In case you missed it (and many of you did), Dutch singer/songwriter Jana Mila was behind one of the finest debuts of 2024. Chameleon (Naked) (New West) collects six of the album’s best tracks—songs so sturdy they lose none of their power in the stripped-back setting.
“We locked ourselves in a beautiful old, converted cinema in the center of Amsterdam and undressed six songs,” says Mila. “We recorded them live in one take—all acoustic, no overdubs. Without even trying too hard, I think we really captured a moment.”
Mila unpacks each track for MAGNET.
—Hobart Rowland
1) “Rosie”
“This is the very first song I ever wrote. Every time I play it, it takes me right back to my teenage self—messy, honest and still figuring it all out.”
2) “Like Only Lovers Could”
“There’s so much to discover when playing this one live. It has a will of its own.”
3) “Chameleon”
“The heart of both the album and the EP, the title track distills everything I was trying to say into one song. It’s about the push-and-pull of identity—the way we shift and adapt. When I sing it stripped-down, I relive the lyrics and vulnerability of the song.”
4) “In Between”
“Inspired by my tendency to get lost in my head, this song is a reminder to let go of the noise and just be present.”
5) “Somebody New”
“I wrote this just before a breakup, at a time when unspoken thoughts were weighing heavily. It’s one of those songs where fiction and reality blur. It became a way to say the things I wasn’t ready to say out loud—to explore hard conversations I was avoiding. Looking back, I think I knew more than I wanted to admit at the time.”
6) “I Wasn’t Gonna”
“Everyone can relate to doing stupid things when they go out. It’s about those nights where you tell yourself you’ll take it easy, but somehow it still ends messy—the small decisions that spiral, the moments that feel fun until the consequences catch up with you.”
