When I asked Michele Wylen which cartoon character she’d most like to be, she told me “Leela, from Futurama –she’s a badass”. Not knowing much about the show, but that Leela was the hot Alien, I nodded and moved on – making the mental note that I could see the correlation.
After our meeting, I decided to do some research on Leela and what I found helped frame my understanding of one of the regions most promising female talents. In an episode of Futurama, the heroine Leela navigates the tenuous space between duty and moral integrity in order to achieve what she believes is right.
Herself, a striking, badass and accomplished artist; Michele pilots a dichotomous brand of art that is at once both beautifully accessible and challenging. Like many artists of her ilk, she is forever considering her audience while simultaneously testing their threshold. She wants to convey her honest, organic vision while at the same time innovating, see?
As such, Michele’s artistic vision stretches refreshingly beyond the realm of audio. As we sat in a perfectly PRTLND downtown plaza, Ms. Wylen and her brother, recounted memories from childhood of their mother taping music videos of Michael and Janet Jackson, Madonna and Paula Abdul. It was through these early experiences that Michele developed her concept of performance art; namely, it’s a performance.
Her wildy successful live shows blend elements of fashion, dance, visuals and of course, music. To conceptualize Michele’s vision, you’ve got to see her live. Although she is currently working on a new EP titled Welcome to Human Nature, the foreseeable future has Michele in the creative process; focusing on the music and leaving the details of release dates, shows and promotion, smartly for later.
Her newest offering promises remarkable collaborations between live instrumentation and her “kind of electro, poppy, I don’t know” signature sound. The difficulty they have in describing her sound is a good thing, I say. And it’s true. When you’re creating music that is hard to characterize, there’s a good chance that you’re doing something morally important; challenging your audience. Michele wants to create music that is accessible, likeable and fun while also utilizing elements that are different and unexpected.
The perfect example of this dynamic is seen in Supergirl (listen below). An honest and organic effort, the song balances harmoniously between a grimey, stripped-down melody and Michele’s goosebump-inducing vocals. While her beautiful voice provides easy access points for listeners, Michele’s beats and vocal transgressions manage to challenge the listener while coexisting impressively.
Michele is poised to stand out in a region of weirdos if for no other reason than she maintains her artistic integrity where others do not. She sticks ruthlessly to her vision and it is this impetus that will carry her to future success. To keep up with the latest from Michele, check her out at the links below. And if you ‘re too busy, or can’t find the time, don’t worry; she’ll be unavoidable very soon.
www.michelewylen.com
www.michelewylen.bandcamp.com
www.soundcloud.com/michelewylen