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

ABOUT SCAYOS

Tonight, the sun will set on Interlochen, Michigan, at approximately 9:25 PM. By the end of the year, about ten feet of snow will have been dumped on the census-designated town of less than 600 people. The home of the internationally renowned Interlochen Center for the Arts experiences both seemingly endless summers and winters, and yet, for a teenage transplant from Mumbai, the meteorological culture shock was nowhere near as jarring as the complete silence. Shaan Chhadva, the mastermind behind SCayos, escaped the constant construction, honking, and hustling of the seventh-most populous city on earth. Whether enveloped in June’s humidity or December’s icy insulation, Interlochen let Shaan live entirely within his thoughts, imagining what the future might hold. “It’s a feeling of pure stillness, like the whole world stopped,” he recalls. “It felt like forever.”

Nearly a decade later, SCayos returns to those formative years to chart his bold path forward. “michigan,” the second single from his forthcoming EP, felt like forever, marks the debut of SCayos the singer-songwriter, lyricist, and bandleader. Produced by Phil Ek (Duster, Built to Spill, The Shins), felt like forever revisits the heartbreak and homesickness of his early Interlochen days and interrogates the success that far exceeded any of his dreams. His 2021 instrumental debut Ethereal Nights, a lofi, Dilla-indebted record made in his bedroom, amassed millions of streams and launched a global career, but Chhadva found himself wondering, “Is this what I’m supposed to be doing? Do I want to be making only beats until I’m 40?” The answer: “No. I really want to explore my artistry.”

That exploration led him to Los Angeles’ psychedelic jazz scene, where he rechristened himself Ornithology—a nod to his childhood obsession with birds. His Hotel Cafe debut became a viral sensation, introducing jazz to new audiences and inviting a wave of listeners into his world. But while many artists try to replicate virality, SCayos chose reinvention. felt like forever trades polish for vulnerability, stepping into a beginner’s mind as a songwriter. “michigan” isn’t just about a place, but a state of mind: “what it means to be confused and dumb and anxious about the world, and you’re just trying to figure things out.”

He leaned into that uncertainty by immersing himself in slowcore, shoegaze, and orchestral folk, discovering artists like Florist, Pinegrove, and Duster, whose Ek-produced Stratosphere loomed large over the record. The result is a dusky, gritty indie rock album grounded in collaboration—like the haunting “i kissed her,” built from three words and five creators, or “chest cavity,” a song that transformed from too-pretty folk into gnarly catharsis via cassette-deck distortion. felt like forever is a snapshot of youth in all its contradictions—beautiful and naive, messy and loud. “That’s what music does for people,” Chhadva says. “It gives it a shape and a name.” And at just 22, he’s giving shape to what’s still to come…

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