Rising London-based singer-songwriter Miles Pascall is the latest artist to emerge from the UK’s resurgent soul/R&B scene, and he’s making an impressive statement with new independently released single “Faith over Fear”, a gripping soul-drenched ballad. Having toured some of the world’s biggest arenas as a drummer for Cosha/Bonzai and been a session musician for many other artists, Miles’ elite musicianship comes to the forefront in his own music as he strips everything back to let his powerful songwriting and emotive vocals take center stage.
“Faith over Fear” encapsulates Miles’ ability to convey his deepest and most honest feelings in song form, with the lyrics doubling as a mantra for both the listener and for Miles himself to strive to put faith over fear in the toughest of situations. The lyrics are amplified further by being purposefully positioned against a minimalistic production led by piano to allow space for the listener’s own rationale and interpretation.
In this interivew spotlight, I chat with Miles about the new release, challenges, technology and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
I am from West London and I make melancholic pop folk-soul.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?
Music has been a part of my life from a young age. My mum, her younger sister and my grandmother were all singers in church choirs. Growing up listening to them learning hymns and harmonising are some of my earliest memories. I am motivated by the fact that I have been blessed with a gift – gifts are for sharing and somewhere someone needs to hear my stories.
How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?
I would say that this new song is different from my previous as it was originally written with someone else in mind. I honestly didn’t think that I could do it justice as I feel like my strength lies in my songwriting, not my singing. Power ballads demand an amazing voice; I don’t have one of those but as always, all that I am wanting to convey is an honest emotion, vulnerability and share my growth.
Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this oversaturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?
As an indie artist or just as any kind of musical artist in general with no funding or label backing, we are all part of a numbers game. I have been turned down before because I don’t have over a certain amount of followers on Instagram or over a certain amount of monthly listeners on Spotify. I also write songs which require people to listen with their ears and most music is quick and demands more from people visually (TikTok etc…).
What was the last song you listened to?
Leave The Door Open by Silk Sonic.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
CDs, CDs, CDs!!! I grew up in the 90s!!!
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
SoundCloud. For me, it’s really managed to keep the balance of providing a platform for artists just starting out and those who are established.
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
I feel like Instagram has been the platform that most of my listeners have reached out to me. Regarding discovering more music, when I release anything it’s usually available to stream on all major platforms. I have a collection of interviews and videos that have supported my singles on YouTube.
Anything else before we sign off?
More empathy, please. We need each other.
