Daily Inspiration: Meet Skyelyn

Today we’d like to introduce you to Skyelyn.

Hi Skyelyn, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Some of my earliest memories are of painting, playing piano, or singing, and I would disappear into universes of my imagination. I started piano lessons when I was five and was lucky to grow up in a home where making art was encouraged. I always saw music and visual art as very similar, and sometimes a song would become a painting. I still struggle to write a poem without hearing a melody in the background of it, so I suppose I see writing the same way too. These means of creation are all different forms of the same language to me, and I saw them this way since I was young.

I eventually studied Illustration and Animation at UConn, and during the pandemic my brother and I wrote the first album and co-founded the band Solgyres. We’ve been playing house shows, bars, festivals, and strange places throughout New England for the past 5 years. Through these years, I kept journals of poems and dreams, along with stream-of-consciousness ideas recorded in voice memos. There have been mornings I would wake from a dream hearing a song, and try to translate what I remember into something I can play. I often feel tapped into the numinous side of songwriting, when a song seems to write itself out of nowhere. Sometimes I’d create songs that felt too ethereal or strange to bring to our loud, lively reggae punk shows, so I’d let them collect in my journals or recordings. Eventually, they became Skyelyn.

My debut album, Eye of Skye, releases September 17. The title is a play on my own name and a reference to the Isle of Skye, a place that became deeply intertwined with the metaphysical atmosphere of the record. When I finally arrived there, it was like I was looking into a mirror that was constantly changing reflections. Haunting fog creeping in to swallow the landscape with old stone ruins appearing through it, it was truly magical. Minutes later, there would be sunlight and rainbows. The constant shifting between darkness and beauty was a spiritual reflection to me.

The album became a sort of shadow work for me. Each song reckons with themes of femininity, animals, death or memory. Animals appear throughout the album because I’m fascinated by their symbolism, and the concept of experiencing the world through their eyes. Some of the songs are written from perspectives that feel almost nonhuman or folkloric, as if I’m inhabiting another form of being. To me, Eye of Skye is about looking through unfamiliar eyes to see the possible beauty of the unknown, and surrendering to it.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Being a woman in music hasn’t always been a smooth road. I’ve dealt with being spoken down to or underestimated by some men, whether that be creatively, technically, or the general way I was treated in the room. Many times I would second-guess my instincts. For a while, I was constantly wondering how something would be received before I’d even make it. It’s taken time to get out of that mindset and trust what I’m drawn to, even if it’s strange or not for everyone. Also, like many independent artists, I’ve had to be thoughtful about how I allocate resources while staying true to the vision behind the work. There are always ideas I’d love to realize on a larger scale as the project continues to grow.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a musician, songwriter and visual artist. I feel that my ethereal and unconventional harmonies are the heart of my work. Harmonies to me represent the dualities of nature, two voices with an ancient and metaphysical understanding. I also create the visual art surrounding my music, so the visual art feels just as personal to me as the music. I’m most proud of letting go of the idea that I had to fit into a certain version of what an artist should be. The more I trust my own instincts, the more the work feels like an honest reflection of who I am.

Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
Some of my favorite childhood memories involve dressing up in costumes, and spending the entire day playing with my brothers. I have this core memory of all of us jamming on different instruments while I was wearing a princess dress. I recall my dad sat in to jam with us as well. I don’t think my love for long flowing dresses ever went away. Today I still feel the magic of wearing clothes that already have a life to them thrifting or supporting sustainable brands that avoid plastic materials when I can. Or simply rewearing what I already have and things my mother wore when she was my age. It’s much more special to me and much kinder to the earth.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://eyeofskye.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skyelyn.b
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SkyelynMusic
• Other: https://bio.site/skyelyn