Miles Anthony is a London-based alternative R&B artist, who is better known by his stage name MileHi. Last year, he caught our attention at Indie Top 39 when he released ‘to love & lie’, a genre-bending and thoughtful track that we just couldn’t get enough of! We were really keen to find out more about the talented musician and were thrilled when he agreed to be interviewed by us. Talking to us about not stat-watching, his brand new single, and his experience on The Voice UK, please give a big welcome to MileHi.
Hello and welcome Miles! We’re extremely excited to introduce you (again) to our audience today! So, as you know, I fell extremely hard for your single, ‘to love & lie.’, but I know that your musical journey started before that. When did your love affair with music begin?
I’ve sung for as long as I can remember honestly. My earliest memory was in a music lesson and the sub teacher was trying to get a group of 5-year-olds to sing and I just belted out the song. I grew up with and around music, playing instruments, and it’s just stuck.
I feel like in every memory I have from my childhood, the sounds are as strong as the images.
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‘to love & lie.’ is such a genre-bending, boundary-pushing track, and that’s definitely what caught my attention straight away. Lyrically though, I remember you saying that the song was representative of the fact that you were allowed to be vulnerable when it came to love. Please tell us more.
I’m not naturally a person who doesn’t do vulnerable well. I’m good at being open, to a point, but not so much the whole vulnerable thing. I think music and art are massive insights into how I think and what I feel. I’m lucky enough to be able to use music as a way of channelling what I maybe wouldn’t say in a conversation. I don’t know. I guess I’m lucky in that way. I got some learning to do when it comes to the love thing but that’s cool.
Let’s take things all the way back now to your very first official single ‘Your Body’. Did you know that you wanted it to be your debut release, or did it just happen by chance?
It really was a discussion between myself and my manager, Ryan. We figured it was the right time to release it and then we just did. It was the end of 2020 and we both just kind of said fuck it. That’s the type of energy I want to always carry with me. Does this feel like the right thing to do? Cool. Let’s do it.
You have over 40,000 combined plays on Spotify in a relatively short amount of time. How does it make you feel to know that so many people have been listening to and, more importantly, resonating with your music?
I actually don’t stat watch so that’s dope to know. I make music to hopefully allow someone else to feel understood in the way that I do when I hear my favourite artists. So for that, I’m happy for real. I’m gonna aim to increase that number to x10 next time we speak, though.
I was privileged to hear your brand new single ‘What If? (I Came Over There Tonight)’ a few days before the rest of the world. I’m not going to lie…I had high expectations…But you’ve outdone yourself! How proud are you of the track?
It’s my favourite track so far. It’s honest. It’s the best representation of what I love in music and I’m glad I can put that out there. Working with Duncsuei on this was perfect for me. I trust and respect him.
I know that musicians like Prince, Lenny Kravitz, and Miguel are huge influences on you, but is there anybody else that you would credit, or give a shout-out to, for helping shape your overall musical soundscape? Who did you grow up listening to?
I grew up on TLC, Toni Braxton, and Lauryn Hill. Then it was the Christina Aguilera, Britney, Justin Timberlake, and Usher era of pop/R&B music. I listened to pop a lot getting older.
Maxwell is the reason why I sing though. He’s the first man I can remember hearing and listening to deeply in the car, in the house and on my own.
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We’re always intrigued with artists’ creative processes, and how they take an idea and transform it into a finished product. Could you tell us a bit about your creative process?
I talk with my producers a lot. I like for them to try and understand me and get a vibe of where I’m at. We just talk honestly and then the music follows. I require honesty when I work with people. I’ll usually hear something small and then ask for more off the back of that. Lock myself away and record a verse and chorus and build a structure with what I have. I’ll send that over and then we just go back and forward from there.
‘What If?’ was a little different though because it was made just as the restrictions were easing up. Duncsuei and I worked together like 10 years ago, so I hit him up and asked him if he wanted to work again. He said yeah, and we just sat in his studio working. I knew he was the person who could get this sound out best. I’m a fan of his and again I trust his ear, which is the main thing for me.
Which of your lyrics would you like to see printed on a t-shirt?
It would be a picture of a man driving at night taken from the backseat of the car with a movie subtitle: “A gravitation to you I don’t think that I can fight”.
OK, Miles – desert island time! You’re allowed to grab 3 albums before being stranded on an island. Which do you choose?
I would start my days off with Purple Rain – Prince, BUBBA – Kaytranada while I get day drunk on coconut water in the afternoon, and then TEMPORARY HIGHS IN THE VIOLET SKIES – Snoh Aalegra while the sunsets.
I came across your ridiculously good performance of ‘I (Who Have Nothing)’ by Tom Jones on The Voice UK. Though you didn’t make it through, one YouTube commentator said that it was “by far the greatest injustice” they’d seen on the show. What was that experience like for you?
Extremely humbling. I was an ambitious 21-year-old who didn’t put his best foot forward one day and had it shown to the world. Regardless, the experience was cool. It knocked my confidence and I stopped singing for a little while after. At the time I thought the show was what I was supposed to measure my success against. I’m not against those shows if it’s the right time for you and if you’re ready. I wasn’t ready. To whoever wrote that comment though, I appreciate you. It just wasn’t my time, but thank you.
What would being successful in the music industry look like to you?
I’m already successful because I’m doing what I want and making music that I love. I guess further success would be continuing down the same free path but just to a wider audience. I would love to tour the world one day with an album that hit the people that resonate with me and my life.
It would be nice to win a couple of awards along the way too, but be as happy as I can be whilst I do it all. I want my Grammy though.
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You’ve been given the chance to collaborate with any musician or band. Who do you choose and why?
Frank. I think it would be a timeless piece of art that makes people a little uncomfortable. Make a little stamp on this world, spark a conversation or two and just have its own place in music history.
Thanks so much for chatting with us Miles! What can we expect next from you? Dare we dream of a full album?
Not an album. A project is definitely coming though. I’m putting it together as we speak and I’m excited about it. I want it to be a piece of art that I’m proud of. I’ve definitely got more singles coming up too. It’s coming.
Make sure to connect with MileHi on Instagram » Twitter
We added MileHi’s single ‘What If? (I Came Over There Tonight)’ to the playlist of all the artists we interviewed so far.
Don’t be shy to give it a listen!
