For Michael Stanley, making music is both an outlet for his creativity and a bond with his siblings.
Stanley, who goes by Michæl Augustine, has been making electronic music for the better part of four years now and has often weaved the voices of his sister Gemma and brother Anthony (“Ace”) into his pop-inspired works. Stanley has recently gotten more comfortable with another singing voice — his own — and created a new EP set to release this Friday.
“Ventro Parlais” is a three-song release with one instrumental track, opener and tone-setter “Heaven.” It’s followed by the title track, which Stanley said is is about a once-thriving relationship “that ended with the people not on speaking terms,” and “Singing in the Rain” both closes the EP and covers the closure of moving on from that relationship. Stanley said the EP was inspired by his sister’s experiences.
Though it’s not the first time Stanley has sung on one of his releases, he said he’s put more work into improving his singing since he recorded singles like “Pop Off,” “Spooky Season” and “Free Me.”
“Gemma and I collaborate on a lot of songs together,” Stanley said. “On this EP it’s just myself, which is new for me. I’ve gotten more comfortable with my singing voice. I’ve been trying to teach myself how to breathe better with singing.”
Stanley’s music is heavily influenced by Charli XCX, who first captured his attention in the song “Fancy” with Iggy Azalea. Though he already had a musical background on the piano, that song became a tastemaker for him and inspired him to try his own hand on the computer using GarageBand and other Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) programs.
“That was when I really wanted to make my own,” Stanley said. “I started experimenting a little bit, but it wasn’t until 2016 that I really started to dive in and make music. 2017 is when I released my first song, “Going Under.” That song was more of a radio-friendly pop song. Then I started to develop my own style, making music I wanted to hear personally, which is more of ephemeral, atmospheric synth-pop. It was all because of ‘Fancy.’”
He didn’t have to look too far to find a name, though his first choice was unavailable.
“Augustine is my middle name,” Stanley said. “I couldn’t use my last name because there’s already a well-known musician named Michael Stanley. There’s another artist named Michael Augustine so I used the Latin æ to stylize my name. I’m also a lover of the Latin language. Having that, it’s so aesthetic.”
Besides Charli XCX, Stanley cites The Weeknd, Dua Lipa, Isaac Dunbar and Dorian Electra as other important influences on the Michæl Augustine sound.
Stanley’s previous release, “My Heart Pulses,” was released in late February. The idea for “Ventro Parlais” first sparked in late June and Stanley said he wrote, recorded and mastered the EP within three days, not wanting the ideas to slip away from him.
“What I really love about making music is that when I feel inspired, everything just rolls out super quickly and I try to get it all out before I hit a roadblock,” he said.
He’s also not resting on his laurels anytime soon. Stanley has written two other songs in the last two weeks and plans to release one featuring Gemma “soon.”
“Ventro Parlais” will be available on Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer and all of the other major streaming services.