Artist Spotlight: MEYY
Shot by @michellegeerardyn
“This is my universe.” Rising multi-disciplinary alt R&B artist MEYY explores duality with her artfully curated upcoming EP, ‘Neon Angel’.
After her intimately crafted 2020 debut ‘Spectrum’ EP attracted 500,000 streams, critical praise, and accolades such as the Red Bull Elektropedia Award for ‘Most Promising Artist’, MEYY has continued to push the boundaries of her sound and flesh out her creative universe with her newest project. I sat down with the newly London-based MEYY to hear about her latest single, ‘Do It’, featuring French artist Joanna, her inspiring creative collaborators, and her thoughts on a digital future.
How are you? What’s going on with you?
I just moved to London a month ago now and it’s been so good. I’ve been enjoying myself so much, working a lot on new music with new producers, meeting a lot of super interesting nice people. It feels surreal, I’m literally living my dream, just being here and making music and doing it. I’m very excited and very grateful.
That’s so exciting! What made you take the jump to move over here?
It was definitely the team that I have here in London. My management and label are so caring and receptive to everything I do. They made me feel comfortable to take the jump, and of course I had the support of my family and friends. I wasn’t scared to come here, but it did take me a while to make the decision. I wondered if it would be worth it, I literally thought the whole time “isn’t it going to be awkward if I just go there, what am I going to do there?” It’s a job, but it’s not a 9-5 job where you need to be there every day, so it isn’t something you can hold on to as much. It definitely feels like a full time job now that I’m here. It was definitely the best decision ever to come here! I feel that now that I’m here.
Yeah, there’s a certain energy and sense of possibility in London. I’m excited that you decided to come and excited for new music, can you share anything about the songs you’re working on now?
Yeah! So I think on one side my new songs are more pop, but on the other side they’re also more progressive. I don’t think I can say the names yet, but I’ve been working with some very exciting new producers. I just feel like right now I’m in a place where I’m very comfortable and even confident in my curation, in my sounds, my aesthetic, and vibes - when it comes to music and the whole universe that you create around yourself as an artist. It feels very good to be in that headspace and work on new music.
The first project that I put out, ‘Spectrum’, were all songs that I made when I was 16-17. That was also when COVID struck, so I had a bit of a dip where I was very insecure about my artistry, my artistic identity and my sound. I was kind of spinning, I was even considering quitting music for a while because it made me very sad and insecure. The music that I make is super personaI, and I didn’t want something that’s so close to me and so pure to feel like something that I had to be very good at. Obviously it’s something you need to be very good at because that’s the industry and that’s the world. But I let go of that thought, and realized at the end of the day, people are liking the music that I made in my bedroom when I was 16. I didn’t think about anything or anybody else at that time, and I think that’s a very good place for music to come from. I remember I was lying in bed one night and I was crying like “Ah, what do I need to do?” and then I was like “bruh, fuck it! Just let go, it doesn’t matter. You’re literally only at the beginning of your career, if you’re already stressing about it, it’s going to kill all the excitement and the whole nourishing part of the process.” So then I let go. Over time, by being surrounded by super talented producers, friends and my team, I’ve definitely gotten the chance to discover how I wanted to create my own musical universe.
That’s really beautiful. It’s interesting that you say that, because I feel like your music has a lot of openness, especially around lust and sensuality and other things that can feel quite vulnerable at times. How were you able to go from a place where you were insecure about your artistry to being able to put it out into the world? How did that feel and what’s the response been like?
Because I make all of my songs in my bedroom, in such a small and personal context, I don’t really think about the fact that it’s out there. I obviously know that people hear my music because I can see the numbers and people talk about it, but I don’t actively think about it. Also, since I’m from Belgium and spend most of my time there, I’m not fully aware of the fact that everybody understands what I say here in London. I played a show the other week, and when I sang a sassy line or a bougie line the crowd would go “OOOH!” and I was like “Oh yeah, fuck, they understand everything I say.” Knowing that does feel a bit too close, it’s almost intimidating to know that people hear the small words that I was saying in my bedroom. The meaning stayed in that intimate space, in my head and in my microphone. That’s just where it lived and then all of a sudden it’s spreading. Thinking about that is a bit weird, but I’m also very excited to share it, because I’m very very proud of my work and happy with ‘Neon Angel’ and all the songs I’ve put out. It’s a good kind of scared.
That’s great that you were able to share something that’s so intimate to you, but other people can also connect to that intimacy for themselves. Tell me about the new EP! I love the new track with Joanna, the music video is so hot!
[Laughs] To me, this EP really symbolizes the official beginning of my vision. I made this intentionally, to be put out intentionally. That really wasn’t the case with my first project, which is why I value my first project in a different type of way. Now that I’ve made these songs with a clearer vision, I resonate with it more. There’s four songs on the EP, two are more progressive and – I don’t like this word, but – edgy. The two others are a bit more accessible and a bit more of a vibe. I don’t want to reduce it to being a vibe but I think more people will be able to connect to it. That’s what I love about this project – the duality. That’s something that I want to take with me as I go on in music. I like making weird music outside the rules, so I think ‘Neon Angel’ is the perfect package to deliver to the world and say “this is my universe.” I value sound design a lot. Like I said before, it’s all about curating the sounds, the topics and the words right, so I feel very good about the curation on this EP. I’ve been able to work with the most amazing, talented producers who have obviously helped me so much and are the reason that these songs exist as they are. I just want to take a moment to express my gratitude because they are super insane.
I love that you’re sharing something that’s connecting to a collective vibe but is also something that is uniquely you, that you’ve taken a lot of care to design and conceive.
One thing I think is really exciting about your music is how you incorporate immersive digital elements, it almost feels like you’re creating an altered reality in a digital universe. The way you manipulate the vocals, and the way you create a soundscape crafts a unique experience when listening to each song. What’s your process in creating those microcosms for your tracks, and what inspired you to use those elements in your music?
I can’t really explain it but I’m just drawn to certain sounds and - again, I don’t like using this word - certain vibes. I distill those from a big package of sounds, and working with people that share my vision also influences that process. The process is also visual, every sound triggers a colour, a scene, or a texture even. That really guides me through the process. I love music because it’s so immersive. It’s crazy to me because it’s one input source. It’s only audio, but it sets off so many more things in your head and in your body. That’s why it’s so powerful, and so powerful to create it: all the dimensions that you feel when you’re listening to music, you need to fully understand them, combine them, induce them, or awaken them when you’re making it. Maybe that sounds super spiritual. I’m not even a very spiritual person, but making music definitely feels like that without even having to think about it.
Is that how you come to your visuals as well? I see a lot of those elements coming through in your visuals, especially the video for ‘Orchids’ where you had a digitized version of yourself, that one was so stunning. Is that in your mind as you’re composing, or a whole new process once you come together with other creators in collaboration?
No, definitely the whole 3D world that surrounds my music is all created through Romain Albers. He’s almost the co-creative director of my project. I got in touch with him through the music video for Famous, and after that I just kept on working with him. Well actually, he’s my boyfriend, maybe I should say that! We started working together a lot because he has a super amazing eye for aesthetics, on the next music videos and then the 3D renders. Almost everything visual is through him. I obviously have input into the process, but the creative ideas and the craft comes through him. This is also something I want to emphasize, because a lot of people credit me for the world that I create around my music. I really want to credit all the creative people I’ve worked with because it’s not by myself that I do this. I think it’s really important to talk about because I feel like it’s often forgotten that artists don’t do everything themselves. Like I said before I’m a curator, I have inputs in all of this and I create it as well, but I feel it’s important to emphasize that it’s not just me, it’s never just one person.
It’s a community.
Yeah. It’s a scene, and I think it’s like a team. I feel like you can build a strong universe when you have a strong team, which is why I personally like to work with people, especially when it comes to production. Almost everything that I’m going to release will be executive produced by Pippin. They’re a part of the stamp, a pillar of the universe that I create.
So you're being really intentional not only with the universe that you’re creating, but also the people and the energy that you’re bringing into your team. That’s a beautiful thing and great to acknowledge.
One last thing I wanted to hear you share about, since creating digital universes is your specialty: during the pandemic we basically lived online, and one thing I’m noticing about music and life in general is that we’re becoming more and more immersed in the digital space. As a creator that’s so visionary in that area, who uses digital imagery and sounds as a big part of your creative practice, what do you think is the future of the digital space? Is this a new creative frontier that’s exciting, or is it scary and dystopian?
I think it’s a bit of both - personally I don’t really like social media. If I wasn’t doing music I wouldn’t be on social media. On one hand it’s interesting and exciting that there’s less distance between fan and artist. It would be beneficial if it would humanize people that have a platform a bit more, but I feel like the opposite happens. I feel like why it can be toxic - I don’t want to bash on it fully! - but for example, big artists have lots of following, and most of the content they put out is about their amazing life, and about the amazing things they’re doing and their amazing jets. It’s not good for people who don’t have that lifestyle to be confronted with it all the time. It stimulates that capitalist-infused part of us that maybe we should try and simmer down, but social media is doing the opposite. It does humanize artists in general - for example Michael Jackson. I think he’s the biggest pop star that has ever lived and will ever live because there’s no way that we can create such a distance any more between an artist and a fan. Michael Jackson was like a god, people would only see him in these huge arenas filled with people, or only in their living rooms on a TV screen, doing all these otherworldly things, like he was a movie character, a complete fantasy. I think that’s very powerful and where pop culture started. I don’t think it’s necessarily good to idolize someone that much, I think it went to an extent where it wasn’t healthy for the fans or for the artists.
It’s easier to create a universe as an artist and be able to reach people now that everyone’s online. It’s a lot easier to put out what you want people to see and share your story. You can be sure that people will take it in like that. I enjoy the visual aspect of making music, so I think it’s exciting. It has a lot of toxic traits but I’m curious to see what it’s going to do to the world. People have been talking a lot about cyborgs and that they’re coming. I’m obviously talking about developed countries here but I don’t think there’s a day that goes by where we’re not watching our phones. We’ve become so dependent that it’s like an extension of our bodies, so I think in that sense we already are cyborgs. I think that is dangerous - people like to forget but at the end of the day we’re still animals. There’s something about being an organic creature and having an instinct. I’m interested to see how it will play out to immerse something organic and natural in a digital world, especially when it’s happened so fast.
That’s really interesting that you say that, since the whole reason the concept of the metaverse was created in 80s science fiction is that earth had gotten so bad that people just retreated into a digital world. That’s an important point you made that we’re organic beings and we need to remember that we have bodies and an organic planet.
And emotions! This is why I also think music is powerful, and why I try to put emotions into my music and to stimulate emotions. I listen to music to emphasize what I’m feeling, however I’m feeling. I think that it’s so, so important. Like I said, it’s important to emphasize the human, organic features that we have. We try so hard to make everything so rigid and logical, and follow that line. That’s why music is still so powerful. Everybody listens to music and I think that’s why, consciously or unconsciously, I think we’re in need of a bit of escapism, through music and through the digital world.
‘Do It’ featuring Joanna, the latest single from MEYY’s forthcoming EP ‘Neon Angel’, is available everywhere now.