Bio Full Biography »

A singer and songwriter whose music embraces a rich variety of cultural and creative influences, Mia Doi Todd was born June 30 1975 in Los Angeles, California. Mia Doi Todd grew up in a creative household; her father, Michael Todd, is a sculptor of note, and her mother, Kathryn Doi Todd, is an Associate Justice in the California Court of Appeals as well as a patron of the arts who has helped bring traditional Japanese dance and theater troupes to Los Angeles. As a child, Mia became involved in theater and choral performance, and she studied classical vocal technique. As a teenager, she began writing songs, influenced by the work of the Beatles, Leonard Cohen, and particularly Joni Mitchell, and her work developed a keener focus when she moved east to attend Yale University and became interested in indie rock. In 1997, members of the Los Angeles-based group Further invited Todd to use their studio to record her songs; the result was her debut album, The Ewe and the Eye, a spare set of...