In Talks With: Mychelle

Mychelle is a rising star in the world of R&B and Soul music. Starting her career as a busker, she has gone from strength to strength and her latest EP, ‘Someone Who Knows’, has just dropped today. We caught up with her to discuss her musical journey, drawing inspiration from soaps, and the R&B talent this country has to offer:

How would you describe your sound?

I guess R&B and Soul. I like a lot of other sounds and stuff so I like to incorporate them when I can but I guess my sound is ultimately R&B or Soul.

Have you grown up with a musical background?

I think throughout school definitely. I was really into writing with my best friend and through secondary school as well they really helped. They really pushed us to get in the studio in school, and they always had us performing at  school concerts. So yeah, I did grow up doing a bit of that as well. When I was younger.

I’ve seen as well that you really like busking. How did you get into that?

I remember the first day I busked actually. I was in Shoreditch, and yeah, I was really nervous, but I called my friend and I was on the phone to him. I just started singing on the phone to him, but technically, it was busking. Then I started doing that in Shoreditch a lot. After that, I did a competition, and I got a license. And then I started busking in the underground. And yeah, I was doing that for about, I think over five years.

And I saw from your busking that you were able to get onto Idris Elba’s mixtape. What was that experience like for you?

Yeah, that was really fun. Funnily enough the label manager who reached out to me, I didn’t meet her whilst I was busking. She reached out to me, and said she’d seen me busking. It’s the same with my manager as well. I didn’t meet him when I was busking, but he said he saw me. But yeah, there’s quite a lot of things I’ve done through busking. Loads of gigs and staff at weddings as well, which is really nice. So yeah, the opportunities have been really nice from me busking, for sure.

You must like the performance aspect of music a lot then?

Yeah, it’s definitely my favourite part.

And you’ve just come off tour with Maverick Sabre. How was that?

Yeah, that was really good. That was my first proper tour, actually. Well, I’ve hopped from place to place and stayed in hotels and stuff before. It was nice to watch them every night and and just like, I don’t know, pick up skills. I was really inspired by his performance every night because he’s obviously been doing it for a long time.

You’ve recently dropped a couple of songs, one with ENNY, what was the process like with her?

Oh, yeah, really good. She’s really nice. It was really fun actually on that one because the song was getting there, and then she jumped on it and it just made it even better for me. I think personally, it made the song a lot better. And yeah, it was a nice experience and I’m glad that she’s a part of the song.

Where do you find inspiration for your music?

I think from my own life, but also maybe friends told me things and then I realised after I’ve written this, ‘Oh, I think this my friends situation.’  Also I think through maybe even TV, sometimes you’re watching a series and you really feel connected. I might write a song and I’m writing as if it’s my life in the series. I love EastEnders. And I feel like EastEnders has a lot of drama to write about.

Have you ever had a sticky situation after writing a song based on your friends?

I think because I don’t do it in a way that’s so clear cut, they’re like, ‘Oh, my God, this song speaks to me!’ Then maybe that was about you. But yeah, I haven’t got into trouble because I don’t give it all away. But I just think you know, you’re listening to stories. And you’re really empathising with them, so it’s easy to be inspired by that.

What do you like to listen to and what have you grown up listening to?

A lot of stuff. When I was younger I remember listening to a lot of like Mariah and Whitney. I loved to listen to them growing up. Reggae as well, a lot of that was kind of like something that I listened to in my house. I really do like pop music as well. Like, I think growing up from school I loved listening to like the top 40. I don’t so much now. Now as well I go back and listen to a lot of Motown and stuff. There’s so much music available these days that I just listen to anything that touches me.

You’ve got an EP dropping in May. What can we expect from that?

I feel like every song has its own thing. I feel like all the songs are very different, sound wise. I think  that is really nice, Because I like to listen to different types of music, so I like that every song has a different kind of vibe. It’s called ‘Someone Who Knows’. It’s like, giving advice to my younger self, from me who’s been through everything. I feel like the songs as well are about going through these experiences and this project is from someone who’s been through it.

Who else do you check for in the UK R&B scene?

Jorja, Mahalia, Joy Crookes, Sasha Keable. I really like Samm Henshaw and JVCK JAMES as well but I think they’re going to the US. I don’t think there’s enough for support in the mainstream for R&B in the UK, so even though there’s a nice hub growing, that’s why you can see people leaving.

What other plans do you have for 2022 aside from the EP?

I’ve got a headline show on the 31st of May. At the Lexington, I’m excited for that. That should be good, because I had one in 2019, but I didn’t have any music out. I was really hoping that my friends would just come and like, sing all the songs and make me look cool. Hopefully, more people will know my songs. And yeah, hopefully, I hope it goes well. I’ve got few exciting gigs and other stuff coming up, which I’m looking forward to.

You can stream Mychelle’s new project, ‘Someone Who Knows’, here: