Tygermylk: Finding Freedom in ‘Confetti’

After years of navigating chronic illness, multiple throat surgeries, and the weight of growing up in a small, conservative town, Hastings-based singer-songwriter Tygermylk (they/them) has stepped into a new era of unapologetic self-expression.

Their upcoming single Confetti – a luminous anthem of self-acceptance and queer euphoria – marks a turning point: the moment they shrug off other people’s blueprints for happiness and claim their own. Ahead of their debut album later this year, we caught up with Tygermylk to talk about healing, identity, and why liberation sounds a lot like throwing glitter in the air.

Ethel Cain – American Teenager

The enormous guitars in this were a starting point for producing Confetti. It’s nostalgic, cathartic, and euphoric. There’s also something about the way this track captures a very American kind of disillusionment that resonates with Confetti: realising the dream you were sold doesn’t fit who you actually are.

Mylo – In My Arms

There’s a moment in Confetti where the track drops into the bridge with a sidechain effect, which was inspired by this track. I loved it so much, I copied & pasted it to open the song. In My Arms reminds me of sitting in the passenger seat of my bff’s dad’s convertible with this song blasting obnoxiously loud in the Newquay Safeway carpark, the summer I had my first kiss and my first cigarette.

The 1975 – I’m In Love With You

The 1975 are my guilty pleasure. I gave up Spotify in 2022 but rejoined to listen to Being Funny in a Foreign Language when it came out, which wrecked my Spotify Wrapped, making it look like they were the ONLY band I had listened to that year and outing me as a hardcore fan. I used them as a reference for how to produce the sax, which was played by Donovan Haffner (who I also worked with elsewhere on my upcoming album Local Girl, Always Tired). Not too prominent, but still adds joyfulness, especially when he shreds at the end.

Don Henley – The Boys of Summer

This song is all euphoria and yearning - which is such an ugly word yet I find myself doing it a lot. It reminds me of summer romances as a teen coming to their inevitable end. I wanted Confetti to sit in that same emotional space. It was one of the first slowcore covers I taught myself on piano and I definitely burnt it onto a few mix CDs to post to said summer romances back in the day.

boygenius – Not Strong Enough

Probably my favourite band of all time, this is another song with a huge climactic ending. I had tickets to see them live at Gunnersbury Park with my ex after we'd already started divorce proceedings and it ended up being one of the last things we did together. It was one of the best gigs I've ever been to but kind of a sad memory, especially now that boygenius have broken up too! I wanted to find an arpeggiating synth like this track has to add to the build, and it took us months to get it just right. Tony Burrata, who I mixed the track with, was very patient. It ended up being the final bit of work we did on the album, the finishing touch!