Bio:
Born Jared Rollins-Bailey, vocalist and producer, Piqi Miqi, began his music career at the age of 10, under the classic piano instruction of a kind elderly Quaker woman, Marguerite Getman. By 12 he was eager to record musical ideas on the computer, so his dad took him to the music store to buy...
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Bio:
Born Jared Rollins-Bailey, vocalist and producer, Piqi Miqi, began his music career at the age of 10, under the classic piano instruction of a kind elderly Quaker woman, Marguerite Getman. By 12 he was eager to record musical ideas on the computer, so his dad took him to the music store to buy him his first midi controller. Both his parents enjoyed playing everything from reggae to grunge, to hip hop in car rides and in the house, so Jared was full of sonic inspiration.
It was when Piqi Miqi attended high school at Choate Rosemary Hall, where he got his first shot at recording and found a mentor : Timothy Bradley. Bradley who earned platinum plaques as a keyboardist and songwriter for artists under A&M and MCA records in the 80s, offered a music production course, and took a liking to Jared. After taking the prerequisite music theory and piano courses, he was accepted into Bradley’s production course which only took 4-6 students per semester. Miqi’s performance in the studio proved him worthy to pass on the torch, and by his junior year, Bradley gave him the keys to the analog studio full of 80s and 90s synths, tape machines and mixing consoles leftover from his touring days. Piqi Miqi spent his free time working late nights recording the high school orchestra and acapella groups, as well as his own hip-hop production.
After high school, Jared moved to New York City, where he graduated from New York University with a bachelor of Arts in Economics. During his studies he shoved his music dreams to the side and set his eyes on investment banking and finance. After interning at one private investment firm and falling asleep at his desk from boredom, Jared realized that finance was probably not the best idea. With no steady job and no clue what to do, e decided to move to Prague to explore a new place, study the Czech language, and possibly get back into music.
There he worked with local labels such as Azurit Kingdom with DJ Bussy. Then he co-founded the punk-funk duo, The DAT, with Johnny Floyd, and created his first pseudo name, Mickey Price. He landed at position as model agents at PH Models and juggled 10 hour shifts in the office and hit the studio after to produce and record with the band. Miqi quit his day job to focus on music full time. At first, he struggled to make ends meet, and made money with the band touring Europe as well as modeling and acting in commercials. Frustrations and disagreements led the duo to break up in 2015. Piqi Miqi fell into deep depression. With no place to record, he set up a homemade studio in small storage space in his flat, and began working on his first solo project. After a year of soul searching and bouncing back with the mental support of his close friends and family,, Piqi Miqi returned with a fresh new sound. The 80s and 90s hiphop, rnb and rock played by his parents. The funk grooves and techniques taught to him by his music mentor in high school, the foundation and classical elements he learned as a boy, and his inebriated rendezvous with Prague’s alt culture . Piqi Miqi quickly made a name for himself as one of the freshest up and coming acts.
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