Stream: Mia Doi Todd, ‘Music Life’

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Mia Doi Todd (Photo by Azul-Amaral)

Mia Doi Todd has cast an almost mystical spell over her native Los Angeles since the late 1990s. A musician, poet, dancer, champion of other artists and even part of the group that launched the local venue Zebulon, Todd’s work has spanned a wide array of genre influences and multiple languages. In her precise soprano, she doesn’t so much as sing her songs as imbue them with a magical reverence.

On Friday, Todd announced that her 11th album (not counting her “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” soundtrack) would be titled, simply, “Music Life.” Those familiar with her albums will know to interpret that phrase (if not each word individually) in the broadest possible sense. Topically, the album, produced with her husband Jesse Peterson, is said to touch on themes of motherhood, the creative life, mortality and nature.

As for the title track of “Music Life,” Todd notes that it begins, “If you give your life to music / it opens up the path.”

“My musical path started when I was a teenager, taking singing lessons from my Silver Lake neighbor who was an opera singer,” Todd says. “Not long afterwards, I began writing songs and finding my own voice. I followed indie-rock bands and started playing shows around town. Gradually, music came to consume most of my being! The song addresses the ups and downs of a musician’s life. I wrote it the night I came home from a dear friend’s memorial service, another of several musician friends who have passed away at a young age. The song morphs organically through background vocals and psychedelic guitars and ultimately emerges as a celebration of life lived fully.”

The painterly title track features Todd’s longtime collaborator, percussionist Andres Renteria, along with Money Mark on organ, Peterson on rhythm guitar, Will Logan on drums and Brandon Owens on bass. The song comes to a final crescendo with Jeff Parker’s swirling electric guitar solos and the lyrics “If you give your life to music, no regret, don’t forget, I loved you.” Besides Mark and Parker, other guests include Fabiano do Nascimento, Sam Gendel, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson and Laraaji.

||| Stream: “Music Life”