Introducing Micah Callari, whose latest EP "Gasping for Air" offers a glimpse into her evolving journey as an artist. Delving deep into the creative process, Micah shares the inspirations behind each track and the journey of personal growth that shaped her sound. Join us as we explore the raw emotion and authentic storytelling woven into Micah's music, providing a window into her unique artistic vision.

   INTERVIEW

"Gasping for Air" showcases a unique blend of expressive vocals and intricate production. Can you walk us through the inspiration and creative process behind this release, and how it represents your artistic evolution?

When it comes to my discography, I see gasping for air as an experimental transition period.

My last record, I WILL GET MY ACT TOGETHER, was definitely my most calculated project to date; all the songs connected to each other and the album held a cohesive narrative throughout the runtime. Once it was finished and out, I wanted to do something easier and smaller in scope while still artistically challenging myself before my next big album.

I actually originally made the gasping for air songs with the intent of just releasing them all as singles, but I ended up finding they form a really cohesive package when you put them together. Once I had a cover and title in my head that clicked, I chose to turn it into the EP it is today!

I go into every project with the hope that I’ll be even better than before at production and vocals and songwriting, and I think gasping for air specifically saw a lot of growth in all those regards. I’m generally a fast worker when it comes to music, and I can knock out entire songs in just a couple days (or in sick again’s case, literally 1 day from start to finish!), so this time I tried to make sure that every choice for this project was intentional and had my full heart backing it.

The tracklist in particular took a long time to fully come together… i bet every warning label… could’ve been the intro track, and 7 dollar beverages was the closing track for most of the EP’s development… crazy shit! Even though I would probably change some things if I made the EP today, I’m still really happy with where it is now, and I think it’s my most honest music to date.

Your vocal tone is distinctive and adds a whimsical quality to your music. How do you approach using your voice as an instrument, and what influences contribute to the character of your vocal style?

I don’t know if this is just me, but when I work in the DAW, I see my voice as an instrument to play around with just as much as the pieces of the instrumental. I’ve never really separated them in my head since I started producing my own music!

I spent six years singing in choir and playing French horn. What they taught me technique wise was great, but dear god, the culture surrounding the program I performed in was frustrating to say the least. For a while I was swallowed into this elitist hivemind mindset where the social norm was to see autotune or electronic and pop music as fake and evil, and that definitely scared me off from even trying to make what I wanted musically for a long time.

It all caused me to feel a bit stuck in my head for a long time, since I was under the assumption that autotuning or manipulating my voice would equate to me being fake or something. I ended up bottling up a lot of feelings about myself and the people around me for years since I was too scared to really sing about it. Music is a big outlet for my emotions, and I was trapped for far too long.

It wasn’t until I conquered that fear of being judged for “producing my voice,” per se, that I really truly found my own voice, no matter how natural it ended up being.

"Premonition," "Sick Again," and "7 Dollar Beverages" each offer a different sonic experience. How do you navigate versatility in your sound, and is there a specific theme or emotion you aim to convey through your diverse array of tracks?

I’d say I’ve been a solidly diverse artist sound-wise from the beginning, I’ve just never been one to chain myself down to one genre or style. Whenever I get an idea in the DAW, as weird as it sounds, I just give it a go to see how it sounds.

I like challenging myself and trying out new things with each song, it makes production way more fun for me. I can’t chain myself to one idea or sound, I would be bored to death… not to say staying in one lane or genre is a bad thing! It’s just not how my brain operates at all, haha.

Lyricism plays a significant role in your music. Can you share insights into your songwriting process, and how do you find the balance between storytelling and maintaining a connection with your audience?

Before I wrote music, I wrote poetry and short stories, and even attempted a few novels as an elementary schooler. I’ve always been a writer, it’s just ingrained in my DNA. I don’t like to say it’s a natural talent for me though, I’ve spent my entire life practicing and have only felt confident enough to put my songs out publicly in the past couple years.

Similarly to my sound, I find it more enjoyable for me to challenge myself with my writing. Sometimes my songs recount literal entire days of my life start to finish, other times I write about my internal dialogue, and occasionally I just sing a fictional narrative!

Again, I can’t keep myself in one box, I’ll never be satisfied if I just stay doing one thing for my entire life.

I believe the small audience I’ve gathered over the years also understands that I’m never going to stay on one thing forever, and so because of that they’re open to hearing out whatever I try with each song. I love that, it’s really heartwarming whenever people tell me a song or project of mine has had an impact on them.

"Gasping for Air" has a sense of vulnerability and intimacy. How do you ensure that your personal experiences and emotions are authentically reflected in your music, and why is that authenticity important to you?

There was this stretch of time before gasping for air where I found it difficult to write about myself or my personal experiences.

I’ve struggled a lot with dissociation over the past year, and it really manifested in the way I was writing my music. Upon reflection, I think that’s why I WILL GET MY ACT TOGETHER was almost entirely a fictitious narrative, I was just too lost mentally to connect with myself mentally.

Gasping for Air saw me trying my hardest to bring that self-connection back to my music. Everything I wrote there was real and based in real-life experiences, and that self-reflectiveness even bled into the production and vocal performances.

Being authentic on this project was important for a lot of personal reasons; my personal life at the time was rough and I really needed that outlet to get through it all. Even if I wasn’t ready to write about everything that was happening in the moment, just getting the emotions out felt really cathartic.

As an artist, what role do you see yourself playing in the broader landscape of the music industry, and how do you hope to contribute to the evolution of your genre?

My current plan is to stay independent as long as possible.

Labels can be cool for the resources they provide, but I’ve seen too many horror stories about artists signing and losing control for me to make it my goal to sign to one. It’s just not for me, and that’s okay, even if my dreams would be a lot more achievable with label money, haha.

Funny enough, for as anti-label as I can be, I’d love to hear my songs on the radio one day. Highkey, I’ve actually been played on a radio station before, when Curro and Niko’s Drop Table show played a couple of my songs.

It was like, the craziest feeling ever. Radio was always just that thing from childhood that I thought I’d never be able to reach, and here I was hearing sick again on the airwaves on some fuckass Wednesday. Wild!!!!

I’d love for my music to reach charts, to be heard out in public places, and to have a presence somewhere, big or small. I perpetually have to tell myself that it’ll probably never happen, but it’s always been my dream and I’d love to see it through someday.

In a broader, existential sense, I want to help people take pop seriously. Throughout my life I watched a lot of elitists swear off so much good music just because it was pop, and I can’t even fathom to understand it at this point.

A good pop song can touch a person just as emotionally as any other genre, or in the case of these people, a concerto or symphony.

"7 dollar beverages" gained a lot of attention. How do you handle audience feedback, and have there been any unexpected reactions or interpretations of your music that stood out to you?

I actually went into that song trying to make it as accessible as possible, so I’m not surprised that 7 dollar beverages got as much attention as it did.

A critique I’d heard a lot about some of my earlier music was that it sounded “weird” so for this song, I specifically tried to keep my writing choices as “reined in” as possible. I will admit I do make some choices that can be out there sometimes, so this time I just wanted to make something listenable for as many people as possible.

It was a very different song for me in a lot of ways, mainly because the production was 90% by my friend Iris (@_irselr on Twitter). She just sent me this absolutely crazy beat, and then writing and recording on it took a day because it was just that good of a beat. Everything about that song happened at such a frighteningly fast pace that it lowkey scared me, LOL.

I’ve come to really appreciate what this song means to me, and I think placing it as the intro to the EP was the right choice in the end (I almost made 7 dollar beverages the closer, I really didn’t know where to put it in the tracklist for a longgg time).

Collaborations can bring fresh perspectives to an artist's work. Are there any artists or producers you'd love to collaborate with in the future, and what do you think such collaborations might bring to your sound?

For me the hardest part of a collab is just asking the person in question if they’d be interested. Once I’m actually collaborating with a person, it’s easy; as long as I know my place or role as a contributor to a project, I can stay and thrive in that role just fine, and compromise if I happen to disagree with other people’s creative decisions.

I’ve learned repeatedly over the years that other people usually know better than me when it comes to certain things, and I’m okay with that.

My dream collab list is soooo long, but right now corefish is definitely toward the top of the list. I’m very curious how corefish would sound on my production, he processes his vocals with lots of formant shifting and I think the way he does it is unlike anyone else.

I’d love to produce something different like that with him. underscores is totally be a dream collab too, she’s been such a huge inspiration to me and a studio session with her would be the fucking best.

In your creative journey, are there specific moments or experiences that stand out as turning points, influencing the direction of your music or shaping your artistic identity?

I was exclusively listening to classical symphonies and concertos and resented modern music until I was 14; that’s when I found artists like Poppy, Jack Stauber, and Billie Eilish and finally started building my own tastes and interests in music.

Then I found 100 gecs at the peak of their 2020 popularity, and it was fucking life changing. I know people like to meme on them, but I just saw some honest musicians making honest music and breaking all the rules I had built in my head about how music was supposed to work. underscores also broke my brain, she’s on another level when it comes to her writing and production.

All these artists I mentioned, who each had their own ways of expressing themselves, inspired how I make music and sing to this day.

Downloading Ableton was also a groundbreaking moment for me. Learning music production has probably been the best choice I made over the past few years. Things would absolutely be so much worse if I didn’t have my music in my life to ground and develop me.

Looking forward, what can listeners expect from your future projects, and how do you envision your sound evolving as you continue to explore new territories in your music?

It’s not ready yet, but I’m working on an album and I’m really excited to show everybody. Get ready for loud, saturated, distorted SOUNDS. And guitar samples; lots and lots of guitar samples. I can’t play guitar to save my life but I sure can sample it!

It’ll be a lot different than anything I’ve made before, but don’t worry if you don’t like it; I’m already starting to feel an itch toward making even wilder music and I haven’t even finished the current album!!!!!

For now at least, it’s a really fun stop on this never ending road I’ve found, and I can’t wait for people to hear it.

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