THE STORY SO FAR

Melbourne musician Mijo Biscan is a prolific songwriter whose songwriting thrives in isolation. Eager to push the concept of solitude as a pathway to unlock inspiration, Mijo travelled from Australia to Iceland where he stayed alone in a remote weatherboard cabin, surrounded by mountains and a breathtaking fjord. “It was dead quiet. Shockingly quiet”, he says. “In the midst of the silence, the only thing I could hear were my innermost thoughts, which were waiting to manifest into new songs.” Mijo’s month-long songwriting retreat formed the genesis for a creative shift; and was the crucial starting point that helped him create his latest record Golden Moment.

Already an established and respected artist for over a decade, Mijo has enjoyed a rewarding career as a solo artist (In Beat Magazine's five star live concert review, his work was praised as “moody, heartbreaking, stunning, fucking epic”), as the co-creator of the critically acclaimed band Lamplight (whose self-titled album received a Beat Magazine five star review), and as a supporting act for other accomplished artists such as Clare Bowditch, Missy Higgins and Gotye (who’s been a fan of Mijo’s for over a decade and explains, “We share a strong musical connection”).

In fact, Gotye invited Mijo to write, pre-produce and do his overdubs for Golden Moment in his private barn studio in Melbourne. The remainder of the full band recordings were produced by ARIA award winner Marty Brown and captured by engineer/producer Callum Barter in Newmarket Studios (Courtney Barnett, Foy Vance and Kurt Vile). Mijo explains, “It was so important to deliver an intimate, warm, rich sound, so we recorded the album to tape, and the musicians summoned every fibre of their being for each performance. When the red light started flashing, a palpable presence and optimism delivered the work.”

This optimism runs through Mijo’s blood, and it’s tied closely to his manifesto. “Everything I do is connected to the idea of reaching my full potential as a person and as an artist”, This idea is no more prevalent than on the album’s title track, which Mijo says is about living fully in the present moment instead of being trapped in the past – or even the future. As Mijo explains, life is about engaging open-heartedly with the various challenges we’re faced with, and importantly, extracting the gold in every moment.​

It’s little wonder, then, that Mijo’s own future looks so golden.