Mia Dyson
Growing up in the Australian bush and in the sleepy beach town of Torquay, Mia Dyson became fascinated by the mythology of American rock & roll when she was just a kid. “I was raised listening to American music almost exclusively—my dad was a big blues fan, my mom loved Bob Dylan and all the poets,” says the L.A.-based singer/songwriter. “Very early on I was aware of all the places in America where this incredible music was made, like Memphis and Detroit and Muscle Shoals.”
Since releasing her debut album at age 22, Dyson has instilled her own music with raw passion and timeless vitality, along with the sharp musicianship she’s shown in opening for artists like Bonnie Raitt, Stevie Nicks, and Eric Clapton. In making her sixth album If I Said Only So Far I Take It Back, Dyson deepened the connection to her musical roots by recording at Portside Sound: a studio in the same Muscle Shoals building where legendary records by the Bob Dylan, Joe Cocker and Steve Winwood came to life.
Throughout If I Said Only So Far I Take It Back, Dyson adds a stylistic unpredictability to her soulful, introspective strain of rock music. The result is an album offering her most frenetic guitar work and delicate vocal performance yet—a dynamic that echoes her examination of conflict and acceptance. “In the past few years I’ve gotten into meditation and studying philosophy, and through that I’ve found that whenever I’m against something, I suffer,” Dyson says in discussing the album’s themes. “My mission now is to be open to the world as it is, especially at a time where there’s so much division. Which isn’t to say I don’t want change—but in the moment I’ve got to be open to what’s really going on, instead of always fighting against it.”
