Hip-hop and R&B artiste Micah’s new EP tackles the subject of self-acceptance

We speak to him about the EP, that's called Lens Flare
Micah Bedford
Micah Bedford

MICAH BEDFORD’s NEW EP chronicles his growth, both in his musical journey as well as his personal life. The Puducherry-based singer and producer just dropped his latest album, Lens Flare, a four-track exploration of what life has to offer and the process of coming to terms with it, through hard-hitting lyrics and hip-hop-laden beats.

All in the family
Micah’s father, Johnny Bedford, is a renowned musician and part of The Johnny Bedford Band that dabbles in classic rock and blues. “My dad’s influence on my understanding of music is paramount,” Micah says, adding, “He bought me the guitar and amplifier that started it all when I was 14. He taught me the mechanics of music, it’s structural aspects, the more philosophical side of creativity and what I want to say with my music and how I want to deliver it.”

Apart from hip-hop, the new EP has influences of R&B, jazz and trap. The artiste describes Lens Flare as a ‘deeply personal’ project. “The themes of the EP revolve around all the things I love in life and an  acceptance of how things are. The idea was to convey this changed state of mind I’ve experienced over the last year. What began with longing and regret has now led to this,” he says. Micah’s previous EP, Soon, I Promise, which came out earlier this year, was full of melancholia and longing. But this cathartic EP is a progression from that and completes the arc on a more mature note.

Camera call
The four-track EP starts with the bass-heavy track Matte Gloss for which Micah also released a video last week.“Shooting the video was such a good experience. I learnt so much from that shoot. It took serious adaptation to move from being solely a musician to an actor, in some sense. Multiple facets were brought together in such an organised manner. Props to my production team for that,” he says. The track is followed by White Mist (Part I) and White Mist (Part II). The two songs are melodic and introspective. The final track, Embassy, leans into its jazz influences and rounds off the EP with its emotional metaphors.


The album art has been done by visual artist Raya Sarcar. “She understands my vision. With a simple brief of the themes of this EP and what I wanted the art to consist of, she went ahead and nailed it on the first draft,” shares Micah, who says his musical influences range from Frank Ocean and Bill Evans, to Tesseract and Daniel Caesar.

The artiste is already working on new music. “This year has been absolutely wild so far. From a creative point of view, I’d decided in March to stick to my plan of releasing my music this year, despite the inability to tour and perform live gigs. Now is perhaps the best time to release music because of how much time people have on their hands. It’s proven rewarding so far, as people are receiving my work well,” he
signs off.

Available on online streaming platforms 

anagha@newindianexpress.com
@anaghzzz

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