The Smooth and The Strong new Artist Myyora

Tell us about yourself and your music

I was born in London. My parents are from Congo and I’ve been living in the south of France since my early teens. I am a blend of these amazing cultures and I think and hope that it shows in the music, in my style, and in my being. Going to an international school also exposed me to so many other cultures. I speak and have an understanding of several languages.

Talk to us more about your latest release

After Eight is about the vibrant nights out in London and how freeing it can feel and be, you can be whoever you want. London is known for its acceptance of diversity. There are literally all kinds of places for all kinds of people. Absolute freedom, that’s something that I really love about London.

What inspired you to write this release?

As I’ll explain in the next question the inspiration for the songs come from my experiences of London. The producer and the lyricist know me quite well, and we spent time together there on occasions. They always have me and my experiences in mind.

Eight talks about city life but specifically “London life” which is a very relatable experience for me and for anyone who has experienced the London or city life. When I sing the song I see the images vividly painted in my mind, the fast pace of the people, the cars, the sounds whizzing passed me, all the different options of; bars, pubs, lounges, clubs, restaurants that London has to offer, all the lights. I spent a lot of time in central London, Soho so that’s what I see.

Describe the writing and recording process

For the writing process, there’s a team of 4. The first role is the producers, she composes the melody and always writes the chorus. The second role is the lyricist’s, she takes the melody and the chorus and writes the rest of the songs based around them. The third role is the sound engineers who works very closely with the producer to create the sound. And the final role is mine, the interpreters. Once the sound and the lyrics are ready I take it and listen to it non stop to soak it up then go to the studio to record my voice.

The studio is in Marseille. There’s the view of the Mediterranean sea from the studio, it’s a beautiful space, very open and I have a very close creative relationship with my sound engineer and producer. It’s very much a team effort, the music and lyrics are written in collaboration; my part of the creative process happens during recording, it’s to do with how much freedom I have with interpretation. The writers also know me very well, they’ve known me for a very long time, they know my story, my personality, my voice so they write specifically with me in mind and that comes across in the music.

Any plans to release a video?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdiKFO1p-H8

Any plans to hit the road?

For After Eight we decided to release an audio video for the original version and a video clip for the acoustic version on youtube. I do believe that the visual essence of the video has a big role to play, and we’ll definitely be working on putting out actual music videos for future releases. We don’t know how long it will be before things get back to normal or what the new normal will look like.

As an indie artist, how do you brand yourself and your music to stand out from the rest of the artists out there?

The most important thing for me is to always be myself, to stay as sincere as possible, and for the image to be free and open-minded. I think that’s all I can really do. We’re all individually different so if I stay true to who I am, it would be hard to be like others or for others to be like me.

Who have you been listening to lately?

Lately, I have been listening to Diana Gordan, Greentea Peng, Lous and the Yakuza, Burna Boy, JiDenna, Channel Tres, Rosalia, Jaden, and Willow Smith. I’m one of those people who finds a song and never gets sick of repeating it on a loop. There’s only one other person who I feel comfortable doing that around, but I feel like anyone else would lose their minds. I either create a playlist with only my favorite songs from an artist and repeat that playlist nonstop or it’s just one song on a loop for weeks. I’ll admit that this trait makes it harder for me to discover new music quickly. When I decide to, for once, listen to a whole album, I’ll get to the 3rd song and discover that I love it and then stay stuck on that one song for months.

Who are your biggest influences?

Interestingly, it’s mainly women. This is a list of a few who inspire me to be in the best version of myself or women that I’ve always looked up to and seen myself in, and women that are examples of what I have the potential to be, not just as a woman but also as a black woman.

My mum and all the mother figures in my life, Willow Smith, Lupita Nyongo, Lous and the Yakuza, Diana Gordon, Gabrielle Union Wade, Viola Davis, Naomi Campbell, Fatoumata Diawara, Little Simz.

Tell us about your passions

I love sports, basketball, in particular, I play as often as I can. I love nature and being outdoors when I’m prepared for what’s to come, in terms of the weather. I’m obsessed with views and scenery and one of the reasons I love living in the south of France is the fact that it’s so picturesque. Every day I look at a new painting. I love learning new languages and traveling around the world. One thing that helps me when learning a new language is music.

What else is happening next in your world?

We’ll be working with InterFeat a Brazilian platform for new artists who are brought together for collaborations between new Brazilian artists and new international artists. We are also prepping future releases.