Mia Wilson is the debut album from Southern California singer-songwriter Mia Wilson. Produced by Tim Ramsey (Vetiver, Little Wings, Kacey Johansing), the album blends piano and guitar-based compositions with lush orchestral arrangements to create a backdrop for Wilson’s introspective lyrics and captivating mezzo-soprano vocals. The album recalls the golden glow of late ’60s & early ’70s LA records like Carole King’s Tapestry, Judee Sill’s Heart Food, and Jackson Browne’s Late For the Sky.
Wilson and her partner Skyler Lusteg began writing the songs that would make up the album in 2021, just before meeting Ramsey and drummer Trevor Beld Jimenez (Fruit Bats, Tall Tales and the Silver Living, GospelbeacH). The majority of the album was recorded live over the course of three days in 2024 at 64 Sound in Los Angeles, with Tyler Karmen (Sharon Van Etten, Alvvays, Richard Edwards) serving as the engineer. Wilson’s self-titled debut is set to arrive on November 14 via Royal Oakie Records.
“Face to Face” is the latest preview of Wilson’s upcoming self-titled project. The intricate, intimate outing begins to outline the vulnerable pencil sketch that this release is shaping up to be, with Wilson’s wistful whimsy cascading around a soulful twang. The simplicity of the arrangement is far from surface level, highlighting the attention to detail Wilson brings to her work. The cinematic instrumentation swells with a blinding beauty that is only emphasized by the raw lyrics she’s delivering. Just as the atmosphere of the single suggests, “Face to Face” employs a vague poetry that allows the listener to envision themselves in direct eye contact with something they need to see, regardless of how painful. Wilson does a stunning job of immersing the listener in her world on “Face to Face,” the latest heartfelt preview from what is shaping up to be a landmark release for the artist.
“This chord progression was dug up from an old song Skyler wrote when he was first learning to write. It really came to life when I started adding a melody to it,” explains the artist when asked about her new single. “The lyrics came from experiencing love from a distance and trying to capture that feeling of anticipation when you finally get to be near that person.”
