Image: Supplied.
NYC collective MICHELLE are back with their first taste of new music in 2021 with the release of their new single, FYO.
The powerful and moving track documents and navigates the bands four lead singers experiences of growing up with mixed race identities. The song continues the groups brazen and contagious fusion of R&B and pop sounds within a dreamy soundscape. FYO expertly exhibits the groups lyrical mastery, and their unique collaborative approach to creating music. The release is accompanied by a visual, directed by MICHELLE’s own Emma lee and Layla Ku. The music video creates moving imagery through the use of subtle choreography and a variety of projected colours on the vocalists.
Speaking of the track, band member Jamee Lockard shares: “FYO is about belonging to different worlds but feeling rejected by both. Growing up as a mixed-race minority in the US, my self concept was warped by other people telling me what I am and am not, pushing and pulling me between identities. Although my feelings of cultural dissonance still ebb and flow, now I have the vocabulary, support system, and perspective to unpack that inner conflict on my own terms. We should never give others the authority to define who we are.“
The musical project of Sofia D’Angelo, Julian Kaufman, Charlie Kilgore, Layla Ku, Emma Lee and Jamee Lockard, MICHELLE is refreshingly comprised of predominately POC and queer members. With Kaufman and Kilgore on production duties, the collective find their inspiration from equally diverse influences, including Noname, Led Zeppelin, Sly and the Family Stone, Orion Sun, My Chemical Romance and SZA.
FYO is the groups first release of the year, following on from their singles UNBOUND and SUNRISE last year. The group self-released their 2018 debut album HEATWAVE, an album that came to life within two weeks. On the record, the group seamlessly weaved R&B-inflected pop sounds, sleek synths, plush harmonies, and buoyant groove. The release saw MICHELLE perform two sold-out NYC shows at Baby’s All Right and Webster Hall.
FYO is out now! Watch the music video below.