University of Iowa producer releases next banger
We interviewed Mielo following his first song release of 2016
Months after creating the face of Mielo, University of Iowa student Brett Stogsdill has already been seen playing at some huge festivals, including Freaky Deaky and Reaction NYE.
The 20-year-old, originally from Homer Glen, IL, is currently in his junior year at the University of Iowa.
Brett started experimenting with DJ’ing during his senior year of high school after a baseball injury prevented him from playing. He says he had always been intrigued by the electro house music sound, and that’s what mainly drove him to start DJ’ing. Then shortly after coming to Iowa, he began producing music.
Seven months after seeing an inspirational Porter Robinson show in Chicago, Brett created the face of Mielo, his music alias.On April 30, 2015 Mielo released his first song, “Surreal”, which has had 1.5 million plays and was featured on Episode 011 of the Chainsmokers radio show Nice Hair, Sirius XM BPM Ch. 51.
Mielo has had the opportunity to play at numerous venues including Concord Music Hall in Chicago, the Canopy Club in Urbana, IL, Iowa City’s very own Blue Moose, the 2nd main stage at Freaky Deaky Halloween Massive, and the main stage at the famous music festival Reaction NYE.
He has also shared stages with some famous artists including Mac Miller, Carnage, CHVRCHES, Datsik, Deadmau5, Griz, GTA, and Robin Schultz.
So far Mielo has a total of 13,700 followers on social media platforms including Soundcloud, Facebook, Instragram, and Twitter.
We sat down and had a chat with Mielo about his music career and the recent release of his new song.
What got you into the world of music in the first place?
I’ve been exposed to music my whole life… I was taught how to play the piano and other instruments at a young age. Then in high school I started playing baseball and music kind of took a back seat. I ended up getting injured, so I decided to pick the music thing back up again. During my senior year of high school I played around with DJ’ing. I mostly just practiced in my room though. No crowds or anything.
Tell me about the creation of Mielo and the inspiration behind it.
I was dabbling with producing for about a year. Then in September of 2014 I saw Porter Robinson’s World show in Chicago. I was immediately inspired by his sound… Then before I knew it, Mielo was releasing his first song.
How did it feel after releasing your first song?
I honestly didn’t know how it was going to do. I expected to only get like 5,000 views. I wasn’t very confident with how people were going to perceive my music.
Last Tuesday, February 9th, Mielo had another huge release – his official remix of Stronger by Holly Drummond, which he remarkably produced in just five days.
What made you decide to remix this song in particular?
I’ve been a big fan of Holly Drummond for a while, and I really like the vocals for this song. I wanted to go for a more relaxed, chill feel that would continue to establish my sound.
What are your expectations for this song?
It’s my first release of 2016 and I’m hoping it brings me some momentum for the year.
Be sure to keep an eye out for Mielo’s name on some big midwest music festival lineups this summer.