YOUR ANGEL on Strong Connections and Boundaries in “Misbehave”
Photo by Christina Bryson
A fresh take on boundaries and magical connections – YOUR ANGEL, the pop project of independent singer, songwriter and producer Maddy Boyd, invites listeners into her lush and ethereal world with the release of her single “Misbehave.” Backed by dreamy soundscapes, emotional storytelling and powerful deliveries, YOUR ANGEL tells a story of a quarantine romance with her boyfriend. Upon meeting, YOUR ANGEL felt an instant, magical connection and wanted to throw all her boundaries out of the window and move quickly with her boyfriend because it felt like she had known him all her life.
“That's very out of character for me, and so the song came really fast,” YOUR ANGEL says. “We moved really fast.”
Before defining her clear-cut early pop influences, the pop songstress found herself playing with cult-classic indie-rock bands such as Surf Curse and Current Joys. After playing over 150 sold out shows, she left the bands in 2019 to pursue her own artist project. With her solo project, YOUR ANGEL has released her 2019 debut Pipe Dream, as well as numerous hit singles, growing her loyal following with each new release. YOUR ANGEL’s ethereal sound and captivating melodies are heavily reminiscent of her biggest artistic influences of Britney Spears mixed with a dash of Portishead and Beach House.
“Misbehave” serves as a sneak peak of what’s to come of YOUR ANGEL’s new era in her career – defiant, fun and unapologetic. The track will appear on her upcoming sophomore album.
Photo by Christina Bryson
[UNPUBLISHED:] Thank you so much for sitting down and talking to Unpublished Magazine. Our readers would love to get to know you and your music more. For any readers who aren’t familiar with your music, can you give us a background of your music style?
[YOUR ANGEL:] The songs that I have out for this project are kind of like Britney Spears meets Beach House meets Portishead and I'm very influenced by the pop music from top 40 radio from 2005 to 2010 I'd say, back when the soundscape that was on top 40 was extremely broad and unique. I think that it meets this very ethereal, surreal sound, like the whole project visually is very surreal, where it's very beautiful but also a little off putting.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Your latest single “Misbehave” just released, huge congratulations. I would love to learn more about the inspiration behind the single and how the creative process looked like for you.
[YOUR ANGEL:] This single I made was in pretty deep quarantine, and I had just met my now boyfriend of a few years. I produce and write everything alone first and then bring it to people, so I produced it and I always produce and write simultaneously. I produced and wrote it by myself because I had just met him and I felt like we had a very strong connection from the jump, and I think because it was quarantine and also because we just felt like we've known each other for so long already, we just moved really fast. That's very out of character for me, and so the song came really fast. We moved really fast. It's about how I just didn't give a shit about my boundaries anymore and just threw myself into this relationship, and then a few months later, I brought it to my friends, Nick Noneman and Stephanie D’Arcy who did production on that as well.
[UNPUBLISHED:] What do you love about this song? Is there a specific lyric or message that stands out to you the most?
[YOUR ANGEL:] I like this song in particular because it's one of the happiest songs I've ever written. My music tends to be really moody, even when it's dancey. It's usually still about bad shit. I think my favorite lyric is ‘I'm not getting older / Send me to the other side’ because it's such a time capsule of what it felt like to be in quarantine, especially for people who are young. The last a few years, like formative years, it felt like I was 23 when I went into quarantine or when COVID started, and it felt like I wasn't growing up while we were trapped inside and I was having birthdays and it felt unfair and I wasn't getting older and I was like losing time. It's like a quarantine love song.
[UNPUBLISHED:] I think that how you described a time capsule captures being stuck in quarantine and feeling like you’re not getting older is the perfect representation. Do you think your music can be seen as a time capsule for your younger or past self to look back on and reflect?
[YOUR ANGEL:] Totally. Exactly. I also make full records and they're all time capsules of very specific moments in my life. It's just like capturing a moment, and that moment might not actually be how you generally feel about something, and so it's really fun to be able to capture those moments in a cohesive way and then also be able to look back at them and relate to them in other ways and to have other people project their own life onto it. I think it's a really special thing.
[UNPUBLISHED:] In your opinion, where would be the best environment to listen to “Misbehave?”
[YOUR ANGEL:] I think that song and kind of all my music, the best place to listen to it is in the car, windows down, there’s a sunset and driving down an empty highway in the middle of nowhere, going really fast and blasting “Misbehave.”
[UNPUBLISHED:] You mentioned you produced and wrote all your songs independently. What is some advice you wish you could give to your younger self or wish someone gave you in terms of navigating the music industry independently?
[YOUR ANGEL:] My advice would be that nobody is going to fall out of the sky and put you on or come help you or save you and that if you want to make it happen for yourself, you're going to have to do it yourself. A couple years ago, just out of fear and insecurity, I made all this music I was super proud of and I just wanted to find someone that was going to help me through every single step. That's just not the fucking way it works, although sometimes it looks like that's how it works from the outside, it's a lot of fucking work and nobody's going to do it for you and nobody's going to put you on like that. You’ve got to hustle and do it yourself.
[UNPUBLISHED:] “Misbehave” is the latest track from your upcoming second album. I would love to hear anything about the upcoming album that you would like to share!
[YOUR ANGEL:] It’s my favorite thing I've ever made, and I think that it's a very diverse album. There are a lot of vibes and I think that's all I can really say. It's very diverse and very excited to put it out.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Have you experimented more with this album, either lyrically or instrumentally, since your debut release Pipe Dream?
[YOUR ANGEL:] Definitely, I think when I made Pipe Dream it was the first time I ever had a computer that had enough space on it to have a recording software, and so that album was me teaching myself how to produce and it was the first time I'd ever made music. It was the first time I was producing music, and since I was a kid I would always make songs on a computer and I’ve gotten so much better at production since then. My past is rooted in indie-rock and the indie music scene because I’ve toured with indie bands for so long, and I think I’ve always been a hoe for pop music, like that’s always been my shit, but I don’t think I was fully letting myself make pop music. This record, I got way better and I had the chops to make pop music and let myself full send into pop music.
[UNPUBLISHED:] How are you feeling in this current era of your career and what does the rest of the year look like for you that you would love to share with Unpublished?
[YOUR ANGEL:] Putting a lot of music out this year. My hope is that I can go on tour but we'll see. I would love to get an opening slot on a tour like I'm dying to go on tour again. The goal is to play a lot of shows and be able to tour, and lots more visuals coming out.
[UNPUBLISHED:] What is your wildest dream as an artist? If you can have one thing happen to you, like a milestone or dream collaboration you hope to achieve in your career, what would that look like for you?
[YOUR ANGEL:] I think a milestone wouldn't be like headlining Red Rocks. I grew up in New Mexico and that was like the coolest venue that was close to us. A dream collaboration is really hard, but I would love to work with Max Martin.
Photo by Christina Bryson