"I’m Looking Forward To Being A Proud Parent”

It’s quite common for an artist to refer to their work as their “baby” and American singer-songwriter Miguel is no different. Perhaps best known in Australia for his Grammy Award-winning love anthem Adorn, Miguel is releasing his new album, Wildheart, and currently dealing with all the pre-birth feelings of an expectant parent.

“I kind of feel like I’m running around like a chicken with its head cut off,” the singer, born Miguel Jontel Pimentel, laughs. “There’s so much happening all at once, but I suppose that the best part about it is that it’s kind of like a whirlwind of leading up to, you know… essentially like the birth of a child. 

“My performances are a direct reflection of the music and I think they’ve always been a lot more rock’n’roll spirited."

“I’ve spent this time watching it [the album] grow and evolve and I’m ready for it to grow its own legs and for people to build their own relationship with it and to spend time with it. I’m excited and I’m looking forward to being a proud parent to another album.”

When The Music suggests “baby” Wildheart is the Los Angeles native’s grittiest work yet, he agrees, but believes it’s a result of his personal state of mind rather than the actual music. “I think what you’re hearing is more my attitude, you know? It’s just a lot more aggressive, I suppose. That definitely has a lot to do with the sound of the album.”

Wildheart features guest spots from rappers Wale and Kurupt, as well as soulful rock icon Lenny Kravitz. Pimentel says he had specific plans for each of the collaborations. “For certain songs, it’s very specific and other songs, it’s more vibing out. All of the features on this album, it was very specific. I knew, I was like ‘I really, really, really would love to have Lenny’s solo here,’ you know? But that process [of working with Kravitz] actually was more let’s vibe out first and see if we gel at all and then let’s get to it. I got to spend a couple of days with Lenny writing, just for nothing, just to fucking write and vibe out and get a feel for each other.” 

Working with an artist like Kravitz is further proof of just how different Wildheart is to the rest of Pimentel’s catalogue. The crooner’s music has generally been labelled R&B, despite toying with funk and rock’n’roll sounds. “I really don’t feel… I don’t think that it’s an R&B album, whatever that means,” he admits. “I think there are moments that speak to that taste or to people who love R&B and soul music and I think that always will be [the case] because that’s a huge pillar of the palette I’m painting with. But I think sonically, it’s not an R&B album, you know?”

Aussie fans can expect to see more of his grittier side when he performs as part of the returning Soulfest. “My performances are a direct reflection of the music and I think they’ve always been a lot more rock’n’roll spirited, so I think, like I said, there’s always gonna be soul in [my work] but the energy is very, very rock’n’roll, so expect them to be energetic.”