Katja Mia on Uprising: "This is an island full of creatives, poets, musicians. We really need a platform for that"

Film And TV
10 Jan 24

Katja Mia and Denise Chaila at UPRISING. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

A brand new music-based TV series hits the screens on Virgin Media Television this Friday. With Stuart Clark flying the flag for Hot Press, and Katja Mia as the main presenter, it promises a very different experience in music television in Ireland. Here, we explain the background – and Katja talks about what the show means to her…

Uprising started out as a Hot Press initiative, with the objective of providing a genre-straddling show that was as artist-friendly as possible. Now that dream is about to become a reality…

“We spoke to Animo TV Productions,” Hot Press editor Niall Stokes says. “They have a huge amount of experience in producing really successful television programmes, and have worked closely on numerous projects with Virgin Media Television. So we forged what was a very strong partnership between us.”

The support of the Sound & Vision scheme, run by Coimisiún na Meán, was vital to making the show happen.

“It wouldn’t have been possible without the support of Coimisiún ne Meán,” Niall adds. “It’s as simple as that. But I think the important thing is that everyone really bought into the Uprising philosophy – because we also got a fantastic response from the artists.

“We wanted to do something really fresh and different that would give a platform to Irish musicians, but which would also reflect the wider Hot Press philosophy – of being not just about the music but also what the music is about. I think that comes across really strongly in the series. And there’s a lot of fun and laughter too.”

The team includes some of the brightest talents in Irish television, with Ailbhe Maher as series producer, Sheila Meaney as executive producer, Debbie Thornton as executive producer for Animo and Joe Edwards as director, working alongside the Hot Press team – with Stuart Clark, Jess Murray, Eimear O’Connor, Máirín Sheehy, Miguel Ruiz, Mark Hogan among those pitching in. The shows were recorded in The Complex, close to the Hot Press offices, in the heart of Dublin.

Imelda May at UPRISING. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

Uprising will feature out-of-studio reports by Hot Press deputy editor Stuart Clark, while the main presenting duties are handled by Katja Mia.

“Katja is a natural,” Niall Stokes observes, “but she is also a real music fan. I think she is really brilliant throughout. There’s a load of sustained behind-the-scenes work that goes into making something like this happen – but if the on-screen talent isn’t right, that can all be wasted. But immediately when I saw the screen tests, I was confident that Katja would deliver. It turned out that she was even better than that. I think people are going to love her.”

As for Katja herself, the show comes at a really exciting time for her. She has just joined The Six O’Clock Show on Virgin Media Television, where she stars alongside Brian Dowling. She has also just been announced as a participant in the new series of Dancing With The Stars…

Katja Mia at UPRISING. Copyright MIguel Ruiz.

How did you feel when you got the call to say that you had been chosen to present Uprising?
Oh my god, I was over the moon because this was the first project that I could work on solo as a presenter. In addition to that I am obsessed with music – I love music so much. So to be able to combine both of my loves – it was just a dream come true. It didn’t feel like work. It was brilliant.

Was doing a music-based show something you had thought about doing before?
It was something I always dreamt of doing, like a bucket list thing for me. I didn’t grow up watching cartoons, I grew up watching MTV Base, so it was definitely a goal. I’m surprised that I was able to tick it so early!

Picture This at UPRISING. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

Were you impressed with the lineup of musicians?
Yeah, it’s incredible. The Academic, Picture This, Denise Chaila, Celaviedmai, Nell Mescal, Villagers, The Coronas – Hozier I love. Seeing a line up like that, it was definitely a pinch me moment. This was not about me. It was about the show.

Most people would not know that you were friendly with Denisa Chaila from a young age…
I know Denise from childhood. Celaviedmai is someone I kind of became friends with in the last few years. There was this podcast and she was the theme song. Then I started going to one or two of her gigs and I just loved her energy – so Denise and Celaviedmai, I was familiar with.. Of course, the majority of the acts I was a fan of – but I had never crossed paths with them. It was really nerve-wracking – but it was also a nice opportunity to see who they are as people and what they care about.

Denise Chaila at UPRISING. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

Is it important to you to promote women and Black artists in their careers?
Absolutely. I was hosting the Black and Irish awards and I remember saying to everyone how important it is to have your community back you – it just feels like a warm hug. I’m also all about empowering women. I think what we have in Ireland is just incredible – and to be able to give women a platform and champion them and talk about what music really means to them was just great.

You spoke recently about wanting to contribute to a new Ireland…
That’s what it’s all about. There are a lot of emerging Black and Irish artists now who would have come to this country as second and maybe even first generation immigrants, so we are part of that kind of change: a new image Ireland is portraying to the world is that it’s a country that’s inclusive and celebrates all sorts of diversity.

Uprising also celebrates this – was there a particularly stand-out moment for you in the show?
Oh gosh! I think my favourite moment was the interview with Mik Pyro. I was such a fan of Republic Of Loose and then he kind of went off the grid for a while. I wasn’t sure what version of Mick I would get. And he just came on so humble, so vulnerable and so down with hip hop, which surprised me. We really bonded over that, African American music and it just ended up being a really genuine conversation. Also, of course, seeing bands like Picture This perform live – they sound incredible. Ryan Hennessy’s voice is one of my favourite voices of Ireland right now.

Mik Pyro at UPRISING. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

Was it a different interview style for you? With Hot Press involved, it needed a journalistic edge…
It was 100% a different tone to the interviews I was used to, especially at that time – I was still working at Ireland AM. It was a bit more underground. You were talking about topics that the artists were so passionate about and that they loved. I was also passionate about and loved these topics as well. It was like a journalistic perspective on their careers – but also I was interviewing them as a fan of their work. These were questions that I would want to ask them personally!

What can fans expect from Uprising?
The performances are incredible. And also they can expect to see a really raw side to the artists. You see the likes of Lyra being super-candid about body positivity. You see the likes of Ryan Hennessy being super-candid about his poetry around mental health. And also the likes of Celaviedmai talking about freedom of speech, in the way that she writes songs and raps. So it’s really raw. You get the intensity of an incredible concert and then at the same time you feel like you’re backstage with them asking these intimate questions. I think people are gonna really enjoy it.

Celaviedmai at UPRISING. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

How is body positivity explored on Uprising?
With a lot of honesty. A lot of us go through body image concerns but we also play into the world of wanting to please the male gaze and the likes of that. I was interviewing Pillow Queens and they had a lyric about sucking in their gut before going on stage and I talked to them about that and asked: ‘How do you feel now? Are you able to come on to the stage as your whole self?’ They were so honest with it. I was in the modelling industry as a size 16 model and it’s veeerrrry hard to not be hard on yourself. So I would say the way to approach it is just honesty and allowing young girls to be able to celebrate imperfections. And knowing that not everyone really has to look the same. There was a lovely tone about that in the show. Lyra said, ‘Look, if I wanna dance around in a leotard, and I have whatever hanging out, I’m still gonna do it’.

Lyra at UPRISING. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

Speaking of dancing around in… how did Dancing With The Stars come about?
About two weeks after we wrapped Uprising, I got a phone call asking if I would like to take part in the cast of 2024 Dancing With The Stars. There was a little bit of hesitation but I was almost on a high from it and I was sort of looking for something else to do. I said to myself: ‘Look, I would love to challenge myself on this. I would love to move a bit more comfortably in my body.” So I thought: why not really challenge myself and learn something like Latin dance and ballroom, where you really have to be so in touch with your body. It’s too late to back out now, so I think I have to keep going!

Are you conscious about being seen as a role model?
I know I am just human and I will probably make mistakes and that I’m not perfect. But then I am also aware that there are a lot of young black girls, young Irish girls that would look up to me – especially if they want to go down the route of presenting on television. And it is important to portray a good image. It’s scary because you do know there will be one point in your life where you’ll probably fuck up or do something wrong or say something wrong. But I love being able to champion young kids. I’m an older sister myself so I’ve been sort of used to that role – it’s just on a way larger scale.

Do you think that first generation Irish people, or black Irish people, feel an innate sense of pressure to represent their community?
Oh, 100%. The pressure starts at home. You have this pressure of your parents moving to a new country for you – for safety and for a better life. And they just want you to go down the lane of doctor, lawyer – really safe jobs. And you almost have that fear of failure from very early on, because you just want to please them. We do want to make it worth our parents’ while. All you want to do is make them proud and rebuild a nice life for them here. Especially when they sacrificed so much, and they start again from zero.

Katja Mia at UPRISING. Copyright MIguel Ruiz.

Which makes work more important...
It helps a lot with my work ethic, because I take work very seriously now. It’s my main priority. I’m thinking ahead and thinking I want to build that security that perhaps wasn’t there for those first immigrants that came into Ireland like my parents.

What do you think 2024 is going to look like?
2024 is going to be a very busy year, especially with Dancing With The Stars – I’ll be sweating a lot! I want it to be a year of health and fitness for me. Of saying yes to more things. I want to work more. I want to put myself out there and challenge myself.

Uprising is a big deal for music in Ireland – how does it feel to be a part of that?
It is such an honour to be part of Uprising. Like I said, I grew up with music. My parents would play it, driving us to school, cooking – so to be part of a show that celebrates music, celebrates emerging artists in Ireland, and existing artists in Ireland that are going into new lanes of music, is incredible. I just hope we can make more shows like this, and give a lot of emerging artists a platform they deserve – because the talent here is incredible. This is an island full of creatives, poets, musicians. We really need a platform for that.