Inspired #188 - BYFYN
BYFYN released her glossy, empowering synth-pop EP ‘In Blue With You’ earlier this month, she took a moment to talk to us about the inspirations behind her music.
Who are your top three musical inspirations?
Grimes, she is one of the main reasons why I began producing music. She is an absolute powerhouse, she writes, produces, performs, and mixes all her music, directs her videos and illustrates all her album artwork. Amazing. Kate Bush, again a total powerhouse and visionary of her time who didn't take no for an answer in a very male dominated industry, and went on to inspire generations of female musicians like me to do the same! St Vincent, her music is mindblowing. I've listened to Masseducation thousands of times and I never get bored, there is so much going on to unpick. The songwriting is perfection, her voice is so emotive and her guitar playing skills are incredible. She is GOALS.
Is there a certain film that inspires you?
Blade Runner was a huge inspiration when I first started making music. It's my dad's favourite film and he showed it to me when I was still pretty young (maybe too young haha!). But Vangelis's epic sweeping synth score is why I got (and still am) so obsessed with synths. It's beautiful, otherworldly, epic and at times heartbreaking. More recently it's definitely Uncut Gems, that score by OPN is just breathtaking, I think it's the modern equivalent to what Vangelis did with Bladerunner, you can hear how OPN would have been inspired himself!
What city do you find the most inspiring?
Ooh it's a toss up between London and Manchester. London because just being in the thick of it all with the hustle and bustle kickstarts my creativity and it’s where I go to see live music which inspires me the most (hopefully that will resume soon)! Manchester because the crowds there are incredible. Every time I’ve played in Manchester I’ve got such an amazing response from the audience, we’ve just ended up having a big old party where I’m supplying the tunes, the energy of the people there is really inspiring.
Who is the most inspiring person to you?
My mum. She passed away when I was little but she was the person that recognised my love for music and performing and gave me the confidence to pursue it and keep going no matter what. She’s always in my heart and inspires me everyday.
What were your inspirations when writing your new EP?
I really struggled to write this EP at the beginning. I knew I wanted to write an EP and I wanted it to be a journey, but I couldn’t figure out what that journey should be about. In the past I had always taken inspiration from partying, festivals, love and in general just good times. But I was struggling to find inspiration in these moments. I had been struggling with anxiety and the repercussions it was having on my long term relationship. I had always shied away from writing about it because it felt to raw and I didn’t want to feel vulnerable. However as I began writing about it, the music just poured out and it proved to be an amazing source of inspiration. It transformed it from being something I was scared and frankly ashamed of, to being something that provided inspiration for producing the music I’m most proud of in my career to date!
How would you like to inspire people?
I would love to inspire people to be there truest self. I think that’s what I’ve learnt this year, that we can’t shy away from the problematic and difficult parts of ourselves, they are what make us who we are, how we deal with them and accept them.