MYCHELLE: “IT’S JUST NICE TO INTERCEPT SOMEONE’S DAY WITH MUSIC.”
VOCAL GIRLS meet North London’s Mychelle to chat about her sophomore EP, adapting to the pandemic, and the unexpected joys of busking.
Mychelle is a singer, writer, and basketball player whose effortless voice is taking the world by storm. Her debut EP, ‘Closure’, surpassed one million Apple Music streams in little more than six months and made it immediately clear that she was one to watch, despite being made and released in the middle of lockdown. “[The EP] did fill a void,” Mychelle says. “It was really fun, and because it was my first project it was fresh, it was new - I was really excited. So even though [lockdown] was crappy, at least that good experience is attached; when I hear ‘pandemic’, I’m going to remember ‘oh, I released my first project during the pandemic’.
Her latest single, ‘Dear Younger Self’, is an exciting insight into her follow-up project, centering more gorgeous vocals and a gentle, much-needed reminder to know your own worth. Although this will be Mychelle’s second EP, it’s the first she’s made under vaguely normal circumstances. “I did go into the sessions a bit more, so that was nice,” she says. “It just felt a bit more like ‘ah, I’m actually making a project the way I always imagined, whereas the first time was all virtual. But because it was my first one, that’s all I knew.” Lyrically, too, this EP has been a new experience for her: “I wrote all the songs [on ‘Closure’] around the same time,” she explains, “so it just felt like an easy story to me. But with this one it’s different songs from different parts of my life, so putting it together wasn’t as easy as the last one. I really enjoyed it though, because each song has its own vibe, so I’ve enjoyed seeing where they go”
In terms of songwriting inspiration, the world is Mychelle’s oyster: “Sometimes I’ll watch a programme, and the story might inspire me,” she says. “But I feel like I don’t really think about it - I’ll be writing a song and just [think] ‘oh, that’s kind of like what’s happening in EastEnders!’. The idea will come based on something I’ve been thinking about, whether it’s about me or not.” Away from the telly, a lot of that everyday inspiration comes from busking: “You never know who you’re going to come across,” she explains. “I also really like to people watch! Sometimes when I’m busking I’m singing away, but I’m also just observing everyone’s journey that day; I don’t know why I really enjoy that!”.
The streets have also become the perfect rehearsal space for Mychelle: “I feel like with busking it doesn’t have to be polished,” she muses, “so I always use that time to practice songs that I’m not really comfortable with. I was busking in the underground, so people are just walking past, they can’t really stop. But with the outdoor stuff, it is nice to collect an audience just from people on their own journey in their day. They just stop, and there’s something really beautiful about that, as opposed to a show where you know people go there for that. That’s still really amazing as well, but it’s just nice to intercept someone’s day with the music.”
Sadly, though, busking was pretty much impossible as lockdowns came and went. “That was hard,” Mychelle admits. “No one was outside - it was literally a waiting game.” She didn’t wait around doing nothing, though. “I did do a few online things,” she explains. “I did a wedding anniversary - it was cute, there were nice things going on. And then my friends put on a street show, so me and three of my other friends all performed on the street to the local community, and that was really nice. I would say that’s one of my favourite days ever! So even though it was quite crap not performing throughout the year, again, there were still good things to come out of it.”
Frustratingly, 2021 ended on a relatively sour note for a lot of people, Mychelle included. “Over Christmas, obviously the covid cases were really high,” she says. “I was just on tour supporting another artist, Reuben James, and that tour was amazing - He’s such a good musician! The energy of the crowd was so nice, so to have that and then go into December [when] I was at home for weeks [with covid] was just a lot.”
Characteristically, though, she’s starting 2022 right where she left off: “[my] last show was three weeks ago,” she recalls, “and it was so nice. I feel like when you’re recording and you’re putting out music, it’s exciting because you’re going to give something to people. But when you go to a show and you perform, and you literally feel the energy of everyone in the room at the time you’re singing, it’s just beautiful. I really felt that in that show, so it was really good.”
“I have a headline show coming up at The Lexington on May 31st,” she continues. “I’m excited for that one - I haven’t had a headline for two years! As well as experiencing the energy of a live audience, shows are also a special chance for Mychelle to share her stage. “I was busking so much, playing by myself, and I was like ‘I really just want to do a gig with a band and have my friends and family there’,” she says. “It was stressful, but I put it on and it went really well, so I’m excited for this one, because it’s been two years now.”
It was actually at a gig that Mychelle had her ‘lightbulb moment’ in deciding to pursue music. “When I finished uni I went to a Corinne Bailey Rae gig,” she remembers. “Just seeing her on stage, everything clicked and I was like ‘I want to be doing that’.[She was] on the stage and singing songs which you can just tell are straight from her. It was such a nice performance, and it was so random - my friend had just told me about it the day before. But yeah, I would say that watching her perform, that really inspired me.”
Her choice to try and get into music proved to be the right one in 2019, when she was given the opportunity to feature on Idris Elba’s ‘The Yardie Mixtape’. “That was really fun!”, Mychelle beams. “He’s so nice, like he’s actually such a nice guy. And the amazing thing is, we were in the studio together with another writer creating the song - it was nice to not just do a song with him, but actually be part of the process.”
Surprisingly, it all came about through her busking: “The manager of the label saw me busking in Euston and she reached out to me, and we just started talking a bit,”, Mychelle explains. “Then over time they were like ‘oh, we really want you to be a part of this project on this song’, and I was like ‘ah! It’s happening!’” It’s not just an opportunity to people watch and dry run new material - busking can also get you in the booth with Idris!
With a voice to die for and the personality to match, we’re in no doubt that the future holds big things for Mychelle. You can get to know her new single here.
Photo Credits: Megan Graye | @megangraye_
