Ukrainian EDM artist Teri Miko talks about her new single 'Feels Real' and finding a home in India

Teri Miko has carved for herself a permanent place in the global dance music circuit with diligently constructed high energy live sets and back-to-back releases on some of the industry’s biggest labels. Continuing her stint on Spinnin’ Records (owned by Warner Music Group), she is back with yet another track but this time it is not a bass-heavy banger; ‘Feels Real’ is her first pop-centric venture in collaboration with Indian house music producer Anuraag Chadha aka Madoc and singer Elle Vee. “I’m super nervous and excited at the same time to release different music. People who love me got used to the dark, heavy stuff and here we are…releasing a pop, vocal track! But I think it was a perfect time for experiments. Madoc and I found that perfect balance between our styles and came up with that summer, groovy but a bit melancholic track,” says the Ukrainian artist in an interview to Firstpost, adding “The biggest challenge was to find a vocalist, we tried a lot of them and there was a time when we almost gave up on the project and thought it’s sort of jinxed, but then a miracle happened and we found our perfect Elle." The two producers went through a bunch of concepts before settling on the final version and majority of brainstorming took place over Skype sessions since both were seldom in the same city. “When we did find time together in the studio, most of the time went in finalizing the sounds of the drums samples,” mentions Madoc. Teri Miko — who has shared the stage with bass giants like DJ Snake , Marshmello , Slander, Dyro, Troyboi, and Quintino — is now a recurring name on Indian festival rosters. She visited India seven years back and after much deliberation, took a life-changing decision of moving out of her hometown, Kiev, Ukraine. “I still remember my first impression, everything looked extremely exotic and interesting and very unique for me at that time. My first India tour was very successful so, I started getting more and bookings eventually. At some point I decided that I felt comfortable in here so why to go and come back when I can stay,” she recalls. Once an international law student, she decided to pursue music production as a full-time career for the sheer love towards it and asserts it’s all about hard work, passion as well as persistence. However, according to her “Just because of stereotypes, girls always need this extra effort to prove themselves in this industry.” To this date, she is criticised for her choices in life but pays no heed to it. “I think if you’re in this industry because of music and not for money or quick fame, at some point you will definitely realise that nothing else matters and you will push yourself your work and your music. That’s what I do now," she says.

Shedding some light on the under-representation of female acts in the EDM circuit, she considers the most important factor for any DJ the ability to read the crowd and the way someone chooses to portray themselves on social media. Talking about a feminist movement in the EDM culture, she feels it will be a little extreme and believes in a gradual change because it’s a natural process of establishing something long-lasting. “The fact that most of Alison Wonderland shows are sold out proves there’s a place for women in this sphere and she’s an incredible inspiration for all other girls in our industry,” Teri Miko concludes.