Mielo, who is currently on a North American tour, recently released his debut EP Anywhere but Here. We took what seemed like the perfect opportunity to really dig into his process as an artist in our chat.
Where do you draw creative inspiration from?
All sorts of music, to be honest! Everything from synth pop to metal-core. I try to keep what I listen to very broad and try to take ideas from all realms of music.
How do you combat creative writer’s block?
Usually I’ll work on recreating songs I like and figure out how my favorite artists make their synths. Sometimes just making a cool new lead or figuring out how to mimic drums from an artist you like can give you a splash of inspiration that was missing.
What can we look forward to in your future work or events?
Being able to headline my own shows, put out tons of original music & hopefully do some live (not DJ) sets! I just want to keep building my discography and play as many shows as I can.
An artist inhabits an inherent tension between the selfishness required to create and the extreme vulnerability in putting one’s work into the world. How do you manage this tension?
It’s a balance of always trying to make music that I like to hear personally, then making sure it has sound production and that I’m not regretting anything I could have really done “more” on. Sometimes it’s really hard because I’ll think that maybe this [song] could have something more, but I have no idea what that additional thing is!
How do you approach collaboration, either among fellow artists or in the dialogue between artist and listener?
To be honest, I don’t really collaborate much outside of songwriters [and] vocalists. This next year, though, I’m trying to collaborate with more people and expose myself to as many other creative processes & creators I can. It really helps seeing how someone else makes music & how their past inspires their work.
How did you love of music begin? What was your road to your current path?
I’ve been doing music for majority of my life, from piano lessons to trumpet in school and in marching band. I slowly wanted to get back into it after I stopped playing baseball in high school due to an arm injury, and just loved the new wave of electronic music in America. Madeon’s “Pop Culture” got me super excited after seeing it randomly on YouTube.
What are you most excited about in your current releases?
Just that it’s all a revolution of where I want to be. I believe there is nothing you’ve heard from me already that you’ll hear again from me, if that makes sense. This new EP was me breaking free of my old chains holding me back and just doing what I want to do.
Listen to Mielo’s Anywhere But Here EP on SoundCloud.
Saint Audio 