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Que ta tête fleurisse toujours (2023)


Que ta tête fleurisse toujours talks about the most serious side of life as well as some other extremely personal topics. At the same time it’s full of a new kind of lightness, creativity and the idea of continuous blooming. Fully in French the album is more sensual and direct than Mika’s music before. It’s hard to even analyse what I love most in this particular album. It has to be the moving, respectful way Mika is protecting the creative spirit and heritage of his mother. It has to be the brave new way to face many personal issues much more directly and without hesitation than before. The new scale of atmospheres for sure, the sensuality and softness coming from the language that seems to give permission to do things in a new and different way. The sense of freedom which I absolutely love and almost breathe in while listening to the songs.

Que ta tête fleurisse toujours is an album by an adult artis and C'est la vie is what the album is all about. It's a happy sad song. The contrast in it comes from the melody that reminds me of some popular radio songs from my own childhood and the topic that is as serious as life can ever be. My favourite part of the song and my favourite part of the album is where the music goes on the background and we hear Mika’s very clear voice singing the conclusive thought: Alors la vie regarde-moi / car je n’aurai plus peur de toi / avec des fleurs même en silence / elle me le dit, elle me dit danse. A touching moment of clarification and life suddenly making sense the same way as it did in Tiny Love and as always, my mind loves making a connection like this.

My love for Mika’s music is based on everything being connected that strengthens the illusion of his special own world, a beautiful mess of songs and their emotions, stories and messages, visual elements like illustrations, show elements and outfits and even more than all that a state of mind where we can be free of our own and other people’s limitations, expectations, fears and shame and focus on examining every single colour of life. The most important part, the singing, is not only about the stories but also and mainly about the voice telling them and maybe because the new album is fully in French I pay attention to the voice even more than I usually do.

Paradoxically an album in French makes people feel included. I might not understand French but I understand Mika's voice when he sings. Obviously, I listen to this album very differently than his French speaking audience does. I can’t analyse the lyrics word by word, I’m not even interested in doing so, I can’t separate which part comes from his co-writers and which part from him. I’m more interested in themes and thoughts behind the topics and enjoy focusing on the atmospheres and beautiful tones in the voice. The second song released after C'est la vie was Apocalypse Calypso which I immediately loved for the extremely intimate, extremely sensual atmosphere. After Apocalypse Calypso Jane Birkin was the third song released from the album and this song became my personal, everyday anthem. Listening to it makes me feel light and liberated and that’s how I want to feel every day.

I heard the rest of the album for the first time during a pre-listening session in Paris in November. Mika came in front of the audience and shortly introduced the songs either partly or fully, not in the same order as on the album. A pre-listening is always a very special and memorable moment and something I later connect to the album. I tried to breathe the atmosphere of each song as much as I could to remember my body's very first reaction to them and immediately recognised several new classics and also instantly knew which song will be the biggest party highlight at the future gigs. Pour votre santé, Bougez  !

Moi, Andy et Paris was the loveliest song on the album since the first moment I heard it. As a charming detail the first seconds of the song create a very literal atmosphere of an old film. My other favourite Je sais que je t’aime is the grandest song on the album. It’s grand as a story and it’s grand the way it’s done. When I listen to it I never listen to it only once. I listen to it twice or three times and it makes me cry and the emotions created are simply too big to fit in my heart and afterwards my every muscle is tired and I feel overall faint. A huge, full-body experience. There’s a big theatrical vibe in Je sais que je t’aime, I can almost see the story happening as opera scenes. Je sais que je t’aime is a grand, stunningly beautiful song that tells about grand, beautiful and somehow complicated love. The emotions created are huge: Et je t'aime / Je t'aime plus que moi-même /  Et je ne veux pas que la vie te blesse / Oh je t'aime, et je t'aime / Je t'aime jusqu'à la haine /  Et si un jour les dieux nous délaissent / C'est pour toi que je reste

Not every song provokes my thoughts of course. Sweetie banana is perfect for my Fridays and will sweetly transfer me to far away places for the weekend enjoyment. During the pre-listening event I immediately paid attention to songs like 30 secondes and Doucement and immediately loved them and their gorgeous, somehow timeless vibes. These kinds of songs are stunning on stage and stay relevant and only get better with time. Without knowing the exact meaning, Doucement is serious and beautifully delicate at the same time and delivers a strong message of mindfulness. 30 secondes felt lovely from the first moment and reading the full story made it even lovelier. What a magical encounter. 

Generally, the first French album is beautiful and sensitive and has numerous different atmospheres and deep, meaningful thoughts behind the topics. It’s serious, it’s light, it’s intimate, it’s romantic, it’s dark, it's soft, it's warm, it’s direct in a way we are not used to. 

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