Los Angeles-based artist MYKA just released his new single “american kids”. The musician, who is known for his dynamic fusion of alternative R&B, rock, and indie pop, maintains a sense of uninhibited creativity and youthful vivacity when it comes to his music, resulting in a prismatic tapestry of multifaceted, genre-less sounds.
In “american kids”, MYKA reflects on childhood sentiments and memories, as he navigates young adulthood and the bittersweet emotions tied to letting go of a life chapter. The song features honest lyricism and bright vocals over dreamy synths and an effervescent bassline, almost creating a haunting “suburbia” vibe. Nostalgic, soothing, and yet stirring at the same time, MYKA guides us between the pleasantness of his past and the ambiguity of his future. It’s evident that MYKA yearns for the old days with lyrics such as, “Channel Orange on repeat / we can hotbox in the backseat.” There is something sacred about these childhood memories compared to the hard harsh world that emerges in adulthood. MYKA expresses his sadness for the American kids left behind, the ones who never grow up at all, and makes a conscious effort to assure his listeners that many great things are waiting to be experienced on the other side. He further adds, “I’ve always felt like I was in two places at once growing up, so it allowed me to see two sides of what being a young kid in America was like. Those two perspectives are where I drew inspiration for this song, the dreamer and the conformist.”
MYKA is originally from Greensboro, NC, where he began making music in a makeshift studio as a kid. Drawing influence from other trailblazing outliers such as Kid Cudi, Frank Ocean, N.E.R.D, MGMT, and The XX, MYKA takes an experimental approach to his musical craft, combining his love of different cultures and styles for a limitless and inviting immersion of intimate realizations and masterfully layered sounds.
Listen to MYKA’s new single “american kids” for a journey that captures the complex actualizations of growing older.
