Q&A: Miles East

Can you introduce yourself?

I’m a New York-based singer-songwriter, recording artist, and drummer. My debut record Ghosts of Hope was released in 2016 on ECR Music Group. My follow up record Between Lightning and Thunder drops in early 2024 also on ECR Music Group with the lead single “Better Than Here” currently available on all streaming platforms. As a drummer I’ve toured nationally and internationally and have played on nearly two dozen records.

Can you describe "Better Than Here" in three words?


Hope that matters.


What were the first and last parts of "Better Than Here" to be written?

The first part was the opening chord progression and I really sat in that for a while, just playing it over and over again. It gave me such a wistful melancholy feeling like longing for better times. I didn’t want to rush the melody or the lyrics so I really took my time with it, letting that riff marinate. When the rest of the song came, it came together relatively quickly. The last thing to be written was the final verse which is also the last part of the song itself. Unlike a lot of songs, “Better Than Here” ends after a verse rather than a chorus. It sums up the sentiment: We’re tired, we want things to get better. I promise they will.



What’s your favorite lyric or production element of "Better Than Here"?


I like those as two separate questions so I think I answer them that way. From a production standpoint I love the way my producer Blake Morgan sonically captured the feeling of wistfulness and longing. There’s a palpable sense of hope in it with a tinge of desperation and uncertainty. Lyrically, I think the last verse. After the first two verses and the choruses lift us up to what we long for, the third verse brings us gently back to earth, back to the reality at hand where, in the face of it, the commitment is made to find ourselves in a better place.

Did you learn anything new about yourself while creating this song?

Indeed! I mentioned the opening chord progression earlier. When I came upon that I knew I had to surrender to the song and take my ego out of it completely. Part of the challenge for me as a songwriter is getting out of my own way. Navigating around my ego is part of my process. The ego is responsible for common songwriting issues like rushed writing, going overboard melodically, or overwriting. It’s a consistent enough issue for me that after the “first draft” of any song I write, my first thought is always “There’s a good song in there somewhere so let’s get out the hammer and chisel and set it free”. I’m not complaining. That approach has worked well for me. With “Better Than Here” though I was somehow able to shut my ego out before it could get in the way thereby letting the writing take a virtually egoless course. I hope to put that in practice more often moving forward.



Is there a certain place that you feel the most creative in?

Anywhere within view of saltwater. It’s almost Pavlovian. As soon as I can hear it, see it, smell it, and/or taste it, I get the itch.

What was on your playlist as you worked on this song?

“Yellow Eyes” by Rayland Baxter
“Expectations” by Katie Pruitt
“How Low” by Heartless Bastards
“Above the Clouds” by Paul Weller

…to name a few.



If you could transport listeners to the perfect location to hear "Better Than Here" for the first time, what would that place be?


The perfect location per se would be more of a state of mind than an actual place. And I would imagine that state of mind to be desperation, being overwhelmed by the pressures of dark forces, and anxiousness for things to start turning around. I think it’s safe to say that speaks for a lot of us in this day and age. If, while that’s all going on in your head, you happened to find yourself taking in a breathtaking natural vista that you’ve never seen before like a mountain range or an ocean cliff, I think “Better Than Here” would be a pretty great soundtrack to that.


If you had to describe your music to someone who couldn’t hear, how would you describe it?


Hands on the shoulders of a weary soul.


What comes next for you?


Lot’s of stuff! The roll out of Between Lightning and Thunder tops the list, of course. Then there are several records in the works that I played drums on which include the next solo record from Chris Barron of Spin Doctors, the remix/remaster of the critically acclaimed 2005 record Ever Since by the late great Lesley Gore, the next record from my amazing label mate Janita, and soon I’ll be heading back into the studio with Blake Morgan to start work on the follow up to his highly successful 2022 release Violent Delights.