MEYY Conjures Up the Ethereal World of 'Neon Angel' [Q&A]
Photo: Michael Smits
MEYY makes music for those unafraid to lucid dream. The London-based Belgian artist crafts hypnotic R&B equally informed by neon-lit soundscapes and the artist's otherworldly musings. All this comes to life on MEYY's sophomore EP, Neon Angel. Over the course of four entrancing tracks, the ethereal talent whisks the listener away into tales of love, lust, and far-off journeys informed by textured, evolving sonics.
We had the chance to speak with MEYY about the desire at the core of Neon Angel and plenty more.
Ones to Watch: Who is MEYY? What is she all about as an artist?
MEYY: MEYY is about digital ethereal emotions.
What is Neon Angel all about?
Neon Angel is a celebration of love and all of its contours. It's also a manifest for my emotions and accommodated imagination. It's a succession of dreams. A compilation of songs that beautifully reflect the dreamlike state I enter when making or listening to music. It reflects different dimensions of my world, but they all blend in perfectly through the soundscape I created together with my incredible producers. It's a delicate project that I curated carefully and the songs were made in the intimate setting of my bedroom. To me, this project sounds like underwater flowers moving. That visualization covers the fragility and yet wavy texture of this EP. When listening to Neon Angel, I hope you can create your own dream world and that it sparks a desire for moments from the past, the present, and the future. That you mentally create your own visuals, as vague or subtle as they may be. I hope it makes you feel the radiance you have within yourself and that you can enjoy the beauty of it. I want my music to take your mind to places. I’m intrigued by the surreal power that music can have. One form of auditive input can set off so many dimensions like the physical, emotional, personal and memorial. I wish my music allows you to transcend the reality we live in every day, even if it's in a very small and subtle way and that it radiates colors, emotions, desires, and dreams but above all: I hope it beams angelic neon lights.
The EP explores a lot of space on the track, almost soundscapes. Is that a deliberate part of your art direction?
Whenever I start making a song, I'll immediately have colors, images, lights or sceneries going around in my head. I think this all from it's foundation in my vivid sense of imagination. Once I have the imagery, it's easier to curate sounds or lyrics around that. And also by working with my amazingly gifted producers of course. I feel like their taste just added perfectly to the ethereal digital sound I envisioned but couldn't literally embody (since I'm not as good of a producer as they are). They got the direction I want to go soundwise, and lifted that aesthetic to an even higher level.
You have excellent features on the EP (Joanna and Jelani Blackman), how do you go about selecting them?
Jelani and I linked up through our label initially and then he asked me to open for him at his sold out show at Bush Hall back in October. We had a good connection, and I love the aesthetic in his voice and flow and his whole project really so when we were looking for a feature for "Rain" I immediately thought of him. Joanna and I had done a session before and she is just such a goddess - a big inspiration. So I asked her to hop on "Do It" which aesthetic she effortlessly augmented.
How does your dance background influence your sound if at all?
I guess it gave me a sense of movement and fluidity, which is very important for my music.
Can we expect more of this style in the future, potentially on an upcoming album?
It's too soon for an album, but I'll definitely keep on releasing music in a steady flow and deepen out the sound curation I have going on now.
Besides this excellent EP, what else should we be on the lookout for?
The growth of the project in general, come on this journey with me :)
What’s inspiring you right now outside of music?
Love and all of its contours (my eternal inspiration).
Who are your Ones to Watch?
Ashley Morgan, Pippin, Cosha, Ojerime, onmyones.
