SCayos Announces Phil Ek-Produced Slowcore EP ‘felt like forever’, Shares “michigan” single

After amassing millions of streams as a lofi beatmaker and finding viral success with live versions of reimagined Chet Baker classics, 22-year-old singer/songwriter, producer & multi-instrumentalist Shaan Chhadva aka SCayos makes yet another pivot: this time to the singer-songwriter/slowcore world, with the help of the legendary Phil Ek (Duster, Built to Spill, The Shins). Today, he announces his new EP, felt like forever, out via Nettwerk on September 5th, with Ek on production.

“This EP as a whole feels like the sound and energy of youth in all the best and worst ways—when every emotional change in your life is the most drastic,” shares SCayos. “The breakups feel horrible, and when you’re in love, it feels like you’re on top of the moon; everything is heightened. You’re dumb and you make stupid mistakes, but you’re also free. There are so many parallels and opposites that happen at this point in your life.”

The tales of youth on felt like forever are largely based on SCayos’ high school experience at Interlochen Center for the Arts, a prestigious Michigan boarding school whose alumni include Chappell Roan and Norah Jones. The EP’s second single, “michigan” (ft. Juliana Chahayed), which he shares today, is the most specific homage to these years, where he traded Mumbai, one of the world’s loudest and most crowded cities, for Interlochen, Michigan, a town with less than 700 residents. There, he would navigate the highs and lows of the school’s pressure-cooker environment, double down on pursuing a career in music, and hear complete silence for the first time.

“We have this love-hate relationship with it,” shares SCayos on Interlochen, “I think in a lot of ways it forced us to grow up fast, especially because we were there so young. 

To channel his high school experiences into the lush, lovelorn track that listeners hear today, SCayos recruited close friend and fellow Interlochen alum Andy Min. “I think the school acts as a shared trauma with people that I know from there,” he continues. “Some parts were so intense: you were making art for hours, doing regular school, trying to figure out your life… The amount of pressure, the ugly sides of the school, and also the beautiful parts… it all really forced you to be the best version of yourself, and it made me understand how much I loved music.”