“Matches undulating electronics, digital production, and a very human sense of soul” – Clash

“An under the radar artist to look out for” – Highsnobiety

Ex Mykah is an avant-pop project by Colombian/Cuban American artist Bryan Senti, whose dynamic and thought-provoking debut album ‘1 6, 1 7’ is released via Kowloon Records on November 30th 2018. Produced alongside Grammy winner Justin Moshkevich and John Hull, it cycles through various social themes in American society today, from drug abuse to social class, meshing haunting hip-hop structures with leftfield pop flourishes, whilst taking aim at the toxic, hypocritical pedantry embedded into our politics and religion. The music itself claims a broad range of influences, most notably conscious rap and R&B icons like Kendrick Lamar & Frank Ocean but also the music of Beach House, Funkadelic, Simple Minds, Cream, and Beck among others. Guesting on the record is the artist Samantha Urbani (Friends, Blood Orange, Samantha Urbani).

A busy working musician and hired gun for Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt (Miike Snow,) Los Angeles based Ex Mykah’s debut single ‘Berlin Lies’ was a potent cut of narcotic pop, examinining Ex Mykah’s own nihilistic experimentation and exploring the idea of losing oneself to the city’s hedonistic allure, falling into a vortex of sex and drugs. It’s follow up ‘Faceless’ offered an unflinching perspective that spotlights society’s grim realities, and the decline of a now unrecognisable ‘America’. Latest single ‘Suspicions’ was inspired by the recent police violence against members of the black community in the US. Written as a response, Ex Mykah urges us to resist our own suspicions of other people and instead look out for one another.

‘1 6, 1 7’ is a deeply personal and political record dealing with the bleak and harsh realities faced in society today. About a month after Bryan’s Dad passed away he was performing at The Royal Opera House as part of his Carbon Life ballet when Trump was ingloriously elected. The absurdity (both high and low) of those couple months inspired him to write songs about specific issues in society with the courage to set them in ways that pulled from any aesthetic inspiration that might come. “The album ended up being written from beginning to end and initially felt like a concept album based on societal issues to me,” he says, “but as it unfolded I realised that in some ways there was kind of mix tape feel that drew from hip hop happening. Once I saw that I tried to embrace that in the production as well and here we are.”