The 21st century girl doesn’t pertain to any stereotype. She’s a chick of many talents, one moment she’s in Europe, the next she’s in Asia. She’s working on several artistic projects at once and killing at every single one. She’s a mix of races – picking up different cultures as she travels. She’s the mysterious girl at the party you want to know her life story who everyone has their eyes on. Here we have sat down and chatted for you.

Photography and interview by Lauren Engel

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~shredding a tidal wave of whiskey
on a surfboard made out of don’t care~

Meet Amber Giles, better known as Mija, one of the newest members of the OWSLA crew. She came to the spotlight with her electric blue hair of course, her breakout b2b set with Skrillex at Bonnaroo. Mija established a new genre called, well, fk a genre”. After a while of missing each other, we finally chill out in her hotel room and before her show in Boston.

What does your clothing line say about you and where do the design inspirations come from?
My clothing line literally represents who I am. I wanted to make clothes which I would wear on a day to day basis but more high end. I am also trying to do more elaborate pieces. Rick Owens is a big inspiration to me.

You said in previous interviews you want to do swimwear and clothing also, have you thought about that recently?
The first things I wanted to do are just basics. A basic line of what I want to wear everyday such as made fitted t-shirts, thigh high socks but I also want to think about my male demographic too. I want to branch out and move towards that. I have a bunch of cool concepts.

Why is it important to constantly innovate as a musician and as a human?
I think they go hand in hand. It’s important to evolve and always stay true to yourself. Always be thinking about how to get to the next level.

What did your parents play around the house when you were growing up?
Punk rock and Metallica. I took my dad to a System of a Down concert for Father’s Day when I was ten. They are definitely into rock and roll and they still listen to punk rock during the holidays. That’s usually all that’s played in my moms house. (laughs)

Are they musicians also?
They don’t play instruments but my uncle and grandpa are drummers and their entire lives were spent touring and drumming and being in metal bands.

Sick, so you were into music at a young age?
Definitely, I originally had to pick an extra-curricular activity and I did softball for one season. When I was six I sprained my pinky then was like fuck that I hate that I’m out of sports so I started singing in the Phoenix girls choir for 9 years.

You listened to Michelle Branch, Avril Lavigne, Regina Spektor when you were younger. How did you transition into DJ Hixxy and Pendulum?
I was listening to Avril Lavigne and Michele Branch in middle school along with this metal phase. When I got into high school I listened to Raver’s Fantasy. It’s just a very basic rave track but I heard it and I was so inspired by it. I was like: omg this is amazing.

Did your friend show it to you?
Ya I think it was on my friend’s Myspace or something where I just heard it. I knew she was going to raves and I was like this is so underground, what is this about. I listened to the track and thought it was amazing, so I started figuring out what other types of music was in the same realm. At that time in Phoenix, there was happy hardcore and that’s kind of how I started to go to shows. I was definitely way too young to be going to shows but a couple of years later I started throwing shows and delved deeper.

“It’s important to evolve and always stay true to yourself. Always be thinking about how to get to the next level.”

Do you still listen to classical music?
Ya definitely, half of my vinyl music is classical music and the other half is Radio Head and the dark side.

Does it still inspire the music you make?
It’s been crossing a lot. I’ve been making some new original records that I haven’t put out yet. I’m still figuring it out what exactly to do with them but definitely a lot is inspired by classical music.

Your favourite movies–Eternal Sunshine of Spotless Mind, Science of Sleep. I Origins, what about them do you love?
I love how all of those movies have much deeper context than the major plot line. I just like movies which are weird and make you think about things you normally wouldn’t. They’re all realistic fiction but relatable.

Tell us about your childhood growing up in Phoenix
I grew up in the suburbs in a very safe neighbourhood and kind of went to a pretentious high school. I definitely never fit into high school. I actually got kicked out of high school in my sophomore year. That was pretty bad and I had to go to alternative school for a year. I couldn’t finish but my mom made me go back to high school so I could walk in graduation. My childhood was definitely weird. I was rebellious.  I am the oldest by 8 years in my family.

How many siblings do you have?
I have a step brother and a half sister but both of them are considered totally family to me. I think I was very rebellious. My mom was concerned for a while but she isn’t anymore which is cool. I had a hard time through high school just because I didn’t really fit in at all, but I made friends in the rave scene so at that point I had this whole other group of friends that were all from across the Phoenix valley, not just from my area.

Were your parents always supportive about you being in the rave scene?
They’re actually very opposed to it. The day that I was graduating in high school, I had been planning to throw this party called Yoshi Island. I had been planning for six months and it ended up being very successful, with a great turnout. I made so much money for the time. I didn’t even know what 10 grand was but my parents were not supportive. At that day of graduation my mom called my phone and this was a week before my party. In the Phoenix scene we would do info lines to get information so young Mija thought it was a smart idea to be the info line. All week I kept answering her phone calls really fast and not have it go to voice mail but I missed a call and it went to voice mail and she heard me going ‘this is Yoshi Island Rave, this is all the information’ and she texted me like wtf you’re throwing a rave now and she was not happy on my graduation day. But by that point I was already 18 so I already knew I was going go do this. She’s super cool about it now though.

Was there a turning point where she became supportive?
Originally I was going to college and was DJing as a hobby.  I was offered to DJ twice a week at the Sheraton Hotel and honestly DJing at that hotel was paying more than any day job I had so she said: ok I get it, you can take less classes to DJ it’s fine. But then I told her that I was going to drop out and be working more because it made more sense working at the Sheraton. They disapproved but then on my 22nd birthday I was throwing this weekly party in Phoenix and she wanted to come out to see me DJ. And so she did and this group of people were also there and turns out they were some burners at Bonaroo. They came out to my mom and my business partner at the time and asked if I could play Bonaroo. She was so concerned. She was like: oh god, take care of my daughter. But that was really cool because I got to go to Bonaroo and Skrillex ended up coming on stage and jump started my career so I think at that point she was like: oh I get it now.

How have you grown as a person musically and personally?
I have definitely become more open to different types of music. When I first started DJing disco and house that was kind of how I was set on but the past year with touring and working with other artists, it really opened my mind to different types of music and different people. I’m kind of introverted…I mean half and half. I’m a gemini so I’m weird but its definitely made me more comfortable meeting other people, just being more open to my environments and taking it all in.

What would you tell your younger self if you could?
I would tell myself to stop caring so much cause the more you care, the more you build this wall, but the second you stop caring you start relaxing and that’s when shit happens. If you don’t care and you just do things, things will happen, if you think about it too much and concentrate on one thing you are totally ignoring 50 other elements so I think just stop caring and being free with making music.