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St. Louis-born singer-songwriter MILES makes music that merely feels good. Incorporating every part from hip-hop, pop, R&B and pop punk, MILES has crafted an all-encompassing sound that radiates positivity and playfulness. With his debut EP, NEVER HAVE I EVER, MILES hand-selected his strongest songs, together with the title monitor, which options blink-182 drummer and producer extraordinaire Travis Barker. He calls the track a “stadium anthem,” an outline that could not be extra becoming because of its palpable vitality and scope. MILES, who initially rose to prominence by TikTok and his now-viral single “WHAT IN TARNATION,” would not take a second of his success with no consideration and is trying ahead to pursuing a lifetime of music, energetic performances and connection.
What was the method like placing your debut EP, NEVER HAVE I EVER, collectively?
I feel this was an amalgamation of the songs I used to be making after I acquired out to LA from St. Louis, Missouri, the place I’m initially from. It’s the sensation of navigating that new territory and working with all of those loopy gifted musicians and producers. These songs got here collectively somewhat bit retroactively as a result of I signed a report deal and had songs that got here earlier than and after the deal. Some of them simply match collectively appropriately, and I needed to offer it the legs that it wanted to do what I feel it might do. It was time to have a physique of labor to replicate on that time frame, signing a report deal and then transferring on to the following.
Another milestone from the EP is the title monitor, which options Travis Barker. I can think about that should have been a very inspiring second.
We had the track and have been listening to it with my A&R and managers in a room, and after we heard it, we knew it was lacking some form of feeling. My A&R Johnny was like, “Should we get Travis Barker?” and we have been all like, “Yeah, of course!” Per week later, we acquired Travis, and he completely reimagined the track and put his aptitude on it. It feels like a stadium anthem, and I’m so honored that he threw that on the monitor.
[Photo by Cameron Nisbet]
Was there a second if you have been rising up if you realized music is likely to be your calling?
I all the time cherished singing — it was my shit. When I first acquired my MacBook, I’d report little Photo Booths of me singing random shit however by no means actually thought an excessive amount of of it. I began freestyling and was tragically unhealthy at the start, so it was a tough begin. I simply saved doing it and working that muscle till I acquired actually good at freestyling and began writing music and realized how cool it was. Funny sufficient, my highschool monitor coach knew a dude with a studio in a not-so-great a part of St. Louis, and he paid for my first session. I recorded my first track ever within the studio and was like, “Oh, my God, this is crazy.” That was an enormous second for me to actually hear a product that polished. I saved going again there and launched a remix of “Maria I’m Drunk” by Travis Scott, and it blew up on SoundCloud. It had like 300,000 streams, and as a senior in highschool, I used to be like, “Holy shit.” Once the track began doing properly, it was over, and I used to be like, “I’m doing this forever.”
That’s wild considering the fact that you decided to go to an Ivy League school and play college football shortly after. What was it like balancing school, athletics and music as you were starting to build online hype?
It was really tough because I didn’t want to go to college or play football anymore. I got recruited by Dartmouth, and I was just so fully devoted to music at that point that school didn’t matter, and football definitely didn’t matter as I messed up my ankle the summer going into Dartmouth, so I was the team manager. All my homies and managers were in LA, but I was in the cold in my dorm trying to make music in a sterile environment, so it was a little rough patch. I took a personal term and came out to LA for a month-and-a-half. That all ended with not being able to go back to Dartmouth for some discrepancy shit that my counselor didn’t tell me at the beginning, and I was just like, “Perfect, I’m done.” [Laughs.]
Your music touches on so many various genres. Were you all the time immersed in a variety of music rising up?
Yeah, shouts out to my dad because he has the most eclectic music taste of any human being on this Earth. He played everything from jazz, rap and R&B. One time, I got in the car, and he had polka music playing and was like, “Before you say anything, try to catch this groove,” and low key, it was hard. [Laughs.] I loved pop music and played Guitar Hero, so I had a little bit of rock in there, but growing up and figuring out what I liked about all of these genres, I just tried to grab those favorite pieces and pull them into my sound.
Having experienced success early on with platforms like TikTok and Instagram, what advice would you give to other aspiring artists who are looking to grow their audience?
Post the video. [Laughs.] That’s the only advice other than doing it every day. TikTok is dope because it has allowed me to just let shit fly and not think too long. You can do whatever you want and post it. The worst thing that can happen is that nobody sees it, so there’s really no downside to it. The beauty of TikTok is that you don’t need to have a base at all, and anyone can do this thing.
What can fans expect from your live performances on the tour with Peach Tree Rascals?
They can expect the fucking energy. With my live shows, you get all of me, which you don’t get through a screen or social media. The energy that I bring to a show is unmatched, I’m just gonna say it. We turn the fuck up at my shows, and I can’t wait to give you guys these songs in person.
With your artistic journey just beginning, where do you hope to be in the next five-10 years?
My dream is to get this out to as many people as possible and show them that you can do this too. This life is only as fun as you make it, and you only get one, so I just want to be doing this in whatever capacity it looks like forever.
FOR FANS OF: iann dior, Lil Nas X, Post Malone
SONG RECOMMENDATION: “THE INTERNET” (feat. LØLØ)
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