Two new singles from Miles Jenson

Award-winning singer-songwriter Miles Jenson takes inspiration from the soul traditions of Stax Records as well as the adventurous stylings of Radiohead and Fiona Apple, combining theatricality, groove and reflection with a knack for confronting uncomfortable ideas. His music is as concerned with the personal as it is the political, finding connections between private neuroses, social conditioning and the wider forces shaping everyday life.

That creative context has defined Miles’ journey; music was initially something casual while he was living with active alcoholism, but after getting sober, he signed a record contract in Atlanta before eventually deciding that greater artistic freedom mattered more than the security of a conventional label path and so he left the deal, moved to Los Angeles and began working his way beyond pop through a series of singles.

The turning point came through an unexpected cold call to producer King Garbage and an attempt to make a single developed into something considerably more ambitious when the producer recognised what Miles was trying to create and encouraged him to record an EP. The resulting Sunshine Goldmine became a three-song statement of soulful musical expression, taking aim at racism, classism, addiction, obsession, societal conditioning and personal transformation.

Now Miles is extending that vision with two cinematic singles, “Against My Best Interests” and “North Star,” both orchestrally arranged and produced by Vincent Ott. Together, they expand his sound through jazz-influenced songwriting and orchestral arrangements while continuing his examination of the relationship between internal conflict and social reality. Released in July, “Against My Best Interests” explores the uncomfortable areas between self-improvement and self-destruction. Inspired by Chet Baker and Billie Holiday’s interpretations of “Everything Happens to Me,” the track draws on classic jazz structures and sophisticated modulations to explore the contradictions that can accompany personal growth.

Miles eschews presenting self-improvement as a straightforward journey in favour of considering the possibility that progress and destructive behaviour can exist simultaneously. Romantic, sunlit melodies sit against darker emotional undercurrents, reflecting the tension between blossoming and imploding that sits at the centre of the song.

Listen to Against My Best Interests below

His brand new single titled “North Star” was penned in Austin, Texas, amid national conversations around political extremism, immigration and trans rights. The song distils the relationship between class inequality and racial division in America and by looking across downtown Austin beneath half-mast American flags, Miles reflects on the ways economic insecurity and systemic deprivation can be redirected into fear, resentment and bigotry.

The song’s perspective is tethered to the idea that fear and scarcity can create divisions between people facing many of the same struggles while questioning the systems and structures that encourage people to blame one another. Together, the two singles demonstrate the range of Miles Jenson’s songwriting. One is an intimate examination of self-sabotage; the other is a wider social critique yet both arrive from the same desire to articulate feelings and experiences that can be difficult to name. With a debut full-length album now in progress with King Garbage, Miles’ next chapter is already taking shape and we can’t wait to see what comes next from this exciting artist on the rise.

Listen to North Star below

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