Click to read full articleThe variety of music coming out of Music City is virtually endless. Adding to that mix in a very unique way is Mia Calderon. Calderon, who is of mixed Latin and American decent, blends the sounds of bossa nova, jazz, and electronica.

Mia Calderon hails from San Francisco originally. Her love of music began early, and she started performing Mexican and Spanish folk dancing as a kid. She then moved on to singing, originally singing mariachi music. College took her from one coast to the other, as she studied jazz in Miami. But, as is the case with so many artists, school couldn’t hold her interest for too long.

So Calderon made her next move, to Nashville. It may seem like an odd move for someone whose music of choice has such an international flair; but Calderon seems more interested in expanding and challenging her ideas about music than focusing too long on any one aspect of music.

Her CD, Manik, came out earlier this year. Recently she has been touring with a group of similarly minded music and visual artists, called the Beat Box Armada. Many of their events support organizations that help victims of rape and sexual assault. For more info, check out their site.

Your next chance to catch the down-tempo sounds of Mia Calderon in Nashville comes this Sunday at the Basement. Also playing are Max and the Wild Things, Gabe Vitek, and Kat Smo. All four artists are offering a free download to promote the show; click here to check it out.

What: Mia Calderon
When: Sunday, December 13th at 8pm
Where: The Basement
Cover: $5

December 12, 2009 12:14 p.m. by Angie Bianchi Nashville Indie Music Examiner

click to see full articleMia Calderon, Manik
Some albums fit the season of their release better than others, and Manik by Latin-electro-pop songstress Mia Calderon was tailor-made for the sun-drenched days and steamy nights of summer. Trust us, we’re typing this with mittens on and burning copies of Metromix just to stay warm, but “Bossa Cries” is on the stereo and its blend of tropical rhythms and space-out sounds has us thinking about putting on shorts and a T-shirt. SEAN L. MALONEY

December 12, 2009 2:17 p.m.

Best Latin-Electro-Pop Album:

Best Latin-Electro-Pop Album:

Manik by Mia Calderon
We’re not complaining, but for all of Nashville’s musical diversity these days there are a few genres that we feel are lacking here at home. Specifically, we think this town could use more funky, futuristic, bossa nova-influenced pop of the brand that Mia Calderon concocts on her debut Manik. Bearing more of a resemblance to the far-out funk of transnationalist groove hunters like Quantic than to anything you’re likely to find in the 615, Manik is a globe-trotting, time-jumping slice of sublimely hummable, hip-shakingly sweet sonic bliss. Imagine Astrud Gilberto and Sade making beats on the edge of a black hole and you’ve got the idea. SEAN L. MALONEY

http://www.nashvillescene.com/2009-06-04/arts/mia-calderon-cd-release/

Mia Calderon CD Release

Blame it on the Bossa Nova

By Sean L. Maloney

Published on June 05, 2009

  • Ladies and gentlemen, your summer jams are here! Just as the first signs of sweaty, sweaty summer begin to show here in the mid-state, the universe has been happily blessed with a soundtrack as steamy and sultry as mid-afternoon sexcapades in an apartment without air conditioning. Local vocalist Mia Calderon’s latest, Manik, is a spicy blend of deep, down-tempo electronic and classic bossa nova that frankly we’re surprised is originating from our fair city. This is the kind of global groove we expect from far-flung hipster enclaves like Frisco or Bristol, not the rhinestone capital of the world. Equal parts Astrud Gilberto, Beth Gibbons and Sade, Calderon’s vocals are the perfect foil for Coolout’s propulsive percussion and spaced-out soundscapes on songs like “Soma una Gente,” “Visceral, Taboo” and “No, Bittersweet.

In celebration of Mia Calderon’s debut album MANIK, The 5 Spot hosted an eclectic night of smooth, saturated, downtempo and electro-acoustic grooves. Nashville City Lights and The Beat Box Armada featured performances by Mia Calderon, Levi Weaver, Matt Urmy, Leticia Wolf, Taylor Bates, Don Gallardo, How Far West, Jacob Jones, Trio Ginga, and topped it all off with a dance-off by Coolout.

The Beat Box Armada

The Beat Box Armada.

The event also featured clothing & accessories by local designers Colleen Wandel of Say Ooh Designs, and Lalie Kavulich-Crist of Let Them Eat Cake; as well and artwork by Duncan McDaniel and Lark Calderon-Gomez. The event supported Nashville’s Sexual Assault Center, RAINN, and Julian T. Fouce Music Therapy Fund to support the music therapy program at the Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

yes, yes, I know it’s taken forever to release this thing…but it’s actually being pressed right now, so the party is on!

Friday, June 5th, 2009 @ 9pm at the 5 Spot in Five Points East Nashville….

Free food at 9pm….

It will be a Beat Box Armada, RAINN & SAC event, so buy some good beats, fashion, or visual art, and you’ll be donating to an amazing cause…

xo!

mia

The Beat Box Armada is touring Electro-Lounge brigade displaying art you can hear, see, or wear.  There will be great sounds, extreme modern art, and intense fashion along a cat-walk or two. Mia and other artists will join the tour this March!  If you’d like to sell YOUR art, contact send your press/media kit to the Beat Box Armada here.

Mia Calderon will be doing an in-studio radio performance on Nashville’s WRVU 91.1 on Tuesday, March 3rd from 2pm-3pm.  She will be performing three tracks from the upcoming MANIK album, spinning Electro-Pop, and talkin’ smack with Mr. Willy Wilson.  Listen live at 91.1 FM or stream in online.

I just titled a new collection of memoirs, photos, poems, and lyrics: Airborne.Bloom.Perish will be simaultaneously released with the MANIK album. It’s FREE with any MANIK online pre-order or purchase.

I’ve has started an online devotional. For your Recovery Dose of the week, check it out

The “Somos Una Gente” live children’s chorus recording was filmed by Sheyla Paz Hicks and JR Davis with Paz Communications, Inc. and Telemundo Nashville.  Sheyla interviewed me October 30, 2008 for a segment about the Manik album. You can watch previous episodes of her show by clicking here.