Get To Know: Mychelle

Steadily rising, Mychelle is an exciting talent in the UK scene who has been building herself up and is now ready to present her debut album ‘Good Day’ to the world.

Her debut doesn’t differentiate from her past EPs or singles, in which her musicality continues to be rooted in a level of transparency and vulnerability that allows her audience to strike up a deep connection and seek solace in her soulfulness.

‘Good Day’ is, however, bolder and louder in production than any of its predecessors and is an elevated body of work, wrapped up in timeless songwriting.

Mychelle first started consciously creating this album around eight months ago. However, some songs have been in the bank for two to three years, waiting patiently until they found their home on this project.

Artistically, she has had a real evolution when it comes to her music, She first started creating her own music during lockdown by herself; however, with ‘Good Day’, she has been in the studio working with other talented songwriters and producers, bouncing ideas back and forth. This shift in scenery and method has allowed Mychelle to be able to confidently share the ideas she has with her peers to make her vision a reality on record.

“I always wanted to be an artist who knew what they wanted and could translate that to my producers to get my desired sound”, she said. “I feel with this album I really got the chance to do that”.

Mychelle’s previous body of work, Me & Gaz was an acoustic project, so she wanted there to be a shift in direction sonically. The producers on Good Day have allowed Mychelle to grasp that feeling of her songs being shown in a bolder light, without losing the intimacy and emotions of the feelings portrayed.

The album title, Good Day is somewhat ambiguous as it doesn’t give too much away. For Mychelle, the fact that the title can be interpreted in a variety of ways is what appealed to her. On the one hand, people say Good Day when saying goodbye to one another, making it fitting as the final song on the record.

On the other hand, being able to wake up every day, relishing the fact that Mychelle gets to do music as a career, means every day is a good one for the singer. The release date for her album will also be a Good Day for her.

The roots of Mychelle’s journey, however, started in busking. It was this which allowed her to find her voice as an artist by building her confidence and practising her craft. The stars really aligned during these formative busking days when she was spotted by Idris Elba’s team as well as her now record label, FAMM (Jorja Smith, Maverick Sabre and ENNY), just a few weeks apart. She then worked with Idris and his team on the track ‘Prophecy’ from The Yardie mixtape, the musical accompaniment to his feature film directorial debut of the same name.

Growing up in Hackney, Mychelle’s family and surroundings were very encouraging of amplifying her creative voice, as she would put on shows with her sisters as well as act out her singing dreams with her friends in the local park. Mychelle particularly credits her school, explaining that “My teachers encouraged me to sing my original songs in assembly and really helped build my confidence”.

This strong backbone of the community uplifted Mychelle to utilise her voice, and has been pivotal in her career, as it brings back fond memories for her. Reminiscing about her past, Mychelle gives credit to arts charity Rising Tide, a community hub that she attended growing up, focused on opening up creative opportunities and mentoring programmes to help instil young people with the knowledge to help kick-start their music aspirations.

One thing that Mychelle is returning to is sports. The East Londoner has a love for exercise. She even has her own fitness page, where she regularly documents her fitness journey, including a variety of sports.

“It’s very easy to be drained by music, and I find that exercise is a great way to help keep me balanced", Mychelle said.

Mychelle takes great pride in her fitness and is with a label and team that allows her to showcase her passion in her musical journey. This has been proven in her music video for ‘Sweet Nothings’. A track from this album, the accompanying video centres around her love of football and community.

Looking to the near future, Mychelle is gearing up to support Jorja Smith next month, culminating in three consecutive sold-out shows at London’s infamous Eventim Apollo.

Speaking on the preparation for these shows, Mychelle divulges that she has been practising performing songs on the album by taking it back to her roots of busking. Her song ‘Sweet Nothings’ has been a particular hit with the crowds, and she is looking forward to presenting that to her fans.

Mychelle is very aware that once the album is out, it is up to her audience to interpret the songs in a way that connects to them, which is part of the joy of it.

However, her main hope for her album is that it will become a body of work that becomes timeless and will still resonate with her audience in the years to come.

As well as supporting Jorja Smith on tour from May to June, Mychelle has just announced her solo headline tour in Europe and UK between September and November, finishing up at the famous Jazz Café in London on November 11th.

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