Miles Graham is an Irish singer and songwriter focused on soulful pop lyrics and chords.
His 2020 EP All The Right Things came after successes like Don’t Change and especially I Can’t Love You Again, which was largely praised and playlisted by BBC Radio 2.
Miles Graham is in for a quick Q&A about his music career.
Miles Graham by Colin Gillen ©
Miles, what achievements are you most proud of?
Ultimately, I’m proud of my family’s achievements, and I’m proud of breaking through some boundaries along my musical journey. Starting out a music career in my thirties, the first reaction from major labels was “We like you, but why did you wait so late?”. One of my heroes in music, the late Bill Withers, started his career at 32, funding his own records. I remember reading he came across challenges similar to mine, but ultimately, he let the music do the talking.
How would you define your music?
I don’t really like to put it into genre boxes; I just see it as creating music I like to listen to, even though it does amaze you what other people may hear from it. For example, I don’t hear the “folk” side at all, but it has come up quite a few times. It’s really complimentary to hear that the music I’m creating feels unique to people. I just try to create music that I like listening to. It’s hard at times to see outside the box at what you’ve actually created and to hear from other people’s perspectives, but I have a lot of belief in myself as a songwriter and creative person, and I work really hard at my craft. The EP All The Right Things came from a pretty dark time in my life, but ultimately, I’d like to think it highlighted the things that inspired me the most through that period. I didn’t purposely set out to write a breakup EP, it just happened to be what was happening in my life at the time. The process of creating these songs is as important as, or even more than, recording and releasing them. I hope they can relate to people going through similar experiences. The title track All The Right Things maybe sounds like a self-help book, but it is actually not as confident as it is may be perceived, at first. The lyric all the right things, with the wrong results… tells a story of how you can try to do “all the right things” with the best intentions ever from your perspective, and still, they might not be the right things to do from someone else’s perspective.
Who are your biggest musical influences?
Just to mention the great Bill Withers again, his philosophy in life and his wonderful music have been an inspiration to me and so many others. I feel sad that I never met the man, but I’m proud to have been alive in his lifetime. In life, my family are so important to me, and many of my siblings and indeed my own children inspire me every day in the way they get through challenges in their lives and still shine with positive attitudes.
Are there any artists you would like to collaborate with?
I’ve been very fortunate to collaborate with some top DJ producers like Don Diablo & L’Tric in the house and dance music world. I’d like to do more of these as they are such a great experience to create music. When you’re writing and singing out of your own embodiment and even genre you might say, it inspires you to write differently and challenges you to be creative in brand new ways. I’ve had lots of fun writing the tracks 1994 by L’Tric, Bright Skies by Don Diablo and Reckless by Tom Budin. I would like to do a duet sometime. I’m a fan of so many amazing female artists who are making great music. In the United States, I like artists like Alica Keys, H.E.R, Yebba Smith and, on this side of the pond, I like Emeli Sandé.
What was your dream job as a child? Did you have a plan B?
I was always pretty good at drawing and the arts, and I’d thought about graphic design as a career, so not much of a far cry away from music but still not that lucrative as a career unless you’re really lucky.
What do you think of talent shows like The X Factor?
I understand how they work for the TV world, but being honest, I’m not sure the show is for the greater good of music creation. I think we need to give opportunities to more diverse music. Songs written by David Bowie, Prince, or perhaps a song like Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen would never have seen the light in an environment like The X Factor. You rarely see artists singing original material on these TV shows – not because the artists don’t have the potential to do it, but because it’s controlled by TV producers and they have viewing figures in mind rather than creative freedom. But it has given some artists like Rebecca Ferguson, James Arthur and even Niall Horan a launchpad to make the music they want to make afterwards, so I suppose that’s the argument.
Miles Graham by Colin Gillen ©