Mayfly – Breathe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Artist Name: Mayfly

 

Song Title: Breathe

 

Genre: Electro Pop

 

Release Date: 05/10/18

 

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Purple Melonmu

 

Barry Gruff

 

Going Solo

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Mayfly – Breathe

 

21-year old producer from London writing deceptively sad electro pop songs. After previously having released a more casual demo on SoundCloud (Feb 2017), I took some time away, wrote an album, cut most of my hair off and am now ready to officially get Mayfly up and running.

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Brief us on how to impress fans during a live performance.

I think apart from being obviously engaging with the crowd it’s about letting how much you love what you’re doing show through. I get nervous to be on stage as much as the next person but I always feel… comfortable, and had people express how much they enjoyed watching me, when I’ve stopped worrying about all the things that could go wrong and zoned into the music itself!

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List the names of your biggest supporters.

My mum has always been the biggest supporter of me and my music. After getting over the initial shock of her daughter wanting to pursue a career in one of the most uncertain and harsh industries ever (she wouldn’t admit this but it’s true), she’s been nothing but the best. Whether it was buying me first guitar or listening to me write some terrible songs… she’s my first point of call for anything I may need some advice on, or any new tracks I want to share.

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Explain what has motivated you so far in your music career.

This is as cliché as it gets, but for me, nothing beats the feeling of writing and producing a song I’m really proud of. Music is my emotional outlet and making music is where I am at my happiest and most calm. It has played a huge part in helping me through some of the worst time of my life, and I owe it to the Mayfly who went through those times to have a thick skin and keep going, even when the music industry can make that tough sometimes.

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Discuss your experience as an artist.

I’ve been writing music since around the age of 14, however this was much more folk orientated and it’s only in the past 3 years that I’ve started to produce electronic music. I studied music at university in London, which gave me the opportunity to write with and be surrounded by some amazing musicians and has made the first few years of being a, I suppose, ‘proper’ artist really enjoyable.

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Tell us the biggest mistake you have ever made in your music career.

Luckily I’ve not been an artist long enough to make any life altering mistakes (I’m sure my day will come). Hmm, I auditioned with a friend of mine for Britain’s Got Talent when I was 14 that could have been the end of my career before it even began..!

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Discuss the story behind the song.

‘Breathe’ was written when I was in a pretty dark headspace. I wrote it to try and portray what it was like to go from living with anxiety every day and trying to manage regular panic attacks, to finally feeling like you have control over your mental state again. The track was entirely written and produced by me. I see myself as a writer/producer as well as a singer, and being the pillar of the production process is something I love. Production can be a hard side of the industry to crack for a woman, and I hope that one day we live in a world where we might have a fair shot at winning the Producer of the year Grammy.

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Tell us how to fund a music project.

If anyone out there has the answer to this question, please let me know! It’s something I’m still figuring out, and at the moment I’m just trying my best to balance London rent, bills and living costs with trying to squeeze out and save as much as I can for anything music related.

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Discuss your opinion on the safety of fans during shows and live performances.

For the most part; the gigs I have attended over the years have been amazing and safe experiences. However, something that I am really passionate about and luckily has come to light more and more over the years is the safety of women when watching live music. The amount of times I or my friends have been non-consensually touched, groped, or approached at gigs, especially as a teenager is too many to count. Having fully committed to being an indie kid, I was down at the front with everyone else in the mosh pit (thinking I was far cooler than I was), and for a long time I thought being treated that way was just how being in the thick of it was supposed to be. Until I talked to some of my male friends, who turns out, were having a very different experience to me. There’s nothing sadder than thinking about how this might isolate women from seeing their all-time favourite artists, and I seriously hope that one day it’s not even a topic we have to discuss.

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Tell us the greatest piece of advice someone has given you as an artist.

It’s the most simple piece of advice, but, to just focus on the music. Make the best music you can possibly make, be proud of it, and then think about the rest.

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Tell us what you will improve or change in your music.

I’m constantly challenging and developing my production skills and I think the better they get the more my music will improve!

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Discuss vocal training and how you protect your vocal.

I was lucky enough to have received techniques training and vocal lessons on and off since I was about 15. However, I’ll admit I am still terrible for not warming my voice up before I sing and it’s something I need to start reminding myself to do.

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Discuss your best mood during performance.

I haven’t played a show as Mayfly yet, but I am very much looking forward to it. I am lucky enough to also be writing music with some of best mates, who are also fantastic musicians at the moment, and I would say my favourite time performing so far in my career has been performing the material we’ve been writing together.

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State your artist’s name and elaborate on it.

Mayfly- I was born in May for a start, but also it fascinates me that they pretty much only live for 24 hours. I wonder does there 24 hours feel like a whole lifetime to them, or would it feel how 24 hours would feel to us as humans? They also start off as being aquatic, and for as long as I can remember I have absolutely loved swimming and being in the water. Everything kind of added up and it just felt like the artist name for me!

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List your best artists with reasons.

This list could go on for a while but I’ll try my hardest to keep it short. Bon Iver is an artist I’ve loved from a very young age, his second and self-titled album introduced how electronics could be brought into folk music, and definitely played a part in my evolving musical style. Lorde is a songwriting queen, I listen to her album Melodrama at least once a week and seeing her live was one of the best gigs I’ve been to. Grimes and Anne Meredith have been huge inspirations production wise, I think their sound palettes are incredible and unique and I strive to one day have such a distinct sound library! Keaton Henson is an artist I’ve been listening to for years and years and I am constantly in awe of how much emotion his songs portray. My favourite album of his is actually his classical one, Romantic Works. I’ve had to stop listening to it on public transport because I cry every time.

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Discuss your existence as an artist.

I guess my existence as an artist is only really just beginning. Whilst I’ve been making and writing music for around 7 years now, it’s only been in the past couple of years I feel I’ve found my sound and what I love doing.

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Tell us the greatest problem you think is facing the society and the solution.

Honestly, that just so much inequality and hate still exists. Whether it’s sexism, racism, xenophobia, homophobia or transphobia, at the moment it really can feel like you’re losing the battle against it all. I wish I knew the solution, but I guess for now it’s about evaluating when you are in a position of privilege and standing up and defending those who need support.

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Discuss your songwriting and recording.

I write, record and produce everything at home in my bedroom! I would love to be able to get into a studio at some point in the near future and expand both my knowledge and the quality of my music, but for now I will remain a bedroom producer. In terms of my songwriting process, I tend to come up with the music before I write any lyrics. I find it inspires the topic I want to write about, and for me I want the production and sounds that I use to tell as much of a story as the lyrics. In the wise words of Jenny Hval, melodic phrases and rhythmic pulses can all tell you things words alone couldn’t.