møya rey’s “Dile” Breaks Musical Boundaries and Delivers an Ocean’s Worth of Sounds
Interviewed by Eduardo Rolle
møya rey is a Brooklyn based independent recording artist and a multi-talented polyglot. Having grown up in New York City to a Dominican family, and traveling to over twenty countries, møya rey is influenced by a myriad of cultures. To call her an R&B singer will not do this artist any justice. møya rey’s first EP “Lost In Translation”, is evocative of a very diverse blend of sounds. Not only does her EP have a rich mix of genres, but it was also written in four languages; English, Spanish, French and Portuguese. The four track EP shows us how møya rey translates her emotions not only into language, but music. The different languages serve as bridges between the verses and choruses and unify her many sensibilities. Every song is extremely multi-layered which really adds to the multiplicity of her own identity and understandings of the world.
Stream the EP “Lost in Translation” –> HERE
møya rey’s “Dile” is the one track on the project that is fully in Spanish. The percussions feel like a spiritual calling. Recognizable to those of us from Afro-Latinx identities, the drums tell a story that transpires into an awakening. The kora (a stringed instrument from West Africa) plays to the heart strings. The violin soars across those gut feelings, shredding through the saddest emotions — stripping them so there can only be space left for healing and regrowth. The instrumentation, coupled with the rich tones of møya rey‘s voice, work together to uproot the somber feelings of heartbreak and set you on a quest of healing and self empowerment.
Watch her video for “DILE” on Youtube –> HERE
As a multi-disciplinary artist who primarily works with the visual realm to tell her narratives, music is a multidimensional realm where møya rey is able to fully express herself with an unwavering sense of freedom. møya rey’s music is hard to box neatly into just one genre because of the myriad of cultural influences riding shotgun on her debut musical journey. Her Afro-Dominican roots and her experience as a world traveler wrap themselves around music genres like Soul, AfroTunes, R&B and Hip-hop in a harmonious explosion of flavors and textures that take her soulful and melodic voice to new heights.
CONNECT WITH MØYA REY
Instagram | TikTok | Youtube | Music
Stream the EP “Lost in Translation” –> HERE
Watch her video for “DILE” on Youtube –> HERE
Watch her video for “Transatlantic Calls” on YouTube
“Transatlantic Calls” live on BronxNet TV
Watch her video for “Open Letter” on YouTube
Watch her video for “Long Distance” on Youtube
FEATURE INTERVIEW
Interviewed by Eduardo Rolle
Can you tell us about the third track “Dile” from your EP “Lost in Translation”? I love that this song is fully in Spanish!
Thank you so much! Yeah this song was kind of born on its own, or somehow already living within me. My friend and producer Arty sent me a few tracks on New Year’s Eve in 2020. It felt like a magical moment because as soon as I heard it the drums really spoke to me. I entered the New Year of 2021 recording the demo track in Paris as the fireworks went off.
The song is about heartbreak. I was talking to someone at the time but because of the pandemic we only spoke via WhatsApp and FaceTime. I wish I could say that it marked a transition of a somewhat break-up, if I could even call it that, it was more of a situationship. However I didn’t heal for a few months after that.
In your song “Dile”, but also in a lot of your other songs, I feel like there is a lot of musicality and intention in the parts of the song where you mix music with your voice (in a sort of mantra). Sometimes, making this type of sounds can be very healing and meaningful for those who listen and sing your music, so what was it like for you to express those feelings into specific sounds?
I really appreciate that you picked up on the intentionality of my song writing process by calling it a mantra. I’m grateful you feel it evokes healing in you and hopefully others. This song was a sacred part of my healing process. I felt a pain so deep that I feel it transcended into a spiritual experience shared by what I call my ancestors and spirit guides and I had to channel that collective pain. I call it a collective pain because of traditional understandings of cis-straight relationships and how emotionally insensitive immature men are that they are willing to break women when they themselves are broken. Of course this transpires “conventional” gender norms and exists in queer spaces as well (heartbreak is heartbreak),but when looking at it through a cis-straight lens, society has normalized the harmful treatment of men towards women.
When I think back to my cultural background, the Dominican Republic is very machista. And sometimes women feed into the binary and the subjugation. During the time that “Dile” was written (Which translates to “tell him”) I felt the pain so deep in my gut that I almost felt like I understood all the Dominican women around me or on the Island. I knows that’s super reductive in a way but it was what I felt connected to – a collective suffering. A sort of weakness of spirit when we let our guard down and forget our power. I didn’t sit down and write the lyrics, I just turned on my mic and sang what came to mind as the fireworks brought in the New Year for 2021. This song was a way for me to reclaim my power. I hope other women feel empowered by it too.
Watch her video for “DILE” on Youtube –> HERE
Watch her video for “DILE” on Youtube –> HERE
Do you have any new releases out already?
Yes! I just released the visualizer for DILE. What’s more, I actually just had by debut performance for BronxNet TV. It was truly an honor and a blessing. I told myself in 2022 that one of my new goals would be to be able to preform on TV. Now that my grandparents are finally retired (after decades of being exploited as immigrants by American capitalism) they stay at home a lot. My grandmother loves her telenovelas, Latinx talk-shows and playing music. I told myself that I would someday make a TV apperance so that my grandparents could watch me from home.
It’s something that meant a lot to me because my grandparents sacrificed a lot. I am second generation American, my mother wasn’t able to make it to college but I made it a point to get a Masters because I just wanted my grandparents to be proud of me. Now that I have a Masters and I am a professor of Black and Latinx Studies at Baruch College, I figured I accomplished so much at such a young age, but the energy I put into academia isn’t fully representative of who I am. I felt I was spiritually dead when it came to academia, and music is what brought me back home to myself.
I actually had the opportunity to have this debut TV appearance last year, but at the time I was overwhelmed with my last job and an impending feeling of imposter syndrome. But I’m grateful for te alignment and the support from friends that supported me in my journey. Since the summer of 2022 I have been extremely intentional about showing up for myself and my passions in the same ways I showed up for school or work. For a moment I lost sight of the vision, I was overwhelmed by the fact that I am an independent artist and it takes a lot more effort when you are building yourself from the group up, but I got to keep going. That’s why it’s a magical experience that I was able to preform on live BronxNet TV.
Watch her video for “DILE” on Youtube –> HERE
Debut TV Interview on BronxNet TV with Rhina Valetin for OPEN Friday
Can we expect new projects from you in 2023?
As far as new music, I am currently working on a full length album following the same themes as my first project such as synthesizing multiple languages and music genres (Afro-Tunes, R&B, Jazz and Hip Hop). What’s different about this new album is I am also working on melding these sounds with different kinds of house beats (i.e. Amapiano, tribal house, afrotunes house). I recorded my music between Paris and the South Bronx, and I am in the post production process for a few music videos. I don’t have any dates for releases yet but I do intend to drop a single out of the album soon!
Dile Lyrics
Watch her video for “DILE” on Youtube –> HERE
Dile
que fue por mi
que en mi alma,
que en mis sueños
que sería feliz
Ye eh eh ehh, eh eh ehh
Ye eh eh ehh
Yele, yele ye mama eh eh ehhh
Ye eh eh ehh, eh eh ehh
Ye eh eh ehh
Yele, yele ye mama eh eh ehhh
Dile
que fue por mi
que en mi alma,
que en mis sueños
que sería feliz
Dime por favor ¿por qué tú me dices eso?
Tengo la cabeza que me vuela por el techo
Para arriba, para abajo – ¿cómo tu me explicas
todas las emociones que yo siento en la barriga?
Ehh ahh
¿Cómo dices,
qué te fuiste más lejos de aya?
Yo solo quiero la verdad
Yo siento con mi alma y siento la cicatrices
Ehh, ehh
¿Por qué me dijiste así?
Una bala en el pecho
¡Mi alma que se fue para el cielo!
Ehh ahh
¿Cómo fue?
¿Qué tu quieres regresar, ni cómo fue?
Yo solo quiero la verdad,
yo siento con mi alma y siento la cicatrices
[Instrumental Break]
Dile
que fue por mi
que en mi alma,
que en mis sueños
que sería feliz
Dile
que fue por mi
que en mi alma,
que en mis sueños
que sería feliz
[Instrumental Break]
Dile
que fue por mi
que en mi alma,
que en mis sueños
que sería feliz
Dile
que fue por mi
que en mi alma,
que en mis sueños
que sería feliz
Ye eh eh ehh, eh eh ehh
Ye eh eh ehh
Yele, yele ye mama eh eh ehhh
Mama eh. Mama eh, Mama eh
Yele, yele ye mama eh eh ehhh
Mama ehhh
Yele, yele ye mama eh eh ehhh
Watch her video for “DILE” on Youtube –> HERE
CONNECT WITH MØYA REY
Instagram | TikTok | Youtube | Music
Stream the EP “Lost in Translation” –> HERE
Watch her video for “DILE” on Youtube –> HERE
Watch her video for “Open Letter” on YouTube
Watch her video for “Long Distance” on Youtube
Watch her video for “Transatlantic Calls” on YouTube
Watch her performance of “Transatlantic Calls” with a live band on Youtube
Debut TV Performance of “Transatlantic Calls” live on BronxNet TV (Open Artist Spotlight)
CREDITS
Galore Interview by Eduardo Rolle
Music Producer: Arty Furtado @artyfurtado
Photographer: Kevin Jackson @burban.pics
BronxNet TV Producer: Yasmine Burgess @yaz_theproducer
BronxNet TV Interview by Rhina Valentin @rhinavalentin
