The child of musicians, they started writing and playing music at the age of four. They studied violin, viola and composition at the Purcell School before being offered a scholarship to attend the Guildhall School of Music and Drama to study composition. Levi performed as a DJ and MC around the UK garage and grime scene in London, and released a mixtape titled Filthy Friends, which was posted on their Myspace page in 2006. For Filthy Friends, they enlisted the help of friends and musicians of various backgrounds including MCs Baker Trouble, Brother May, Man Like Me & Ghostpoet, singer-songwriter Jack Peñate, jazz band Troyka, London pop-band Golden Silvers, producers Kwes. and Toddla T. Following its release, Filthy Friends became sought after on the London club scene.
While a student at Guildhall, Levi was commissioned to write an orchestral piece for the London Philharmonic Orchestra which was performed at the Royal Festival Hall in April 2008.
Levi formed a band called The Shapes, which includes Raisa Khan on keyboards and Marc Pell on drums. They signed to Accidental Records who released their debut single "Lone Ranger" in May 2008, followed by "Golden Phone" in August 2008. With the Shapes, Levi's focus has been on experimental pop music. Most of this music prominently features an acoustic half-guitar with various non-standard tunings, extensive distortion, and use of noise and found-object elements, as well as occasionally unusual time signatures. Despite these experimental leanings, the artist categorizes her output with The Shapes as pop music.
Their debut album, Jewellery, produced by influential electronic musician Matthew Herbert, was recorded around Mica's composition studies at Guildhall School. Advance copies of the record reached the press in early 2009, and generated positive feedback. In the wake of this growing buzz, Micachu and the Shapes were signed to Rough Trade, who released Jewellery on 9 March 2009. Drowned In Sound consequently hailed the record as "thrillingly improbable pop made by a grade-A maverick."
Levi describes the music they performs with The Shapes as "pop", without many of pop's defining characteristics (obvious choruses and accessible lyrics). They often use unorthodox instruments, many of which are homemade. These include a modified guitar played with a hammer action, called a 'chu', and a bowed instrument fashioned from a CD rack. This multitude of objects, varying from broken bottles to a vacuum cleaner, help Mica achieve their distinctive and unique sound. They also own a 3rd bridge Home Swinger built by Yuri Landman.
They produced the very effective horror-like music to the 2013 Jonathan Glazer's movie Under the Skin.
Curly Teeth
Micachu Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
when she smiled at me I got a nose bleed.
She spat me out, said "What's your business with me?",
but all I wanted to be was in her company.
She had a room with no space to compete.
When I fell at her feet she clapped in time to the beat.
That beat me up inside but I was discrete,
Boom boom dead. (x4)
She's got my money now I'm sinking to deep.
Those curly teeth. That fucking fief.
She's got my stuff buried into concrete.
Those curly teeth will be the death of me.
Boom boom dead, yeah you thought that it would last. (x4)
The song "Curly Teeth" by Micachu describes the singer's infatuation with a woman who has a unique and unconventional appearance. The lyrics "Yeah she had straight eyes and curly teeth, when she smiled at me I got a nose bleed" indicate that the woman's teeth were crooked and perhaps even protruding, which makes her stand out from conventional beauty standards. Despite this, the singer is drawn to her and expresses a desire to be in her company.
However, the woman is not interested in the singer and disregards him. The lyrics "She spat me out, said 'What's your business with me?' but all I wanted to be was in her company" show the singer's disappointment in not being able to connect with her. Later in the song, it's revealed that the woman has taken advantage of the singer, taking his money and burying his belongings in concrete, causing him to feel like he's sinking too deep, and fearing that her curly teeth will be the death of him.
The song's evocative lyrics and use of repetition creates a sense of despair and hopelessness. It portrays the challenges and the sometimes overwhelming feelings that one can experience in the face of unrequited love. It also highlights the detrimental effects that obsession with someone who doesn't feel the same can have on a person's life, such as losing money or being taken advantage of.
Line by Line Meaning
Yeah she had straight eyes and curly teeth,
The girl in question had a peculiar appearance, with straight eyes and curly teeth.
when she smiled at me I got a nose bleed.
Her smile had a great impact on the singer, being so powerful that it caused a nosebleed.
She spat me out, said "What's your business with me?",
The girl rejected the singer's advances and asked him what he wanted from her.
but all I wanted to be was in her company.
Despite the rejection, the artist still desired to be near her and enjoy her presence.
She had a room with no space to compete.
The girl lived in a space where there was no room for competition, possibly overcrowded or claustrophobic.
When I fell at her feet she clapped in time to the beat.
The singer submitted himself to her, and she responded by clapping in rhythm with the music.
That beat me up inside but I was discrete,
The singer was affected by her response, but kept his emotions to himself.
she blew smoke in my eyes and flicked me out on the street.
The girl was rude to the artist, blowing smoke in his eyes and kicking him out onto the street.
Boom boom dead. (x4)
This line is repeated four times and may refer to the end of the relationship or the end of the artist's hopes and dreams.
She's got my money now I'm sinking to deep.
The girl deceived the artist and took his money, causing him to sink deeper into trouble, financially or emotionally.
Those curly teeth. That fucking fief.
The singer attributes negative qualities to the girl, such as being a thief, and associates them with her physical appearance.
She's got my stuff buried into concrete.
The girl has hidden the artist's possessions in concrete, making it impossible to retrieve them.
Those curly teeth will be the death of me.
The singer believes that the girl's curly teeth will cause his downfall or may be a metaphor for something else that represents danger or harm.
Boom boom dead, yeah you thought that it would last. (x4)
This line is repeated four times and suggests that the relationship or situation was doomed from the start and that the singer knew it would not last.
Contributed by Hunter V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@MaMa-rx5jz
Yeah she had straight eyes and curly teeth,
when she smiled at me I got a nose bleed.
She spat me out, said "What's your business with me?",
but all I wanted to be was in her company.
She had a room with no space to compete.
When I fell at her feet she clapped in time to the beat.
That beat me up inside but I was discrete,
she blew smoke in my eyes and flicked me out on the street.
Boom boom dead. Yeah you thought that it would last(x4)
She's got my money now I'm sinking to deep.
Those curly teeth.
She's got my stuff buried into concrete.
Those curly teeth will be the death of me.
Boom boom dead. Yeah you thought that it would last(x4)
@oldmoviemusic
Revisiting this after 13 years...it makes me nostalgic for my teen years, while still feeling so fresh and inspiring. Such a stellar performance, I used to play this all the time as a kid.
@lexiraesnyder9790
I’m right with you.
@king-gidorah2150
i’ll join in here as well.. micachu changed the trajectory of my music taste forever
@Portboy
'when she smiled at me I got a nose bleed' Love the way this is sung.
@Victimless.Crime.Recordings
reminds me of like a norse folk song, absolutely beautiful
@park7854
dragonball style
@Thankyouverymuchfriend
Best version of this song ever
@mdwiggins91
These videos are still, a decade+ after I first encountered them, one of the most brilliant/surely one of my most favorite performances I’ve ever seen/heard.
Brilliant album—one of the best of the era, and still surprising and exciting—and ingenious interpretations.
@jmanzo2009
You should check out their chopped and screwed album if you haven't already.
@StacheBigote
I couldn’t agree more. It was a tricky album for me to access at first, but it blossomed like a flower when I finally settled into it. Now it’s easily one of my favorite albums from that time. Saw them live in like 2012 or something like that. Still think it was one of the coolest shows I’ve ever been to. Of course, I loved them with a passion at that point, so that stands to reason.