Introducing: MICHELLE + their new single 'Pose'.

"Don't you dare come and dance with me / Oh, can't you see I'm grooving alone / As long as I pose, I don't care if you're next to me," sing the NYC-based band MICHELLE on their latest track, 'Pose'. This song is the last single before the release of their 14-track sophmore album 'AFTER DINNER WE TALK DREAMS' dropping March 4th.

The six-piece's first record 'HEATWAVE' is described by member, Jamee Lockard, originating as a 'fun summer project' and a tribute to NYC. The album-making process started in 2018 with the turn-around on the creative process taking only two weeks. Funnily enough, some of the members still hadn't met each other by the time the album was released - as they would work on the record on different days. Their first show was played three months later at Bard College in New York with the crowd singing along to their songs becoming a light-bulb moment for them in realising this was more than just a summer project.

The group have recently toured with the likes of Arlo Parks and Gus Dapperton, before jumping on tour with Mitski, getting to sing some of their newer and older tunes. While opening for these amazing artists, they have seen it as a challenge, with Sofia D'Angelo of the band confessing: "The audience isn’t there to see us primarily. So one of the most fulfilling experiences is getting everybody dancing and excited about us and the headliner by the end of our set. It’s also such a blessing when we would go out on stage and a bunch of people already knew the words, or were already wearing our merch, or knew our names. Really staggering feeling."

On what was running through their minds when writing 'POSE', producer Julian Kaufman says: "Initially, I was a bit worried and anxious because at the time we were late for a michelle dinner uptown. Then I kept singing an earlier version of the chorus when I would take a shower, so I was focused on shampoo and soap in my mind. When Emma came and started writing, I was in my loft bed and was focused on trying to give her space to write."
Vocalist Emma Lee continues: "I was very grateful to be a part of the track - that was on my mind during that first session. Sonically, I was really excited 'cause the demo was very slow and moody and it felt like an opportunity to sing and create a scene I personally felt very passionate about... With this track it was there from the jump, like I felt inside of the song. I was thinking a lot about low light and fog; very much envisioning this perform/solo person moving through this determined and dreamy state."

On their biggest inspirations, both musical and non-musical, Julian says: "I try to get inspired by the instruments I use and people I work with to dictate the sounds and parts I write. I’ll try to write something that would fit well into a singer's voice and style, or write a keyboard part that would work well with the tonality of a certain synth. Beyond music, I think I take a lot of inspiration from movies and their ability to compress long periods of time into visceral experiences."
Vocalist Sofia D'Angelo continues: "I have a few well-known musical heroes that I have always admired since I was young, who continue to guide me. But currently my inspirations are my bandmates."
Emma adds: "Some very mundane moments and the circus of relating to people - the colours blue and grey and black, the vibraphone, family and friends, experience of time, uncertainty."

On touring with Arlo Parks, Gus Dapperton and Mitski, Sofia discusses the experience of being on the road and performing live: "Opening for these amazing artists has been such a gift, but also a challenge. The audience isn’t there to see us primarily. So one of the most fulfilling experiences is getting everybody dancing and excited about us and the headliner by the end of our set. It’s also such a blessing when we would go out on stage and a bunch of people already knew the words, or were already wearing our merch, or knew our names. Really staggering feeling."

On what changed for MICHELLE musically between 'HEATWAVE' to 'AFTER DINNER WE TALK DREAMS', Julian says: "Musicians have less agency over their creative output then one might think. When I sit down to write a song, I have no idea what’s going to come out. The moment I start writing to fulfill an aesthetic rather than to just express at my highest creative level, is the moment the outside world stops caring about the music."
Sofia adds: "I think the musical changes that can be heard are reflective of the changes we went through as people. We got older, we got to know each other better, we became more committed to this group, and we all went through our fair share of challenges and successes. While the excitement about creating music is probably the same from when we would bang out an album in two weeks, the time that passed has taught us a lot about how important it is for time to pass."

On one song that they think represents the band and their sound the best, Sofia reveals: "This is hard, because one of the exciting things is that it’s always changing. But right now for some reason my heart is saying '2.25'".

Watch 'POSE' music video below...