Myles Lloyd’s World In Motion
Following the release of his fourth album, I’m Still Thinking, the rising artist opens up about his creative process and future ambitions.
By Adriel Smiley
Photos by Saem
- Published on
Four albums in, Lloyd is a far cry from the artist that he was five years ago. His music career started spontaneously—he asked a friend of his to send over some beats, thinking he might as well give it a shot. His first song, titled “Long Distance,” has been scrubbed from the internet, and he jokes that it’s deleted from his brain as well. Despite his loathing of the track, Lloyd immediately fell in love with the process of making music.
“I think that my early music came from having a lot to say as a kid but never having the outlet to let it out. When I first went into the studio, I just started yapping,” he admits. As a kid, sports were Lloyd’s passion, specifically soccer and baseball. He claims that if he had taken baseball more seriously, he would’ve made it to the MLB.
Lloyd’s always been hungry to be an artist. Before he had a team behind him, he was cold e-mailing people, doing whatever he could to get on a playlist. Now that his mind is clear, he can focus on the most important thing, the music. “My process while making music is a lot different now. Before, I was really trying to make music. Now, the music’s just being made,” he says. “It’s writing itself. Before, I was constantly thinking about streams, thinking about all of these things that just clouded my vision. Now, I just feel it and I go.”
“Scared” is one of the many highlights on the album. The track sees Lloyd forcing himself to let go of someone that he cares about, but isn’t ready to commit to. It almost didn’t make the cut, but his manager pushed for it, recognizing the magic in its honesty.
“[Scared] wasn’t even supposed to come out. My manager was literally like, ‘Yo, you gotta drop this,’” he laughs. “The lyric is, ‘I’m scared to let you go, ‘cause I’m scared you’ll really go.’ It’s me acknowledging that I’m being selfish by keeping this girl in my life, and being fully aware that when I do let her go, she isn’t coming back.” There are many R&B songs that cover similar subject matters, especially over the past five years as the genre continues becoming noticeably non-committal compared to the yearning of the late ‘90s.
I’m Still Thinking is full of complexity, but in reality, its process was quite simple. “I don’t like to overthink when I write music. I don’t want to be like, ‘I feel this. How can I put it into words?’ I like to say ‘I feel this,’ and just write down what I’m feeling, instead of trying to make sense of it,” he confesses. “When I say I’m scared, I really am scared.”
Lloyd’s lyricism on this album reminisces on specific, nostalgic memories of past lovers. However, when he reflects on the future of his love life, his response is blunt: “I’ll deal with that when I get there. I can’t even think about that. That’ll stress me out.” When it comes to the future of his music career, though, his outlook is clearer—he wants to be respected.
He thinks miles ahead of the present, and already has a vision for his next project. Inspired by artists like Ed Sheeran, he’s eager to take on a more active role in the creative process. “I want to dig deeper into production, and just make my records just feel bigger,” he expresses. “If I need a trumpet, let’s get the guy in here. I really want to create this world in a tangible way and be as involved as I possibly can.”
Myles Lloyd is a natural at what he does. He’s an artist who takes life experience and exports it into something raw and honest. With a continuously expanding vision, what comes next for Lloyd isn’t just another record, but a world in motion—ambitions of not only being bigger, but being better.
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