Irish singer-songwriter Miles Graham is set to return with brand new single “Don’t Change” out today. The single precedes an EP which is set to drop before the summer, and Miles tells us it might just be his most personal record yet. He explains, “the songs that I’ve released in the past have been little bits of stories and people lives, maybe people around me that I would pick up. I would have an idea or a concept and then create a story out of it within the song. This one is more personal in the form of heartbreak and the experience over the past couple of years. I basically poured myself into using the writing and the music as a therapy to get through that. I’d highly recommend it. [Laughs] I’m just really glad that I’ve had music as an outlet. Everyone goes through these things in life; loss in some way, it’s a part of life and how you get through it.”
Miles found past success with huge singles, “I Can’t Love You Again”, “Love For the People” and club hit “1994”. He recalls, “the last release was the biggest release we’ve had. A song called ‘I Can’t Love You Again’ was on BBC Radio 2 and I was on the late, great Terry Wogan’s show just before he passed. I think I might have been one of the last guests; one of the last Irish guests anyway. I had a lovely encounter with Terry; he was amazing and all the production team there were great. That was the song that ended up in their playlist and we did a tour, but that was like 2015. From that I started getting some calls to do some shows. I got a call from a label in Australia who were a dance label and had heard the track and wanted to do a remix of it. I sent over the vocals from the track, but they couldn’t put something together. They sent over some music for some other tracks for me to write on. I ended up writing on a track called ‘1994’ with a DJ duo called L’Tric. That was number 2 in the UK club charts and it was number 3 in Australia, it did really well. That was a whole new venture for me; I don’t come from that background at all. It was different but exciting, that new house genre with so many sub-genres within it. It was a whole new world of music as I stem from old school soul records that I was brought up on.”
With new single “Don’t Change”, Dublin based Miles has reverted back to his soul music roots. This key influence for Miles is evident within the single, in both the songwriting and the music. “That was the music that grabbed me from a young age. Another amazing artist who just passed away, Bill Withers, I was a massive fan of. I know his music is connected with pretty much everyone in some way, with classic and more commercial songs like ‘Lovely Day’ and ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’. It’s just the honesty in the writing and the music was the thing that really got me. His writing has really affected how I write songs, I think. I love the simplicity of it. Saying something that you want to say without making it boring or having it been done before. Just to phrase it in a way that’s interesting, and to find that uplifting melody. It might be a dark subject to find that uplifting melody which somehow makes you feel something.” He continues, “on this single ‘Don’t Change’, it’s a positive outlook in melody. It’s a fun song but I mean that in the sense of not the lyrics as such but the feeling of it I think is positive. The subject matter is obviously about break-up but it’s basically saying that no matter what your loss, if someone moves on from a relationship or a hard time, try not to let it change you and who you are. Your values and so on. That’s the meaning behind ‘Don’t Change’.”
Miles recorded the single and EP with Paul Herman, a producer who is no stranger to working with soul and pop artists. “I met Paul a good few years ago when he was doing a showcase of the Music Rights Organisation here. He was giving a talk; I was going over to London the week after and he invited me to his studio. There were massive artists working in the studio like James Morrison. He’d just done the Dido record which he co-wrote, and Corinne Bailey Rae had been producing there. I was in awe and he gave me good advice back then. But it just so happened that the guys that I’m working with in London work with Paul as well, so there was a little link. He said he’d like to work with me and I was delighted. We went over and recorded last year and it was a great experience. We got on really well; we’re both huge lovers of soul music so it was a great experience. I think he got something out of me that I didn’t think was even there.”
The EP has been named “All the Right Things” which also acts as the title track set to be included on the record. Miles explains that the record might hold a few surprises. “The lyric in it is, ‘all the right things with the wrong results,’ so as positive as it sounds as a title, the line that comes after says otherwise. It tells an honest story about my journey. It’s upbeat and everybody wants to do the right thing, but sometimes your right thing is not necessarily the right thing for someone else. All the right things can sometimes be the right results and sometimes not.” Prior to the lockdown we’re currently experiencing the world over, Miles and his full band have filmed a live version of the new single on YouTube. The video shows Miles in his peak vocal form which, when paired with the harmonic backing vocalists, transports you into his world of soul. Bringing this world to his audience has also been a key aspect of connecting with fans during this time. “I’ve been doing these gigs for fans who have connected with me that are at home,” he says. “Not Instagram live, but more personal as they’re just at home in their kitchen or their sitting room and I’d be connecting with them on Zoom or WhatsApp. Just doing a little gig and playing a few songs and hopefully lifting their spirits a little bit. People have been getting down out there. Everyone’s in a different scenario as to how they’re living. They might be single, on their own, might not have family and friends around them, or help. It’s important to keep friends; stick together in some way and that togetherness is important.”
Listen HERE.
