What it means to be free

“One of my favorite gigs here in San Diego was at Soda Bar, before I actually moved here,” says singer/songwriter Mike Wojniak. “I was living in Columbus, Ohio, and was touring across the country with my cellist and friend Andrew Gordon-Seifert. The people of San Diego were so welcoming, encouraging, and supportive. We had a solid turnout and a fun night, which ended up receiving local press coverage as well. This great experience was just one of the factors that led me to pack up my bags and drive across the country to make San Diego my new home.”

Wojniak’s 2008 debut full-length Follow the Crane, a ten-song collection of homemade electro-pop, was followed in 2010 by Memento Vivere, exploring themes of love and loss. His 2012 album Libero revolves around the meaning of the Latin word libero, “to be liberated or set free.”

His new EP, Anima Mundi, will be released on his own Golden Wave Records label on June 19 at Seven Grand in North Park. “The EP title is a Latin phrase meaning ‘the world’s soul,’ encompassing the idea that all living things on the planet are intrinsically connected. I came across this phrase while reading the writings of the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung. My last two records both have Latin titles as well, and I wanted to stay within this theme. The names of each of these albums are not only all Latin words or phrases, but the meanings behind each also reflect a specific period of my life.”

Wojniak will follow the EP release with a summer tour of the Southwest and Midwest.