Delayed for 3 years due to the band’s busy schedules an COVID-19, “For Every Bump On The Road, For Every Storm In The Sky” by MIKA tackles both experiences and anxieties of the band’s members in eight solid tracks founded on deep contemplation.
Touching on other issues like loss, regret and sincerity, the record employs them in ways that are contemporarily relevant. The whole thing feels like a record lovingly crafted and intimately written, full of sounds, observations, and emotional realizations that will surely move you after your first listen.
Official press release:
Malang City based MIKA has been around since 2014. Combining post-rock, math-rock melodies and modern hardcore melodic drum patterns (fans of Counterparts and Being as an Ocean might get the hang of it), MIKA left re-labeling up to listeners, opting for a flexible post-hardcore status. Even MIKA’s song “Revival” was influenced by TIGAPAGI and The Trees and The Wild. MIKA had released this album in a limited physical format with self-printed sleeves and a binded book, which basically was all DIY and handmade work.
Even when entering the pandemic era, the recording and release of their albums were a bit constrained until finally MIKA’s movement back began on October 10, 2022 when they held a Secret Showcase to promote the album “For Every Bump On The Road, For Every Storm In The Sky” and following printed 50 pieces of physical cd bundled with T-Shirt merchandise.
The CD, which was printed with a limited number of 50 copies, sold out very well, but MIKA is classified as a band with low flying hours due to the busyness of its own personnel. Since their intimate gig in February 2022, MIKA has only attended once in July at Emonight Malang, 2022, in September at Kickfest XIV and Heartfelt 14.
Rizky Ananda Arif (vocals), Monica Yurike (vocals 2), Ramadhan Kautsar (guitar) , Ari Dwi Rizky (bass), Syith “Boim” Ibrahim Idris (guitar) and Bogi Prananda Satyagama (drums) are the latest MIKA formations which, although interspersed with long distance band-mateship and busy work as startup employees, are still continuing to carry on the lives of their musicians. When the performance response came, MIKA finally took El Tria from the Malang thrash crossover unit, Dazzle to temporarily replace Boim’s position who was working out of town. The choice of collaborating with Monica Yurike as vocal 2 also adds to MIKA’s musical repertoire, which is a bit reminiscent of the formation of the band The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die.
Now that 50 copies of the cd “For Every Bump On The Road, For Every Storm In The Sky“ have sold out, MIKA has decided to distribute it via the Bandcamp. The contents of this album must be published immediately so as not to lose momentum, but MIKA also realizes that Bandcamp is the platform that has the most real feedback. So prioritizing bandcamp uploads makes sense.
“For Every Bump On The Road, For Every Storm In The Sky“ tells the personal stories of MIKA members. Where these stories not only cover the theme of romantic love but also friendship and family relationships. An example is the first two songs, namely Embrace and Losing Fight. Embrace tells the story of the relationship between father and son, where the child always remembers childhood memories with his father who passed away when he was going through his toughest time. The son hopes to meet his father again even in a dream. Meanwhile, Losing Fight tells the story from the point of view of his father who is seriously ill and is nearing the end of his life. The father imagined how he would miss the moments of adulthood, marriage and birth after he was gone. The theme of parents and children is also found in track 5 Stay for The Night which tells about the personal experience of one of the personnel, when his father passed away, he was working outside the island and missed his funeral. The personnel regretted the situation when he should have been present at his father’s last moments, in fact he had to be far away. Apart from the family theme, there are also themes about trials, acceptance, sincerity and the fact of life that people will come and go like on tracks 6, 7 and 8, namely For Every Bump On The Road / For Every Storm In The Sky, Acceptance and Glance.
You could say that Mika is one of the post-hardcore bands in Malang that pays more attention to the lyrics and details of the theme. Making the life path and personal situations of Mika’s personnel a reflection and a bridge to communicate from heart to heart to listeners and fans. For those who have been waiting for a moment of contemplation with Mika, the album “For Every Bump On The Road, For Every Storm In The Sky” itself has arrived on Spotify on November 17 2022 and will soon follow on Apple Music and Bandcamp.
