs immensely inspired my songwriting style. I remember first hearing “Something In The Way” by Nirvana when I was 13 or 14 and felt as though I had never resonated with a vocal performance more before. The vocals sound like Kurt Cobain recorded them crouched over in a dark corner, with little effort over a detuned guitar. That recording embodied a type of profound and unique sadness that I’d never felt from a recording before. It remains one of my favorite songs today. The Counting Crows were also a major early impact to the way I approach songwriting. The Counting Crows were the first band I remember really bonding with my dad over. He was a huge Grateful Dead fan and I…was not (sorry dad).”
“Discovery, Passion Pit, and Crystal Castles were my first exposures to synth-heavy indie music. Those artists challenged me to introduce electronic elements to my first songs. However, it wasn’t until I’d heard James Blake and basically had to reconsider every characteristic I thought I understood music was defined as. Obviously, my next step was to get Reason then Ableton and dive deep into learning experimental electronic music for myself. I had come from a band world, as a jazz guitar player and songwriter, and hearing the sounds of James Blake and Burial uprooted everything I knew about music. I eventually came back to songwriting and playing guitar but needed that necessary period to learn everything I could about synths with sawtooth oscillators and vocal pitch shifting.”
“The last artist I’ll comment on is Dawn Golden. While I found him somewhat recently compared to the others from my more formative years, first hearing his songs and voice resonated with me pretty deeply. At the time, I wasn’t confident in my singing voice or my lyrics for a number of reasons. I heard Dawn Golden’s “Still Life” album and heard so much of myself in it; the experiences, the production influences and his vocal tonality. I felt I was singing with a similar character and hadn’t really heard others until him. Still Life gave me the confidence to share my songs of the time, including “Everything I Need”. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy the playlist.”
– Midoca
