{"id":55629,"date":"2023-12-15T16:00:06","date_gmt":"2023-12-15T10:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ticketfairy.com\/word\/?p=55629"},"modified":"2023-12-18T10:01:43","modified_gmt":"2023-12-18T04:31:43","slug":"mikaela-cougar-shares-new-single-black-cat-from-upcoming-ep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ticketfairy.com\/word\/2023\/12\/15\/mikaela-cougar-shares-new-single-black-cat-from-upcoming-ep\/","title":{"rendered":"Mikaela Cougar Shares New Single, \u2018Black Cat,\u2019 From Upcoming EP"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>Auckland-based singer-songwriter Mikaela Cougar pens the indie-rock tune &#8216;Black Cats&#8217; as an ode to the artists, poets, and children of the bohemian revolution.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To mark the final single from her upcoming sophomore EP, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/mikaelacougarmusic\/?hl=en\" class=\"ek-link\">Mikaela Cougar<\/a> follows on from her previous hit &#8216;Outwit You&#8217; with the 80s-inspired and rock-forward new single, &#8216;Black Cats.&#8217; An elegant guitar plucking kicks off the track, drawing in a tender percussive and bass pattern to rivet Mikaela&#8217;s soft croons. With no preconceived concept in mind while working with her producer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/noema_iii\/?hl=en\" class=\"ek-link\">Noema Te Hau<\/a>, the nod to 80s music was the result of a fun experiment. &#8220;I was listening to some 80\u2019s vibed stuff at the time,&#8221; Mikaela tells us about the track. &#8220;We (Noema and Mikaela) just tried to make an 80\u2019s influenced track for fun; it wasn&#8217;t serious. But we ended up really digging it!&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/C0kQIHxy8Yr\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\">\n<div style=\"padding:16px;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/C0kQIHxy8Yr\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> <\/p>\n<div style=\" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\">\n<div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;\"><svg width=\"50px\" height=\"50px\" viewBox=\"0 0 60 60\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\"><g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><g transform=\"translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)\" fill=\"#000000\"><g><path d=\"M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631\"><\/path><\/g><\/g><\/g><\/svg><\/div>\n<div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\">\n<div style=\" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\n<div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\">\n<div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: auto;\">\n<div style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\n<div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/C0kQIHxy8Yr\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A post shared by Mikaela Cougar (@mikaelacougarmusic)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As an homage to the misfits of the generations, &#8216;Black Cats&#8217; particularly paints the dismal picture of circus freaks and tightrope walkers. Mikaela explains the consensus that these circus performances yield, noting how people anticipate a tightrope walker to make it to the end but also wait in amusement for an accidental fall, whereas circus freaks are made to be a laughing stock due to their bodily disadvantages or differences. These themes inspired her to write &#8216;Black Cats,&#8217; as she relates her experiences of that with the circus entertainers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;I feel like the path I\u2019ve chosen is not the norm,&#8221; she explains, connecting the dots in her analogy of a tightrope walker. &#8220;Then things started to fall apart and I was dreading the thought of going out and having people ask me how it\u2019s going, I felt like I was falling\/failing before I\u2019d even really made it halfway towards my goals and I was about to be a laughing stock for people.&#8221; She adds on to describe her metaphorical take on relating to the circus freaks, saying, &#8220;I feel like I was born to do music like I have no choice, totally out of my control, and don\u2019t get me wrong I\u2019m so blessed, but at the time I felt like it was a curse, it felt like such a lonely path and a struggle to just simply try and be my true authentic self.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Mikaela Cougar - Can you tell (visualiser)\" width=\"702\" height=\"527\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vnFHnYw1G-c?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:1px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Prior to &#8216;Black Cats,&#8217; Mikaela rolled out a series of singles from her upcoming EP, which included &#8216;Outwit You,&#8217; &#8216;Can You Tell,&#8217; &#8216;Dragon Riders,&#8217; and &#8216;Skinny Dipping Night Skies.&#8217; While each track takes a different sonic approach, the EP is tied together by the concepts explored within Mikaela&#8217;s mind. She shares, &#8220;I made all these tracks while I was living out in my beach witch love hut in Bethells beach, I feel like they all hold something really special within them because of my environment at that time. Te Henga is such a special, magical, inspiring, creative place.&#8221; The backdrop of Bethells Beach and the influence of 80s music wrought a Stevie Nicks-esque vibe to &#8216;Black Cats,&#8217; with Mikaela citing that the 90s rock band era influenced her sound by artists such as Alanis Morissette, P!nk, Cyndi Lauper, No Doubt, Kate Bush, Jack White, and Amy Winehouse, among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The upcoming EP comes three years after the release of Mikaela&#8217;s debut project, &#8216;Lucky Stars.&#8217; Despite writing the EP, the artist was quite hands-off on the production of &#8216;Lucky Stars,&#8217; which is something she has changed this time around. When asked how the new EP will be different from its predecessor, Mikaela voiced, &#8220;For this EP, I was way more hands on with the production. I produced 3 of the songs myself and the songs are also quite different concept wise, they\u2019re a lot more internal. I think you get to know me within my solitude a little more. I\u2019m really proud of all the tracks.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mikaela wound up our conversation with a sneak peek of her upcoming music, saying, &#8220;For this past year, I\u2019ve been working with a producer on a bunch of tunes and I\u2019m so excited to put those tracks out. It\u2019s quite different to what I\u2019ve released so far, the rock elements are still present for sure but some of the songs are quite stripped back and vulnerable.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/track\/29J9zc51dWQQm8hKU6gDBF?si=Z1W2etb2SLmADkYMK0J85g&amp;nd=1&amp;dlsi=c3577e8d73c84893\" class=\"ek-link\">&#8216;Black Cats&#8217; by Mikaela Cougar<\/a> is now out to stream!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Find Mikaela on: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/mikaelacougarmusic\/?hl=en\" class=\"ek-link\">Instagram<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/artist\/4hqw5QdNq8aj1YamKLpfBv\" class=\"ek-link\">Spotify<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Check out more new releases from Kiwi artists &#8211; <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-spotify wp-block-embed-spotify wp-embed-aspect-21-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Spotify Embed: TFword Selects: Fresh New Zealand Releases\" style=\"border-radius: 12px\" width=\"100%\" height=\"352\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/playlist\/1Z9jAzRQawMvi0LiOiKabG?utm_source=oembed\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:9px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>You May Also Like:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ticketfairy.com\/word\/2023\/09\/29\/crystal-gets-honest-and-vulnerable-about-life-on-new-ep-dead-ends\/\" class=\"ek-link\">CRYSTAL Gets Honest and Vulnerable About Life on New EP, \u2018Dead Ends\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ticketfairy.com\/word\/2023\/10\/13\/vana-shares-her-highly-anticipated-debut-ep-die-for-me\/\" class=\"ek-link\">Vana Talks About Her Highly-Anticipated Debut EP, \u2018DIE FOR ME!\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ticketfairy.com\/word\/2023\/08\/17\/new-zealands-mim-jensen-drops-debut-ep-emotional-affair\/\" class=\"ek-link\">New Zealand\u2019s Mim Jensen Drops Debut EP \u2018Emotional Affair\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Auckland-based singer-songwriter Mikaela Cougar pens the indie-rock tune &#8216;Black Cats&#8217; as an ode to the artists, poets, and children of the bohemian revolution. To mark the final single from her upcoming sophomore EP, Mikaela Cougar follows on from her previous hit &#8216;Outwit You&#8217; with the 80s-inspired and rock-forward new single, &#8216;Black Cats.&#8217; An elegant guitar<\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ticketfairy.com\/word\/2023\/12\/15\/mikaela-cougar-shares-new-single-black-cat-from-upcoming-ep\/\" title=\"Read More\">Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":184965132,"featured_media":55631,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3014,4294],"tags":[9166,2985,1840,4470],"coauthors":[5155],"class_list":["post-55629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-interviews","category-music","tag-kiwi-artists","tag-new-music","tag-new-zealand","tag-rock-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ticketfairy.com\/word\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ticketfairy.com\/word\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ticketfairy.com\/word\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ticketfairy.com\/word\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/184965132"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ticketfairy.com\/word\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55629"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.ticketfairy.com\/word\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55629\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55645,"href":"https:\/\/www.ticketfairy.com\/word\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55629\/revisions\/55645"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ticketfairy.com\/word\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ticketfairy.com\/word\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ticketfairy.com\/word\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ticketfairy.com\/word\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55629"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ticketfairy.com\/word\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=55629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}