Interview to MYAH

Hi MYAH. Welcome to AFX.

Tell us something about your professional journey so far?

It’s been interesting! Definitely a little stressful at times trying to manage it all -- I’ve been working towards this for the last six years and even still it feels like I've only now just started. I’m trying to remind myself not to give up and to trust the process.

How do you come up with ideas for new songs?

There's two main ways I come up with ideas for songs -- I either write while I'm skateboarding or write on guitar or piano. For whatever reason whenever I skate my mind is clear and I'm not overthinking. I'll riff melodies that come to mind and record them on my phone for when I'm back at an instrument to get a better demo. That's how I wrote "always want you" and "now or never". When I start writing with an instrument first I let the chords influence the idea -- once I get the feeling then the words usually follow -- the day I wrote "flames", I was feeling quite sad, but I didn't know what it was going to evolve into once I sat at my piano. I like to keep things pretty open-minded and fluid.

Do any of your songs based on personal experiences? If so, can you tell me about one that’s particularly special to you?

I would say 90% of my songs are from personal experiences, and then the other 10% are based on an scenario in my head that feels visceral or something you could visualize in a movie. I'm a bit of a romantic so I've always got some form of love or scene on my mind. My entire debut album is 14 tracks based on my life experiences haha. For songs that are out right now though, I'd say "flames" is a very personal one. I had this looming feeling of dread that my relationship was about to end and there was nothing I could do about it when I wrote it. I didn't want it to be too literal lyrically, so once I figured out the imagery I wanted to paint it ended up being a bit poetic and I think it's quite beautiful.

What role does technology play in your music-making process?

I'm very analog. I only use my phone to record demos and write lyrics on, but otherwise I don't use technology to make music. My producers definitely have software that they use for making the produced tracks, but I personally don't use AI or any kind of software.

What has been the best performance of your career so far?

I played Troubadour in April and that felt like a dream come true. I'm playing there again September 5th and I can't wait, it's a really special venue.

Where do you see your career in five years as a singer-songwriter?

Honestly, I have no idea. I never thought in my wildest dreams I'd even be in this position, releasing music the way that I am now. I suppose anything could happen. I don't really have any expectations, but if I do make it big I'll probably cry for like a week straight. Maybe more, lol. That sounds unreal to me, I can't even imagine it. Even doing a tour one day or playing Coachella, I'd be over the moon.

If you had one message to give to your fans, what would it be?

Thank you for being a fan and giving me a chance. I've been pouring everything I've got into the album and the songs outside of the album that are slated to release, and I promise it's going to be worth the wait.