Interview: Getting to know iyah may
Rising Cairns-born artist iyah may recently released her new track XO Girl feat Saint Lane. We asked her to tell us about herself:
I am… iyah may, a singer/hummus enthusiast from Kuranda, Aus.
XO Girl… is a track about sticking to your convictions and empowering yourself. It was my first song where I had some idea about what I was doing or at least I thought I did. It’s funny because not long before that I was a noob and actually Googled ‘how to write songs’ on a bus on the way to a party in New Jersey, NY. I didn’t plan on making music in life at all, it was a big change for me at the time and it was thanks to my vocal coach in New York and my mates back home in Australia who encouraged me. XO Girl embodies that part of my life and I’ll always love it because of that.
Home is… the sounds and smells of a rainforest. I grew up in Kuranda, a rainforest village near Cairns, Queensland. I adore big city vibes and that fast-paced life, but I find getting out into nature mad rejuvenating and incredible for mental wellbeing. I’m pretty certain I’ll spend at least the next two decades living in a city, but I’ll always venture out to get that nature fix wherever I’m at!
I spend too much time… looking for snacks. I’ll check my fridge multiple times a day hoping something new might pop out. Also shopping for snacks is a daily occurrence. It’s getting weird.
I’ve never… eaten an Italian made pizza in Italy and you can be damn sure that’s on my bucket list. Wild story – a pizza was once delivered to a Russian astronaut in space in 2001 by Pizza Hut for over a million dollars. They couldn’t include pepperoni, only the loyal salami that wouldn’t go mouldy during the trip. Also, I’ve never toured the US and this would be a dream come true for me and is 100% on my bucket list next to pizza.
The last 12 months… has been a big learning curve. I put my music releases on hold and returned to medicine full-time to fill in during the pandemic as a relief doctor in hospitals/Covid clinics. I came to really appreciate that many things in life are out of our control, no matter how hard we push or how quickly we try to reach an outcome. I found that letting go and trusting the process helped my general wellbeing and productivity a lot. So I guess as crazy as last year was there were silver linings. Oh and the Earth got a bit of a break so that was sweet!
It might surprise people to learn that… I was studying to become a doctor before I decided to make music. I still work as a doctor sometimes to keep myself busy and find inspiration that I can use creatively with my music. It’s crazy how much music and medicine intertwine. Music is healing and something that every human can relate to in some way. As is medicine.
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Keep up to date with iyah may on Insta.
Interview by Bobby Townsend.
