MIA.


MIA. is a German punk/new wave/rock/pop band from Berlin.

Biography

MIA. originally formed in 1997 when TV host Sarah Kuttner introduced schoolmates Mieze Katz and Andreas Ross to Robert Schütze and Ingo Puls. They took on Hannes Schulze as drummer and one year later the band, then called Me in Affairs, signed a contract with newly formed independent music label R.O.T.. They soon abbreviated their band name to MIA., but now claim the letters do no longer stand just for Me in Affairs, but also for things like "Musik ist Alles" and that there is no such thing as a "correct" translation of their name.
In 1999 the band released its first single "Sugar My Skin" on major label BMG, but due to artistic differences the members soon asked to be released from that contract. In 2001 they followed up with their second single "Factory City". At the same time Gunnar Spies replaced Hannes Schulze, who had left the group due to private reasons. Afterwards MIA. released their debut album Hieb & StichFEST via Sony Music, which had moderate success in Germany.
2003 saw the band being heavily criticized for their song "Was es ist", released on an EP of the same title. The lyrics, based on a reference to Erich Fried's 1983 love poem of the same name, featured romantic references to Germany and the colours of the German flag, topics that due to Germany's difficult history, especially the 'Third Reich'-era, many political leftists and especially Anti-Germans consider forbidden territory. MIA. claim the song was meant to provoke a discussion about Germany as a home and as a place to change and design. Furthermore, they consider themselves politically on the left.
In 2004 the band went on with its second album Stille Post. The longplayer spawned three singles, including "Hungriges Herz", which was chosen for the German pre-selection of the Eurovision Song Contest and reached #24 on the official Singles Chart. The album simultaneously peaked at #13 on the Album 100 and was eventually certified with gold.
Their third album Zirkus was released on 21 July 2006. It entered and peaked the German album charts at #2, making it a surprise hit for the band and MIA.'s most successful album so far. The first single from the album, "Tanz der Moleküle" had previously entered the charts at #19 and remained in the German top 100 for 33 weeks, making it the group's most successful single to that point.
In early 2007 MIA. competed in the Bundesvision Song Contest with their single "Zirkus" and came in fourth place.
On 7 July 2007 MIA. performed at the German leg of Live Earth in Hamburg.
During a live appearance in Bonn on 19 April 2008 the band introduced their new song "Mein Freund". It was the first single from their fourth album Willkommen im Club released in September and debuting on number #4 in the German album charts. According to newspaper reports, the band also planned to release that album in an English-language version, which, however, never happened.
In the summer of 2009 the band announced during an interview with their official fan club that they would take a year-long break from touring, writing, and recording, beginning September 6. Upon their return they wrote and recorded a fifth studio album, Tacheles, which they announced in late 2011 and published in March 2012. Ingo Puls left MIA. in 2011 due to undisclosed reasons while the rest of the band was working on the album. The first single from the album, "Fallschirm" entered the charts at #11, the highest chart position for any MIA. single so far.

Other activities by bandmembers

Albums