Q&A: Myles Lloyd is Left Feeling Empty in “One Sided”
WRITTEN BY ANTHONY RATCHKOV
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Photo by Brandon Mosquera
It’s easy to just say we know an artist from their hits. For Myles Lloyd, this would be his viral song “Drive Me Crazy” with his new song “One Sided” being what he describes as the sequel to “Drive Me Crazy.”
However, with an artist like Myles Lloyd, who, being based in Montreal, likes to describe his music as sounding cold, the headlining hits like “Drive Me Crazy” are only the tip of the iceberg. When you dive past the surface, you’ll find yourself immersed in the world that Myles Lloyd has been building for nine years.
This world only goes deeper with the release of “One Sided.” The new single tells the story from the first-person perspective of someone putting their soul into a relationship and not feeling the same energy back. It’s a fresh narrative but also a perfect microcosm of the story the rest of Myles Lloyd’s music tells, with his albums all building off each other to be one pensive thought about what could’ve been different in a relationship.
While listeners turned their heads at the hit song “Drive Me Crazy”, they couldn’t look away once they submerged themselves in the complex arc that is Myles Lloyd’s music.
Life on Jupiter had the pleasure of sitting down with Myles Lloyd to talk “One Sided,” Nutella, and everything in between. Read the full discussion below.
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LIFE ON JUPITER: Can you first start by telling us how “One Sided” came to be?
MYLES LLOYD: It was very natural. Me and my producer, Tilt, we do this music thing every day. We thought that people would want “One Sided.” “Drive Me Crazy” went viral, and we’re like, “Let’s do it again, let’s do a part two of 'Drive Me Crazy.” Funny enough, we have another one coming out after this one that’s even better in my opinion. Someone commented, “If we can get a project full of ‘Drive Me Crazies,’ that’d be amazing.” I read that comment over and over, and I thought I should do that.
When you tell this story, does it come from a perspective of pain because you feel let down, or a perspective of pride because you know you’ll be smarter to have a better relationship next time?
LLOYD: It’s both. Next time I’ll be smarter, but also, why did I do that? I can’t believe I was in that position. I’m not that guy. I’m that guy who, if I’m feeling a little weird, I’m out.
The “One Sided” visualizer is very captivating. You’re one character in the story. Can you tell us the vision of having a ballerina be this second character in a song that describes a relationship where the other person isn’t really there?
LLOYD: The ballerina aspect is a nice contrast. It just felt right to the eye. It felt very right to have an offput character to the left or right just doing their thing while I’m telling my story.
Drake is a strong inspiration of yours, and this visual felt similar to the “Slap The City” music video he put out recently, where he had the ice skater spinning next to him while he was rapping.
LLOYD: It’s so funny you say that, I told my manager the other day that we should do this same concept on the ice because I’m from Canada, I played hockey, and I can actually skate. It’d be sick to have me on the ice, actually skating with a figure skater, holding a camera, and going fast.
You’ve been releasing music as Myles Lloyd for nine years now. Is there a habit of yours that you can attest to helping maintain longevity in your career?
LLOYD: I think it’s just the natural love for music that keeps me going. I’m talking to my producers, talking to my manager, and it’s all music. Even with some of my friends, if I were to quit music, they would hear about it all day. It doesn’t even make sense. There is no Myles Lloyd without music.
JUNNY, Gemini, and Karencici added verses to “Drive Me Crazy” and BUNT. flipped it into his own song. Has seeing literal examples of people interpreting your music in different ways changed your creative process in any way?
LLOYD: No, it just pushed it. I thought before that it’s not my song anymore, it’s their song, but I realized it's our song, you know?
Your Spotify bio is “I’m still thinking…” What are you thinking about?
LLOYD: Everything. Everything, anything, nothing, all of it. That’s why we named the recent project I’m Still Thinking, because we had this thing going on where my first project was Goodbye, and the second one is you can’t really say goodbye, they’ll always be yours, it’s Forever, Yours. I was wondering what more I could say? I’m still not over the goodbye part. I’m still thinking.
You’re a proud Nutella connoisseur, even having an alternate Nutella-themed Instagram account. Could you rank these foods from best to worst in terms of which goes best with Nutella? Pancakes, Bananas, Pretzels, and Graham Crackers?
LLOYD: Pancakes, that’s easy. Number one for sure. Graham crackers are next. Banana last, and then Pretzels third. You should try Nutella and scrambled eggs. Two loaves of bread, Nutella on the bread, scrambled eggs in the middle. The sweet and savory belong together. Sometimes I would even put a little bit of plantain in the middle.
You have a new album coming out at the end of the year. What else can fans of Myles Lloyd expect from you next?
LLOYD: Just the same kind of energy, the “One Sided” energy. This is my first single back after the project, and it’s going to be a whole bunch of “One Sided”s. Once you press play, you’re going to know he’s back. We have a new one coming up soon that I’m going to tease very soon.