FIAH MIAU: GATA MODE ACTIVATED
In today’s social media-driven age, the pressure to conform, fit in and bend the algorithm to one’s will can often prove too much for the masses. Yet for Argentinian musician Fiah Miau, rebellion has evolved into something that borders on a necessity: a rite of passage she has embraced since fighting her parents for the right to dress slutty.
With her debut album Pussy in Boots, she embraced that same energy, this time taking on the forces of Instagram and risking censorship in the attempt to hold onto her creative integrity. Blending elements of reggaeton, techno, eurodance, pop and Latin core, her style is a microcosm of the sounds being pumped out of Argentina’s capital of Buenos Aires, a sound that has made her a stalwart in the hardcore and queer scenes.
Pussy in Boots has revealed itself to be more than just a debut album: it’s a risqué declaration from an artist who has refused to play by the rules since day one. Raised in a conservative household where desire was taboo and sensuality policed, Fiah has spent the past few years channelling her slut-shamed repression into a form of empowerment. Whether she’s on all fours suspended in a feline yoga pose, or purring into the mic about rough sex and fantasy, it’s all part of the same message: own yourself.
Now back in Buenos Aires after a whirlwind album launch, Fiah is entering a new chapter in her life. Ságar Gandhi, recently caught up with the singer right before her return home to Buenos Aires, to talk about her nine lives, digital censorship, slut power, and the radical act of staying true to yourself in a world desperate to box you in.
GATA: Hi Fiah, how are you doing? How’s Barcelona treating you?
Fiah Miau: Hey! I’m great, though it’s actually my last day here. I’m heading back to Buenos Aires this afternoon.
GATA: Oh wow! I’m guessing this isn’t your first time here, right?
Fiah Miau: Of course not, I’d been here before. Actually, I lived here for a couple of years. Barcelona already feels like my second home. I’m living in Buenos Aires now. Have you ever been?
GATA: Nope! And honestly, I’ve never even set foot in that side of the world... It’s high on my list. Especially Argentina—must be wild.
Fiah Miau: Argentina is re loco... I already miss it, to be honest. I’m ready to head back. We’ve been on the move for a while here with the album launch, and I’m craving home.
GATA: Totally get that. So tell me: now that it’s been a few months since your debut album Pussy in Boots dropped, how are you feeling about it all? How’s the reception been?
Fiah Miau: It’s wild. It’s my first album, and I had no idea what it was really like to put one out. It was an emotional rollercoaster, especially because the day after the release, my Instagram account got taken down.
GATA: Damn, what triggered the censorship?
Fiah Miau: It was because of the word “pussy” in the title. You know how Puss in Boots is the English name for El gato con botas, and I was like, “I have to play with that name.” But yeah... the joke came at a price. I got my account back after three weeks. It really made me realize how insane it is that all art today has to pass through these platforms, through the filters of advertising and marketing. It totally shapes your vision, your message... It made me rethink a lot about the project.
Also, since it’s my first album, now that three and a half months have passed, I’m blown away by how fast people consume stuff. It took me years to make this, and three months in, fans are already like, “When’s the next album coming out?” I’d never experienced that kind of speed firsthand.
Honestly, all that made me enjoy the process of making the album way more than releasing it. When you build a concept, you need to live in it, really inhabit that energy so everything flows and stays coherent... That’s what I value the most. And now I’m super pumped to perform it live, so I’m happy.
GATA: I love the Puss in Boots reference—it’s clever, and conceptually it really clicks. That whole idea of a cat with nine lives that turn into nine stories… Pussy in Boots tells a clear story: the artist as a cat with many lives. So—what lives is Fiah Miau living now? And which ones has she shed? If you started with nine, how many do you have left?
Fiah Miau: Well, in some versions cats have seven lives, in others nine. I went with nine—it worked better, seven felt short for an album. I’ve lived so many lives… I was a chef, played hockey, went full hippie, traveled the world, lived in India…
GATA: No way! My dad’s from India… Bombay.
Fiah Miau: For real? I adore India. I spent six months there and I’m dying to go back... I moved around a lot: started in New Delhi, did the whole tour, and ended up in Kolkata.
So yeah, many lives... Right now I feel like I’m living my popstar life—going all in on my dreams. It’s not always easy, but I’m investing in what I’ve always wanted: making art, making music. And for one reason or another—or just to survive—I had to go through all those other lives to get to the one I’m living now.
GATA: When it comes to the album, what came first: the image, the sound, or the story? Where does your creative universe begin?
Fiah Miau: If I was going to make a first album, conceptually, it had to be about cats—about the feline. Even before the album, I was always Fiah Miau. I’ve been obsessed with cats since I was little. I’ve had a lot—seventeen at once, at one point. Cats connect me to something beyond. When I’m with them, I can go hours without my phone, I completely disconnect, I go into this meditative state. That’s my zen. I feel a really deep connection. I’m like: maybe I was a cat in a past life?
Even my stage name—Fiah Miau—is partly that. And obviously, also because I’m a cat, a slut. So my first album had to be about that. And one day the wordplay with Puss in Boots came up, and my manager and I were like: that’s it. Everything clicked from there.
GATA: The narrative is super strong, and I think it translates visually, too. Your videos are like performance pieces. You’re such a powerful performer. You really went all in. What inspired the visuals in your videos? Do you have references beyond music?
Fiah Miau: One of my past lives was acrobatic—I was a yoga teacher. I studied for years, taught for years. It was a very physical, acrobatic style of yoga. I always liked pushing myself with harder stuff. I wanted to show off the skills I’d developed—especially with the body. FKA twigs is a huge inspiration, and she also works with the body in her art. And cats are super flexible, right? They’re always in the weirdest poses, always landing on their feet… It all made sense.
With my designer and friend Segundo, we looked for poses we liked, very feline ones... We shot everything in a single day at my place. It was a long day—I was shaking by the end. I gave it my all. I trained for months to get those poses right. The sets are super minimal and sensual.
GATA: And that sensuality is such a signature part of your work. It’s in your visuals, your lyrics, your way of singing… Your whole project embraces sensuality in a bold, unapologetic way. How do you negotiate that freedom in an industry that still plays by a lot of masculine rules?
Fiah Miau: Honestly, it’s a constant fight. You’ve got to be a fighter, tough it out. Suddenly your sensuality becomes a reason for hate or for doors to slam shut: “This isn’t appropriate,” “This isn’t for kids”... With the far-right discourses gaining so much ground these days, you have to stand your ground and stay true to what you believe.
For me, the message is: you can do whatever the hell you want. And if for you, art means showing your body, your pussy, your ass, your tits… then go for it. Own it. It’s also a way of educating people. Of saying: “I don’t give a fuck what you think.” That’s a message too.
“I come from a pretty conservative family, where there was no talk of sex ed, masturbation was taboo... I grew up super repressed. And once I moved out, I just wanted to tear all of that down. My mom was like: ‘Don’t go out in that skirt, you look like a slut.’ And I was like: Oh yeah? Well then I’ll be even more of a slut. Boom. I’m gonna teach you. It was rebellion. A way of saying: I’ll be whatever I want, and I’ll go extra if I feel like it. It was a way to reclaim desire, the body, passion… all these things that were shut down in me as a kid.”
GATA: Do you feel like the repression or censorship you lived as a kid has followed you into adulthood and into your career in the industry? Have you felt people trying to water you down, translate you, or even censor you because you were “too much”? Like when your Instagram got taken down…
Fiah Miau: Look, I’ll be real with you. It’s something I think about a lot. I try to stay true to all of this. I’ve been censored my whole life, so now I do whatever the fuck I want. But yeah—when they deleted my Insta the day after the album came out, I thought: is this really worth it? I’ve been banned from Twitter, had my TikTok taken down, and last week they even shut down my WhatsApp. Who even gets banned from WhatsApp?! I’m under surveillance, you know? I’m a dangerous feline… And yeah, I wonder: how long will they keep trying to shut me down? For now, I’m still going. But it affects me. And if at some point I need to make strategic choices so the project can grow, I’ll do it. What else can I do? But always trying to stay true to my essence.
GATA: That’s so important. And I think now more than ever, it’s crucial that girls, queer people, we find our own ways to express ourselves and our projects. That’s why we need to create our own spaces and systems, right? I feel like that’s what happens with collectives—like you being part of SAMA (Sindicato Argentino de Mostras Amigas). That stuff helps create spaces with our rules. Do you think organizing is key? Is there something that unites you beyond sound—something political, aesthetic, or about identity?
Fiah Miau: Totally. For us, it was a form of refuge. Being able to support each other. When you think a certain way and you find others who think like you, that idea gets stronger. You step harder. There’s more noise, more movement. Organizing builds the resistance.
And I feel like it resonates with others too. Even though SAMA—Vera, Chita, Juana Rozas, Six Sex, and Faraonika—haven’t dropped a song together yet, it already creates impact. In every interview they ask me about SAMA, and outside people really feel it. It inspires other women, other artists, and that’s beautiful.
Plus, we share audiences. Some are more rock, others more pop, others more queer—but it’s mostly a queer crowd, and we love that. We hit the same parties, hang in the same spaces. That bond matters. It really does.
GATA: In cities like Barcelona, we’re seeing so many cool spaces being built, with strong proposals by Argentine and Latin artists I deeply admire. Especially around the club scene. People like Simona, Sofy Suars, collectives like Latineo… They’re doing amazing work. Do you feel like being Latin is finally “in”? How do you see it from the inside? Is it an opportunity, a trap, an excuse?
Fiah Miau: It’s always an opportunity. Especially in Barcelona, I’ve seen so many collectives forming, and I love that—people coming together to push art forward and open doors. That helps all of us artists going that route. It creates a ton of opportunities. Whether it happens here or in Argentina, it opens doors, you make connections, and I love that—it’s so important.
GATA: Shifting a bit to the local scene... Which artists from around here do you like? Not just Barcelona. Who inspires you, or who would you love to collaborate with?
Fiah Miau: I’ve been chatting with Main Costa. I love her, she’s iconic. I’d love to collab with Métrika. Albany is amazing… I listen to a lot of Spanish women artists—I really struggle to listen to men. Ms Nina, La Zowi, Jedet, Samantha Hudson… I admire them so much. The Spanish scene is on fire.
GATA: Yeah, and even though we’re all part of the same scene, there’s so much diversity in the projects. You mentioned that what you loved most about your first album was the process of making it, and that you’re dying to perform it live. What can we expect? Anything coming up?
Fiah Miau: Absolutely! I’ve got something big lined up and I’m super nervous: my first Niceto. It’s a pretty iconic venue back home, and your first Niceto is a big deal. It’s happening on September 3rd. I’m nervous and super excited to start putting the performance together.
Even from my first shows—when I had no money—I always wanted to give it that extra twist. Show something more, even with no resources. Not just me on stage, but a performance. So I’m heading back to Buenos Aires to go full rehearsal mode. I’ll be waiting for everyone there!
GATA: Wishing you the best for that show! Major fomo... I wish I could be there. It was such a pleasure chatting with you, Fiah. Thank you so much!
Fiah Miau: Babe, I loved chatting with you. So sweet. See you around!
PHOTOGRAPHY+ CREATIVE DIRECTION + EDITING: BRUNO SANCHEZ
INTERVIEW: SÁGAR GANDHI
STYLING: MARC DE LA PAZ
LIGHTING: NOAH KARCH
MUAH: MUNO
ASSISTANTS: ALEXANDRA SANCHEZ & CARMEN COSTA