Indie artist and filmmaker myah has released her latest single and music video, “the lobby,” a cinematic break-up anthem to ring in the autumn. In this bold new video, myah delivers a clever and poignant take on Hollywood, fame, love, and heartbreak as she parodies the films of her ex, turning her personal story into a larger commentary on the intersection of relationships and pop culture. 

In this interview spotlight, I chat with myah about the latest project, AI, dream collabs, and more.

Full Q&A along with links and the music video below.

This AI thing is getting way out of control. I have students using ChatGPT to write death metal songs about country music…and country songs about being sad. You can feed some Ais a text prompt and create a Hollywood-quality short film. How do you feel about this new wave of technological innovation?

I’ve tested using Ai as a brainstorming tool in the past and I’ve never found it very fruitful. I could see why it might be helpful to others, but the more you use Ai, the more you see how repetitive it is. I see this with music reviews all the time – they’ll write a review of my song, and 90% of the reviews have the same keywords. It makes everything feel a bit meaningless in that aspect. I want to know how my music actually makes you feel, not Ai’s interpretation of it.  

If I’m feeling stuck on a song concept, I’d much rather work with one of my songwriters to help come up with ideas vs. using Ai.

I’ve never agreed with Ai being used to replace creative innovations. There has to be some level of humanity or personal experience behind the art you make. If there isn’t, then what are you really trying to say? How can we relate to each other if the art you’re putting out isn’t even fully human? I find the Ai takeover to be quite overwhelming. 

There’s also nothing that could replace the excitement of creating music with other people. Being in the studio with my producers and watching what they do with demos is one of my favorite experiences, I’m addicted to it. If I gave those same prompts to Ai and just had it spit out instrumentals, I can’t imagine I’d feel the same level of excitement or discovery the way I do in a studio. 

What’s your favorite song and/or favorite artist of all time?

This is an impossible question but I’ll do my best. 

Favorite song: I’ll Believe In Anything – Wolf Parade

Favorite artist of all time: Three-way tie between: Twenty One Pilots, Modest Mouse, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

“the lobby” is a very personal release. What is it like releasing something so intimate?

Extremely nerve-wracking ha. I went back and forth on whether or not to release it for about 4 months, mostly because I had to ask myself who the song was even for. I’m not a major artist or a label artist, and this is somewhat of a track you’d expect from someone who’s more known. I had a good amount of people tell me not to because of this. 

What ultimately led me to release it was the reality that this is a part of my life. It wasn’t a made-up fantasy, it was real, it happened, it crushed me. I was sort of this fly-on-the-wall silent figure for some time and I didn’t mind because I wasn’t in the relationship for fame or notoriety. I thought I was in something very different, and then it all disappeared so fast I could barely ground myself. It’s the most life-altering experience when you go to bed one night thinking everything is fine, and the next morning everything changes and you don’t have a say in it. The catalyst that caused me to write this song was really painful. I felt like even if I screamed no one would hear me, so the only way I could communicate all my emotions was through the two vessels I’ve always communicated my emotions: music and film. It was very cathartic for me, and I think being unknown is what makes it even more important that we pulled off this song and video. It’s not what you’d expect and art should be like that. I still wonder and get nerves as it continues to gain more traction what more people will say when they really dive into it. I think the release is still pretty fresh, so who’s to say what will happen in the next few months. 

What drives you to create? What keeps you going, especially on the bad days?

I don’t know what my life looks like if I’m not creating. It’s the only thing that feels familiar and also seems to make sense. I’ve been making music and short films since I was a kid so creating is at the core of my identity. I think what terrifies me more than anything is the idea that I’m creating on a timeline and one day I won’t be able to anymore. 

Being in music or film in 2024 is very different in a post-COVID world. I definitely have bad days where it all feels impossible because of how oversaturated both markets are now. You aren’t really fighting competition the way it was even five or six years ago – you’re fighting algorithms and quantity like we’ve never seen before. I think the number is something like 100,000 songs are uploaded to Spotify every day. That’s insane. 

What keeps me going is this simple philosophy:

Life moves whether you want it to or not. If you quit, you’re still going to have another tomorrow, and a tomorrow after that. I’d rather keep trying and keep fighting to make a name for myself to see if the dream actualizes, then stop and always wonder what would’ve happened if I just kept trying. 

Pursuing art is very nonlinear, you never know what’s going to happen and I think I’m somewhat addicted to living in that unknown wonder of “what if”. 

If you could collaborate with anyone – dead or alive, famous or unknown – who would it be and why?

Hmm, alive, singing on a track with Goth Babe or Ed Sheeran would be crazy. I’d love to hear what my voice sounds like next to them.

Someone that’s since passed, Marvin Gaye for sure. 

Where is the best place to stay connected with you?

I’m pretty active on my instagram, @myahmakesmusic – or if you want my email it’s myahmakesmusic@gmail.com. Do people give out their emails? I have no idea lol. 

I appreciate Your time. Want to say anything else before we sign off?

Thank YOU for the time. I have an EP/Album project dropping in December called, “IS THIS WHAT I SEE?” It’s really special, so keep your eyes peeled for it.