Introducing Mychelle (Interview)

Mychelle’s ‘Forbidden Fruit’ is my number 1 listened to song of the year, ‘love at first listen’ as Spotify Wrapped put it. The melodies and storytelling got me hooked. But I’m late to the game. A certain A-list celebrity snapped up her talent upon briefly seeing her perform in 2019 and put her on his movie soundtrack, effectively launching her career.

Her latest release ‘Tightrope’ is equally beautiful and intriguing as her summer release so I was very pleased to get to have a chat last week and find out more about this lady who has commandeered my Spotify in 2022.

You had a really interesting launch, going from busking under a bridge in  Shoreditch to being picked up by Idris Elba, how did that come about?

I used to busk in the tube stations and someone from his label saw me busking in Euston. But then also my manager who I work with now saw me around the same time. It’s weird because I’d been doing it for a while but they both happened to see me around the same time.

I loved doing it, I used to do it like, 3 times a week.

Do you ever still do it, just for fun?

I would but because of the pandemic it just hasn’t really gone back to normal yet, it’s a bit more limited. The group I was a part of hasn’t gone back to doing the Underground.

What doors do you feel that opened for you, if any?

Well, definitely the Idris Elba track [‘Prophecy’ on The Yardie Mixtape] it opened the relationship with my current manager and label and also lots of gigs. I met cool people who then waited for me to release music and now I have music out, support me. Also practicing performing to a crowd, sort of, because they’re listening but they’re not. It definitely helped me grow as a performer.

So who were your favourite artists growing up?

I used to listen to a lot of Destiny’s Child because I have 2 sisters. Used to listen  to a lot of reggae music too. And i used to enjoy listening to the Top 40. Also, having different friends from different backgrounds meant that I listened to what they and their family listened to, which was nice.

Over the last year you’ve released your EP ‘Someone Who Knows’, how do you feel your music has developed over the last 3 years since things took off?

Ummmm, I think now working more with other people who bring other styles, that has added to it because I was used to writing all the songs myself, at home. Working with people is noice because somebody else’s creativity is involved as well. My first project, every single song I wrote alone and then the second project some were collabs and now the song that’s just come out ‘Tightrope’ and the one after it, both are collaborations. It’s nice though because it is different and it’s easy to feel like you’re just doing the same thing over and over when you work alone.

You mentioned your new song, tell me about ‘Tightrope’.

So I wrote that one with Ed Thomas. I’ve worked with him a few times and I love working with him. I feel like, every time we write a song I’m like, this is what i’d hope to write by myself so, it’s not too far from what I feel I would do but it’s better. He’ll  just draw out things that I probably wouldn’t have said.

The video works so well to explain the song, was that your creative idea or did you bring someone in?

I wanted it to be a family vibe but the director Thea came up with the concept and I really loved the it .Another thing, I said I didn’t want to be in this video. I felt really shy at that time and wanted to step away so I said I’d be an extra. So she wrote it without me in. But yeah, I love the video.

Michael Balogun (Top Boy, You Don’t Know Me, War of The Worlds) stars, was it Thea’s idea to bring him in?

Yeah, they’re friends, so when we spoke in the early stages she said she had this guy Michael in mind and when I saw him I was like ‘oooh! I recognise him! And he’s going to be in my video?!! This is cool!’

The nice thing is as well, it’s funny how things come full circle… with the director years ago I made friends when I was busking and they were into film and they took me to an event where Thea was showing some of her short films and i was like ‘this girl’s so great!’. This was maybe 5 years ago, and i always remembered her and saw her pop up here and there but i didn’t know her, I just knew she was the director who did these films that I thought were really cool. So when we decided to do this video the Art Director, Erin, mentioned her and I was like ‘I'm a big fan, I'd love to work with her’. So she did the treatment and it ended up happening and I finally got to work with her!

So, who would be your dream collaborator?

Ummmm, I'd want it to be someone so random that you’d never expect…..I feel like this changes. Who came to my mind was Florence and The Machine. I feel like she doesn’t really do collaborations.

I feel like one really beautiful thing about your songs is that you express the nuance of the human experience, you come at it from an interesting and unique angle. What do you think it is about you that brings that out?

I don’t know. I feel like I do write about love stories, they’re kind of love songs but because I don’t want them to be too on the nose I write about it in an ambiguous kind of way. They are still love songs but they’re not direct. They’re more ‘this is howI’m feeling’ but it also relates to other things in life.

What’s next for you?

I’ve just released a remix of ‘Tightrope’ by Theo Eckhart, it’s kind of a house vibe so that’s out now. I do love listening to house as well. And just working towards another single in the new year, I just want to stay consistent.

I’ve got a gig in Amsterdam in February but hopefully more start rolling in because I do love the performance side of it.

Follow Mychelle on Insta @mychelleuk

Words: Kate Vice