Diandra Interviews Myles Costello: Feeling Blue
Myles Castello has a distinct way of making love, even when wrong, feel cool. His R&B takes on the highs and lows of being young and in a relationship are refreshing because he approaches his own mistakes. From how you love someone to how you let yourself be loved by them, for Myles, your strengths and flaws are equally apparent. In “Blue,” he confidently elevates, as an artist, to show that self-love in not the only thing needed in romance but also self-forgiveness, which, of course, makes the listener swoon and our interview become a sweet, brisk discussion on love.
Diandra: How does it feel to wrap up a virtual tour?
Myles: There is a first for everything. That is new, but it feels good. It is a good thing for me to keep sharing and giving music to people. It is, kind of, a blessing in disguise because I can still perform, even in the situation we are in.
Myles Castello – Blue (Visualizer)
Diandra: With social media becoming even MORE necessary for artists, do you feel the pressure to turn your private life into an IG life or reality show will become greater in the future?
Myles: I think, for sure, the interest will remain. Celebrity and gossip have always interested people, and this “Quarantine Live thing: is going to bring it to the forefront and make it ingrained in the industry. It makes artists more accessible and, without social media, it is like what are you doing. Without social media, you can’t be a business. Everyone needs it; there is no way around it. This quarantine has woken people up to that.
Diandra: “Blue” is about hurting someone and them leaving you. Have you ever broken a heart?
Myles: Of course, I have! For break-ups, something is happening. Someone has to do SOMETHING! This song, in particular, is really poetic for me. I really went deep for this one, and got super emotional and symbolic.
Diandra: “Blue” feels very human to me like, you are acknowledging that, for better or worse, you are human in a relationship.
Myles: HUMAN! I like that word. (he laughs) That’s it! Blue is kind of like a glass. It is not like any persona; humanity is the persona.
Myles Castello – Bad Company (Prod. by The Uccis)
Diandra: So how do you feel songs, like “Blue,” have taught you to love better?
Myles: Well, you are reflecting when making a song. You are being honest and talking to yourself, which helps you to move on from a relationship. It is not until you sit down with yourself and really look back and learn for the relationship that you can really realize and learn from it.
Diandra: So, in a way, are you treating your song like a way to correct the relationship?
Myles: I don’t even know, sometimes, where a song will go. It just happens, and if that is where I go, naturally, then that is where I go and where I am comfortable at the moment. For Me, a song is the thoughts that I have when I am making it. After a few years from now, of course, that will change, but, at the moment, it is about what I feel. After it is out and once people have heard it, its not mine anymore. Once it is released, it is not my song anymore. You do what you can to make the best song, but, at the end of the day, someone is going to take it and interpret it and you hope it speaks to them, but, once it is out, it is out.
Diandra: That makes me curious as to what “Blue” taught you about how you love in a relationship?
Myles: Blue was the first time I ever felt that emotion come out of me in a song about a relationship. It was written pretty quickly. It was so fresh, at the time, that feeling of being blue. I feel it comes across simple and honest because of that.
Diandra: You run by the motto that “you are the company you keep.” Who are the people that most influence you?
Myles: I would say my “Day Ones.” My childhood friends and family are the real thing. They give me a sense of home and are the people that I trust to tell me when I’m off and on and to correct me and keep my head on my shoulders. Between my friends and my cousins, we were always singing and playing. They inspired me with their singing, and seeing them jam pushed me to learn to play instruments. They gave me that drive.
Diandra: Well, you were in sports, not music. How did you transfer that competitiveness into music?
Myles: They are not fully different. The ideas are still there. You still have to show up and work and put in the hours and have your team. It was different in that I went from physical to …. now let me share my thoughts with people.
Diandra: Which sport do you think music is most like?
Myles: I was a gymnast; so I would say gymnastics because you compete with yourself. As much as you have your managers and your team, as an artist you are the face. So, as a gymnast, when you are doing your routine all eyes are on you for those 60 seconds. No one is watching anything but you and judges are critiquing you and you have spent your whole year training for this minute. Everything you do in that moment is going to be judged, good or bad, and that, I say, translates the most to music. You have team prepping you and training, but, once you get on, everyone is putting or taking their points from you.
Diandra: Being you taught yourself how to play, what has being a DIY artist taught you?
Myles: Collaboration is a huge thing. It is why you have a concert with an audience. You need people’s energy. I never am discouraged because I am always competing with myself. The downside is that you can get in your head, and become obsessed with techniques and really think you need to do this thing or learn that, when you shouldn’t. I still encourage people to always be in a room with someone that pushes you. The whole point of music is to feel, and, if more than one person feels what you feel, it becomes a common truth.
Diandra: So what do you feel your upcoming EP expresses about you?
Diandra: It shows all the genres that influenced me like, Reggae and R&B and Rap. It is a fusion of that.
Diandra: Do you think music was your destiny?
Myles: I want to be in this game for as long as I can be, and I didn’t pick up the guitar until I snapped my arm. So I am betting that it is my destiny because, if not, that would suck.
For More Information On Myles Castello Click Here.
