Myles Lloyd on Music as Grounding, Not Perfection
By. Alicia Zamora
A Conversation with Myles LLoyd
In an exclusive interview with Alicia’s Studio, Myles Lloyd spoke about music not as a finished product, but as a way of processing what he feels in real time. Rather than centering the conversation around numbers, reach, or momentum, he returned to the reasons he started creating in the first place. Long before listeners or releases, writing was something private—a space to put thoughts he couldn’t say out loud and to work through emotions before he fully understood them himself.
That instinct, he shared, hasn’t shifted as his audience has grown. Myles described his songwriting as intentionally loose, leaving room for interpretation instead of spelling everything out. His songs aren’t meant to explain every detail or arrive at clean resolutions; they sit in uncertainty and let feelings exist as they are. For him, if someone understands the emotion behind a song, then the message has already landed without needing to be overexplained.
He also reflected on how performing music live changes its meaning. Once a song is shared in a room—heard back through voices in the crowd or felt through a reaction—it stops being something he holds alone. The energy shifts, and the music becomes communal, shaped by the people receiving it. Still, music remains his way of staying grounded, especially while touring, when personal routines are disrupted and emotional reflection becomes harder to find time for.
Throughout the interview, Myles returned to the idea of choosing honesty over comfort. Longing, overthinking, and emotional vulnerability surface in his work whether he plans for them or not. Rather than trying to fix or hide those feelings, his music leaves space for them, offering listeners something familiar to sit with. In doing so, he hopes people who feel deeply or feel like they’re “too much” can recognize themselves and feel a little less alone.
Diving In
Alicia: What part of your creative instinct existed long before listeners, playlists, or tours—and still quietly guides your decisions?
Myles: I’ve always created as a way to process. Even before anyone was listening, I was writing to understand what I felt. I’d jot down things I thought I couldn’t say out loud. Turning confusion into something tangible is something that still guides me today. No matter how big things get, I will always try to return to that private honesty.
Alicia: When you revisit Goodbye now, what emotional pattern do you recognize that you were too close to name back then?
Myles: Maybe I was trying to intellectualize heartbreak instead of fully feeling it. I tend to be less reactive in my music now and talk more about how a situation actually makes me feel. Not everyone has been in my exact situation, but everyone can feel. I try to remind myself of that often.
Alicia: Was there a stretch where making music felt less like expression and more like a way to stay grounded?
Myles: Yes—a long-lasting stretch. I will always look at music as a way to stay grounded. That’s my vice.
Alicia: You often write for people who feel too much—what feeling do you think shows up in your music even when you’re not trying to write about it?
Myles: Longing, for sure. Even in hopeful songs, there’s a thread of reaching for something just out of grasp—searching for clarity and peace. I don’t think I ever fully write from a place of complete resolution. I’m human; I’m always going to be looking for answers.
Alicia: When you sit down to write, are you trying to understand your feelings—or finally stop circling them?
Myles: Writing is how I stop circling. Once I put my thoughts down, they become clearer to me. The feelings don’t disappear, but they turn into something I can look at instead of something that just loops in my head all day. Making music is like my Tylenol—temporary relief until I have to take more again.
Alicia: Your music balances polish with intimacy—how do you know when refinement is serving the song versus protecting yourself?
Myles: When I start removing details because they make me uncomfortable, that’s usually protection. Refinement should sharpen emotion, not blur it. If a song feels too clean, that’s when I know I’ve probably edited out something honest.
Alicia: Has your relationship with perfectionism changed as your audience has grown?
Myles: I was never really a perfectionist when it came to my music. It’s always been about feeling for me. Once it feels a certain way, I know I’m done with a song.
Alicia: What’s something you’ve learned to leave unfinished, imperfect, or unresolved on purpose?
Myles: The way I explain my feelings is very loose. If you know how I feel, then you know. There’s no need for me to go into excessive detail or overexplain in a song just so someone can understand.
Alicia: Does playing new music live so soon after its release make it feel more finished, or more open-ended?
Myles: The audience changes everything. Hearing people sing it back, or even react in a certain way, shifts the energy and meaning. It stops being just mine at that point.
Alicia: When JUNNY and GEMINI stepped into the song, what part of your original vision were you most nervous about handing over?
Myles: I was never nervous! I love all of their work, and I just knew they would do it justice.
Alicia: Did either of them interpret the emotion of the song in a way that challenged how you originally understood it?
Myles: The song became more dimensional. They brought even more life to something I thought was already maxed out.
Alicia: How did working with artists who write from different cultural and musical instincts force you to listen differently?
Myles: It teaches patience and curiosity. Hearing how someone else approaches the same feeling expands your own emotional and creative vocabulary.
Alicia: What’s a habit or mindset you’ve had to unlearn as your music has reached more people?
Myles: I never changed my mindset when it comes to music. It’s been the same since the beginning. That consistency is why more people have found my music.
Alicia: When you’re on tour, what part of your normal emotional routine is hardest to maintain?
Myles: On tour, there’s really no time for a normal emotional routine—it becomes all about the people you’re performing for. There are pockets and small windows where you can find time to reflect, but that time is limited. That’s the sacrifice you make to stay in top shape mentally for the people who come to see you.
Alicia: If this period of your life were remembered for something quieter than success, what would you want it to be?
Myles: Courage! I’d want it to be remembered as a time when I chose honesty over comfort.
Alicia: For anyone listening to your music or reading this right now, what’s something you hope they feel less alone in?
Myles: I hope they feel less alone in their overthinking, in loving deeply, and in feeling like they’re “too much.” Those aren’t flaws—they’re part of being alive.
Alicia: Before we end, do you have any final words for your listeners and readers?
Myles: Thank y’all for listening beyond the surface. The music is a reflection of real moments, and the fact that you connect with it means more than numbers ever could. I’m grateful you’re here for the journey.
