LA by-way-of South Florida indie pop artist myah is a tenacious and gifted drive exploring her feelings by way of deep, impassioned items – all of which come to the fore on her boldly dramatic debut album, ‘i don’t know what i’m feeling.’
Stream: ‘i don’t know what i’m feeling’ – myah
For years, myah (aka Mariah Morgenstern) has been the artistic drive shaping the visible worlds of music’s largest names.
Her manufacturing credit span a powerful record of artists, from The Marías and 24kGoldn’s chart-topping “Temper,” to Kehlani’s “Little Story,” Steve Aoki’s “Final” and “Invítame a Un Café,” Tinashe’s “X,” and Oliver Tree’s “Cowboys Don’t Cry.” In 2025, her abilities behind the digicam earned her a Telly Award for the self-directed music video, “the foyer.”
However myah isn’t only a visible storyteller, and she or he’s now greater than ever turning her focus to the music itself. Initially hailing from South Florida and now primarily based in Los Angeles, her sound fuses various rock, pop, and pop-punk vivacity with the emotional fringe of Midwest emo guitars. Together with her mix of biting angst, melodic heat, and cinematic imaginative and prescient, myah is stepping out from behind the digicam and onto middle stage.
Independently launched on August 29th, her debut album i don’t know what i’m feeling explores relatable themes of affection, loss, surprise, and longing, inviting listeners not simply to listen to her songs, however to see themselves inside them. myah attracts from her personal profound, intimate experiences, however leaves the door open for her viewers, making her music undeniably particular. By avoiding pronouns when she will be able to, myah makes it straightforward for anybody to stay throughout the tales she creates.
Atwood Journal spoke with the up-and-coming artist about her burgeoning signature sound, musical influences, her new album, and a complete lot extra: Learn our interview under and stream i don’t know what i’m feeling, out now!
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A CONVERSATION WITH MYAH
Atwood Journal: Your music blends various rock, pop, pop-punk, and Midwest emo, how did your distinctive fashion come to life?
myah: I’m the youngest of 5, and after I was a child, my brother Devin gave me his iPod. He instructed me that if I began listening now, I’d have the most effective style in music by the point I acquired to varsity. I believe each little lady desires to be cool like their older brothers, so I agreed. That iPod was my first actual introduction to music, and it had all the pieces a 7-year-old most likely wouldn’t have found on their very own: Modest Mouse, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Nationwide, Blink-182, Sigur Rós, Sum 41, The Killers, Netherfriends, The Postal Service, Speaking Heads, Wolf Parade…the record goes on.
As I acquired older, I used to be tremendous into Midwest emo and goth scenes. I listened to lots of metallic and screamo, however I additionally did musical theatre and beloved R&B and synthpop. Somewhat than commit to creating music that had one sonic voice, I wished to see how I might pay homage to all of the totally different manufacturing decisions I beloved that made me really feel one thing.
These varied style eras from my life in the end turned this melting pot of textures that bled into my music fashion, and I believe that’s why individuals have had hassle inserting what artists I sound like, which is an effective factor to me. I’ll let listeners uncover the precise influences on their very own, however should you’ve ever questioned why I discuss in a few of my songs, that’s the showtunes.
You’ve gotten cited influences like Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Foxing, and Modest Mouse. In what methods have these artists formed your strategy to songwriting and efficiency?
myah: If I have been to choose a band that has formed the way in which I carry out stay, that will positively be Twenty One Pilots. However in the case of songwriting and manufacturing, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Foxing, and Modest Mouse have influenced me probably the most.
I believe their lyrics sing like poetry. It’s clear they write about issues they’ve truly been by way of or thought of, versus one thing extra manufactured or written by another person. Which means lots to me as a listener. Their manufacturing decisions are all the pieces I like about various music; it’s visceral and atmospheric, lo-fi and experimental, you simply can’t escape the way in which it makes you’re feeling.
I believe Karen O is without doubt one of the biggest vocalists of our time. She’s a powerhouse with an unimaginable tone. “Maps” and “Skeletons” are two excellent songs. Lyrically, they’re repetitive, however they don’t really feel lazy. She takes repetition, makes it hypnotic, and actually lures you in. My observe “at all times need you” was impressed by that type.
Modest Mouse’s lyrics are so introspective and self-aware, whereas having this kind of darkish humor behind them. The best way Isaac Brock writes about his nervousness surrounding dwelling a complacent life – or a life with out objective – is one thing I relate to lots. Folks assume Modest Mouse is simply “Float On,” however you may’t take heed to that tune with out listening to “The World At Massive” proper earlier than it. Good Information for Folks Who Love Unhealthy Information is what impressed me to make an idea album with interludes and songs that roll into one another. I believe he did it finest. “The Horn Intro” is genius. The affect that band has had on me is monumental.
Foxing’s lyrics have a stage of vulnerability and craving that’s onerous to disregard. “Rory,” “The Medic,” “Bloodhound,” and “Slapstick” are all phenomenal songs each story and production-wise. I believe Foxing is a superb instance of how one can nonetheless be rock and have these epic, heavy, headbanger songs, whereas additionally discovering moments to be quiet and tender. I perceive my very own human expertise higher as a result of these artists invite you to expertise theirs, and that’s as a result of they authentically lay all of it out on the desk. I attempt to write music simply as significant.
Rising up in South Florida, how has your background and setting molded the sound you create as we speak?
myah: Rising up in South Florida is a singular expertise, and I believe the media offers us a foul repute. The place I’m from, you may drive an hour to Miami and see South Seaside, or drive just a little over an hour to the Everglades and get a lesson on swamps and alligators. When you really need an journey, you may hold driving south till you hit the Keys, which really really feel such as you’re being transported to a distinct period.
The panorama right here is so vivid that I attempt to make music in an identical method; the place you may shut your eyes and it’s straightforward to image, virtually like a scene from a film. I used to be a child when Hurricane Katrina hit. I used to be in center college when my mother got here residence from work and located a child alligator in our tub that my brother Hunter had caught. I went to varsity subsequent to Common and Disney World.
Florida has an unimaginable music scene, particularly should you like pop-punk music. There can be no Ocean Avenue with out Jacksonville, Florida, and that tune exists as a result of while you develop up right here, you perceive how necessary Florida is in comparison with different locations. The individuals, the seashores, the recollections – there’s a lot life right here that ranges from easy to only weird, and I like to take all of it in.
Florida can really feel prefer it’s frozen in time, and I believe rising up in such a various place, with so many area of interest life experiences, allowed me to create music that feels lived in. My house is wealthy in historical past, the place the solar shines vibrant many of the 12 months, and has the most effective afternoon storms in the course of the wet season.
All of that distinction formed the way in which I write. I believe that’s why my music can sound dramatic however dreamy and acquainted, as a result of I view my hometown in that method. It’s very romantic to me.
In case your music have been a taste, what would it not style like?
myah: Like a taste out of your childhood that doesn’t exist anymore. It’s nostalgic, however candy, and also you didn’t understand you missed it till it hit you unexpectedly. You recognize that scene in Ratatouille, when Anton Ego takes a chunk and abruptly, he’s transported again to his childhood? That’s what it tastes like.
Your newest album is titled i don’t know what i’m feeling. What impressed you to decide on that title?
myah: I battle with expressing my feelings verbally, which I’ve discovered is tied to one thing referred to as alexithymia. Just about my complete life I’ve had all of those emotions and ideas in my head, however I didn’t know easy methods to say them out loud, and each time I attempted, nothing got here out. The most effective visible metaphor to explain that is when Ariel loses the flexibility to talk in The Little Mermaid. That’s what it felt like.
After I began writing music, it was like abruptly, I used to be capable of talk what I used to be feeling. The lights turned on. One tune led to a different, and earlier than I knew it, I had this physique of labor that didn’t have a reputation. However while you zoomed out, it was a group of songs that expressed so many feelings that perhaps there wasn’t a single one to land on.
I instantly thought, “God. Persons are going to assume I’m insane. It is a lot.” I believe that’s why the title observe, “i don’t know what i’m feeling,” is so self-aware. As somebody who views life with a romantic lens, I couldn’t say this album was about love or heartbreak. It’s extra about studying and discovering for the primary time easy methods to articulate your self, and in doing so, realizing you don’t know what you’re feeling, since you’re feeling all the pieces. I assumed love was easy, till I began to essentially unpack simply how advanced it truly is.
The compelling 17-track assortment opens with “dissolve,” a deeply emotive and introspective observe that explores the uncooked ache and vulnerability of heartache. Might you delve into the story behind the tune?
myah: “dissolve” is the primary observe on the document as a result of it units the tone for what’s to come back. It captures that preliminary emotional collapse as soon as a relationship has ended, and also you kind of really feel such as you’re dwelling on a loop in sluggish movement. In direction of the tip of penning this album, I used to be going by way of a really unhealthy breakup, and it felt like a punch to the throat.
How might I’ve been so silly? So improper? How might I be so susceptible, so cautious, and in the long run, I nonetheless acquired burned? It felt like the ultimate straw of all of the relationships I had skilled. Throughout my relationship with this particular person, I used to be so satisfied I acquired it proper, that when it ended the way in which that it did, I felt like I couldn’t fake to be robust anymore, and that’s after I wrote dissolve.
It’s a self-aware crash-out tune, and sonically it builds the identical method a crash-out would. The tune is about going from being safe to anxious as a result of your associate is avoidant and drifting away. “Uh oh, I’ve completed it once more,” is the logical facet of my mind speaking, realizing that I had made the identical mistake once more, however as a result of I’m a romantic, I tricked myself into believing I could possibly be sufficient to alter another person’s psychology.
That’s the issue with being a romantic. You assume love is sufficient, when it’s not. Simply since you love somebody doesn’t imply they love you again or perceive you, and when that turned clear, I crashed out onerous, so I put these emotions into the observe.
“glitter” is about forsaking a small piece of your self for somebody, a delicate reminder that you just have been there. Are you able to clarify the tune’s message in additional element?
myah: In a broader sense, sure, “glitter” is about forsaking a small piece of your self for somebody, and I believe glitter will be changed with any private memento, relying on the listener. For me, glitter is a literal calling card. I’ve worn glitter eye make-up practically every single day for the final 5 years or so, and it’s change into a signature of mine.
There was this particular person I used to be courting who despatched me a textual content about discovering glitter of their condominium, and it made them consider me. That was the primary time I acquired a textual content like that after which it turned a sample. I’d get messages in regards to the glitter left behind. “Your glitter’s on my cheek.” “It’s in my hair.” I assumed, “Huh, I’m kinda like a glitter vigilante. I ought to write a tune about this.”
I don’t assume there’s something extra intimate than sleeping subsequent to somebody, which is why the hook says, “Is there glitter in your sheets? The place we wish to sleep?” Somewhat than making it overt, I stored it extra harmless. For my part, there’s nothing just like the simplicity of falling asleep on the sofa with somebody you care about, and I wished to convey that emotion.
At its core, the tune is about desirous to be romanticized again – to be the particular person somebody can’t cease serious about, slightly than at all times being the one who’s doing the pondering. The repetition performs into the craving. There’s one thing lovely in the concept a small piece of glitter can activate a reminiscence, and on the finish of the day, recollections are all we’ve got.
We’re all accustomed to the expression, “I dodged a bullet.” Usually, it’s used to precise aid or gratitude for avoiding a detrimental scenario. Your closing launch, “dodging bullets,” explores a distinct perspective. Even after avoiding the worst, the particular person continues to be grappling with the lingering ache that got here with it. How did you deal with conveying the emotional complexity of transferring on whereas nonetheless feeling the affect of previous harm?
myah: As I discussed earlier than, I used to be going by way of a foul breakup in the direction of the tip of penning this album, and it was the primary time in my grownup life I had been fully blindsided by a relationship ending. I didn’t realize it was coming, and it felt like a bomb went off. After I instructed my pals or my friends the way it occurred, each response was the identical: “You dodged a bullet!” However it acquired exhausting.
I didn’t need to be some robust lady boss. I didn’t really feel empowered or higher off. I felt betrayed. I wished to cry. I understood that I had dodged a bullet, however emotionally, I used to be devastated. Once more, like my opener “dissolve,” I struggled with the truth that my feelings couldn’t meet up with the logical facet of my mind. I knew so vividly that anybody who might harm me the way in which they did was not somebody I ought to need. And but, due to my very own points with abandonment and self-worth, my coronary heart broke of their absence. I discovered myself in a determined loop of attempting to grasp.
Finally, I requested myself, “Why does dodging a bullet harm a lot?” And I got here to the conclusion that simply since you dodged one doesn’t imply you weren’t grazed. It doesn’t imply it was clear, that there was no affect. And what’s extra heroic than taking a bullet for somebody? Would you do it, if it meant they’d keep?
In my grief, these have been the questions I requested. The lyric, “Hit me!” was an homage to one in every of my favourite films, The Darkish Knight, when the Joker dares Batman to run him over. He knowingly dangers all of it, and he invitations the destruction head-on. I believe we regularly try this in poisonous relationships; we compromise ourselves in alternate for ache, if it means the particular person will keep.
That second of desperation is what impressed the gang chant within the outro. It’s not the healthiest response, however I believe it’s a really human one. All of us need to be sufficient, to matter, to be chosen, and while you aren’t totally healed post-breakup, you’re feeling such as you’d slightly fall on the sword than be alone.
Having since healed from that relationship, I believe dodging bullets is precisely what a harsh, no-contact breakup appears like. I knew it needed to shut the album, as a result of it leaves you with a query: “Did she survive it? What’s going to the following chapter appear to be?” And people solutions are at the moment being written.
What’s subsequent for Myah?
myah: That’s an awesome query. I’ve a music video for dissolve dropping, and I’ll hold making music movies since I contemplate my visuals an enormous a part of my artistry. My future plans are to hopefully open for a extra established artist so I can play these songs stay. I’d actually wish to tour. Though the album is out, there’s nonetheless lots of work to be completed to succeed in extra individuals, so I’ll be specializing in that for some time.
Do you may have a responsible pleasure tune or artist that you just secretly love?
myah: I don’t have any artists or songs that I wouldn’t need individuals to know I take heed to – I’m a fairly open e book should you let me be one. However if you need some good, funky music to take heed to, I like to recommend Structure in Helsinki. Particularly, their tune “Do the Whirlwind.”
I really like that tune, and it has superb manufacturing parts. The breakdown at round 2:45 – inform me you don’t instantly need to begin dancing the second you hear that. They’ve lots of bizarre indie pop songs which might be great. You’ll be able to inform they didn’t care about conforming to something; they simply made what they favored. The textures and particulars of their manufacturing are a few of the finest I’ve heard. 10/10 suggest.
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