Mykel’s debut EP, “Hometown Runaway,” is for anyone who has ever felt a sense of disillusionment with the place they call home — for anyone who’s felt torn between where they’re from and where they’re going. Out Nov. 7, her first body of work marks a departure from crafting songs for reality TV and instead writing on her own terms, from a place of vulnerability and lived experiences.

An artist by nature, her latest creative pursuit has allowed her to express herself in newer, more complex ways, and recently, Mykel found some time to answer a few of my questions about the big debut.

YY: You’ve referred to “Hometown Runaway” as a “beacon of truth and integrity.” Is there one moment in particular when you decided to stop chasing what you thought people wanted, and how did that shift impact you emotionally? Was it freeing, terrifying, a little bit of both?

Mykel: For me, after the accident, I really did let go of the dream I had built my life around. It was terrifying, but also incredibly freeing to take off the self-inflicted chains that were keeping me from what was meant for me. In completely detaching, my dreams finally started chasing me. The difference now is — I don't define myself by my dream anymore.

“Brace For Impact” came from what felt like pure necessity after a near-fatal car accident. How did facing that moment — and working with producer Gehring Miller in such a safe, creative space — open the door for what became the rest of the EP?

It honestly was the cork that released the entire project. Once I was able to get that song out — the remaining six seemingly poured out of me. It was the universe saying, “You have something to say.”

You’ve described yourself as “born near Salt Lake City. Rebuilt in LA.” How do you think those two worlds — the faith you grew up in and the city you chose — shape the story you’re telling on Hometown Runaway?

They shape everything. My religious upbringing and the city I come from give me a grounding sense of perspective — and a baseline standard of living that I for the most part thoroughly love. LA gave me a way to explore all the parts of myself without judgement and really workshop who I am. It's the land of dreamers and it forced me to push myself harder than I would've been anywhere else. And I think that's the message of “Hometown Runaway” — that we don't have to abandon any part of ourselves or neglect who we are and where we came from.

Before this project, you wrote songs for shows like “Love Island” and “Vanderpump Rules.” If you had to say, what was the biggest challenge in stepping away from crafting songs for other people’s stories and writing from your own?

For a long time I kept things very general and universal. That was fun, but I started using it as a crutch, an out for not having to dig deep into the scary nuances of what I truly felt or wanted to say. The hardest thing for me was getting over the block of letting people see who I really am in my music — and writing about my specific and unique and messy experiences. And what's shocking is in turn, they are much more relatable than ever.

You’ve called “How Do You Know” your “405 spiral song, an anxious anthem worth dancing to.” Do you think that writing it in just two hours resembled a moment of catharsis, or did that pace mirror the kind of anxiety the song lives in?

Todd and I are used to working fast — a product of us not living in the same state. For me — once I heard his synth I knew what was going to happen. I at that time was feeling the anxiety, the uncertainty of if the decisions I was making were the right ones. So it was catharsis… but also bred in the very same anxious state the song is about.

People also know you online as a beverage aficionado, which in many ways is a completely separate creative outlet for you. How do you balance that with your music career, and how do you think one outlet helps or harms the other?

I used to think I could only be one thing. The universe provided me with a fun creative outlet that I truly enjoy — completely outside of my music career. This was a huge blessing in me expanding my identity and not being so rigid with myself. At this point today I would say it only truly helps. It gives me something else to channel, and also helps the people who know my music get to know me on a different level.

Your debut EP comes out Nov. 7 — what emotions are you experiencing going into the release, and what is something listeners should know before they hear it?

I feel all the emotions. I am nervous, excited, and relieved. I just want people to know this project came from an honest place, and I'm doing it as sort of a mini thesis statement.. not so much with a specific metric in mind. I hope it makes them feel something.