Mingjia Releases 'Star, Star'

Mingjia, the vocalist, composer, songwriter, improviser, and multi-instrumentalist lauded for her ability to “synthesize multiple influences into a unique, modern style” (The Whole Note), and whose compositions “communicate an opera's worth of feelings and emotions, firing all of our senses together at once” (Dominionated), releases her new album star, star, via New Amsterdam Records.

star, star is a collection of songs written by Mingjia for herself and the Tortoise Orchestra, a Toronto-based 13-piece chamber ensemble that marries courageous songwriting with curious, colorful orchestration, and improvisation. 

The album features the voices of Mingjia's friends telling magically real stories throughout. “Following in the tradition laid out by the Tortoise Orchestra EP, feel seen, I interviewed and played story-telling games with my friends & neighbors, which I then edited the recordings into sound collages that form the skeleton of the album.

The stories told through this album are twofold, outward and inward: the stories it tells to the listener, you, and the stories it tells the writer, me. The act of completing this record tells a story about the kind of faith in myself that I want to lead my actions with, and love that I am surrounded by. A story I kept telling myself over the last four years is that I have had so much support from my friends and family in the making of this album that it would be physically impossible not to succeed.

This album is what I have to show for in the face of shame. The way to stand up to one's shame is not necessarily always to prove it wrong, but I'm glad I did. I hope you can find some of yourself in my stories. I hope you will tell your story, and that I can meet you there.”

Mingjia Chen sings, composes, improvises, writes songs, writes words, curates shows and events, draws, animates, designs visually, hangs out in Los Angeles and Toronto, was born in Beijing, leads the chamber-pop ensemble Tortoise Orchestra, is 1 half of synth pop band uoou, belts & yodels as part of Roomful of Teeth, makes records as Mingjia (3 in the world, 1 in the oven), occasionally performs with the Queer Songbook Orchestra & Wild Up, runs the secret-santa-style songwriter showcase series ‘not my song', is described as “one to watch” by I Care If You Listen, and “beautiful, mature and exceptionally coherent” by the Whole Note, and recently graduated from the University of Southern California. 

Listen to the new release here: