Whitney Lyman

With her new EP ‘Becoming You’ arriving on October 24th, Whitney Lyman continues to weave raw honesty, shimmering soundscapes, and timeless storytelling into her ever-evolving musical journey. A collaboration with Los Angeles artist Cherish Alexander, the record captures the delicate balance between self-discovery and transformation, echoing themes of resilience, imagination, and growth. From embracing imperfection to conjuring fairytales through song, Becoming You feels both deeply personal and universally resonant. In this conversation, Lyman reflects on the making of the EP, the healing power of creativity, and the beauty of becoming your most authentic self.

Your new EP, Becoming You, is out on October [24th]. What inspired it, and when did the writing process begin?

This album was a collaboration project with another artist, Cherish Alexander. It came about a lot differently than my usual way of songwriting on my own. I’d been leaning into more co-writing, and one of my collaborators, Alan Roy Scott (Motown, Cher, Cyndi Lauper), introduced me to Cherish, seeing the potential for our creative styles to combine. In the summer of 2023 I started going to Cherish’s Los Angeles studio to do songwriting sessions, and over the summer we came out with these five finished songs and two orchestral versions featuring the string arrangements of my friend and collaborator, Andrew Joslyn, which we finished recording in 2024, and I’ve been slowly releasing singles from it since earlier this year.

Musically, your sound blends Americana with shimmering indie rock, drawing comparisons to legends like Fleetwood Mac and Sheryl Crow. Was there a particular album or style that influenced you throughout?

I’ve always had a hard time labelling my music as one particular style over another because I’ve been so influenced by so many different genres, and it shifts from project to project, but I no longer care what it’s called just as long as it resonates with people. I’ve always loved Fleetwood Mac and Sheryl Crow from listening to my parents’ record collection growing up, and I still enjoy them today. I come from a jazz and classical background, learning from some amazing mentors like Julian Priester (Herbie Hancock) and Jovino Santos Neto (Hermeto Pascual). I’ve also been hugely influenced by Motown, The Beatles, David Bowie, Genesis, Toto, classic rock of the 60s and 70s, etc. Cherish plays bass with an 80s cult artist, Josie Cotton, and she played in several up-and-coming bands in the 90s, so that’s in there. I come out of the Seattle music scene, which has hugely influenced me with the legacy of 90’s grunge and early 2000’s indie rock and alternative music, like Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Heart, to the more current music scene I’ve been able to be an active part of building and influencing. I’ve had the honour of working with Chris Walla (Death Cab for Cutie, The Postal Service), Steve Porcaro (Toto), and Sean Nelson (Harvey Danger). And I got to perform as a featured vocalist with the electronic music group ODESZA on KEXP and Jimmy Kimmel Live. I think all of these styles and experiences ultimately end up influencing everythingI make in some way.

The EP feels both timeless and intimate, with an overarching theme of self-discovery – embracing the beauty of imperfection and transformation. What personal experiences shaped this journey?

It is about self-discovery to me, especially with the amount of personal growth I went through simply throughout the process of finishing the record and releasing it. I think the timeless quality comes from the musical influences I mentioned before and also turning that into something new and modern that feels very relevant today. In 2023, when we started writing it, we were still dealing with the changing world through the pandemic, and I had moved to Los Angeles in 2020 right before everything went down, so it was a strange time to be in a new state and city with not much chance to find my community and really start performing again by the time we went into lockdown. I had so many ambitions and things I had set out to accomplish that came to a complete halt, and also, trying to find my way, I didn’t have a chance to record and release the new music I had been sitting on. And I even found it difficult to write anything new with the amount of stress that I was dealing with personally. So getting to work with Cherish was a great way to unclog the pipes, so to speak. I just needed to start writing again, and when she had some ideas we started with, we found an outlet for us both to express what needed to be released into the world.

You recently released Undoing – an ode to shedding expectations and returning to one’s essence in an emotional, trance-like unravelling. How did this track come about, and how do you think we can all strive to reconnect with ourselves?

I love this track because it is a bit different from everything else on the record but is still such a vibe that I identify with. It goes outside the form of a traditional pop song, yet it draws you in. In trance meditation it is that repetition that allows your mind to slip out of the ordinary routine ways of thinking and explore the further realms of reality. This was the last song we finished for the album, and we weren’t sure if it would be on it because it was so different from the other songs and a bit darker, but I feel it completes the record because on that journey to discovering the self, you have to face the shadows as well and dive a little deeper into the slightly uncomfortable parts of your mind. Music is like a spell or a mantra to me, so whatever I’m singing about is something I’m going to have to repeat over and over, so I want it to be something that has a positive and progressive meaning to me. Sometimes things need to fall apart in order to see what’s left and pure and real before we can build the life we truly want. And sometimes we just need “permission” to go there, and it can be very healing; this song does that for me.

You’re also not one to shy away from mythical fantasies and fairytales, as shown in the enchanting single Supermoon. How did you craft this magical world, and did a certain place or moment in your life influence its lyrics?

In my life I’ve always been influenced by mystical and metaphysical topics, so it’s natural that they make their way into my music. This song is more about letting yourself believe in magic, as it does exist, and how you can create it in your own world. Painting a story of being in this fairytale love but not to be rescued, to be courageous alongside that person who makes you feel powerful and magical. I have other songs like “Love Spell” and “Firebreather” that have these themes of magic and fantasy too that make sense to me because storytelling and fantasy are such ancient and natural parts of being human. When I was in North Wales last November, I filmed a music video for it that captured the essence of that fairytale vibe.

Your lyrics can often feel escapist – do you think letting your imagination run wild has been a key part of both your creative process and your journey toward empowerment?

Music has always been the ultimate escape for me, but also the most reliable, stable and grounding force in my life. As much as I have always dreamed and fantasised about making music and putting it out there and wanting to travel the world to share it, I’ve been able to turn those dreams into reality by continuing to just do it and follow that desire with consistent effort, even though it seems crazy or impossible to most people. It is actually a way for me to bring my own dreams back into reality because you still have to bring it into physical existence, get the song finished, actually record it, practice, and put in the work to get it released—and that makes it real. It takes a lot of hard work, time, and effort that most people wouldn’t even realise because the goal is to create that beautiful world for the listener so that they might escape the harsh world and enter this more loving, gentle one, even for a moment. But I don’t think it’s any less real; we have a choice which world we want to live in by co-creating it.

When listeners stumble across Becoming You, how do you hope they’ll feel – transformed, enlightened, or simply inspired to look inward?

I’m not here to tell someone how to feel; I would be delighted if anyone felt transformed, enlightened or introspective, but at the very least I hope that someone who hears it might initially feel good firstly from the sound and frequency, then maybe take a moment to listen to the lyrics and find they can relate to some of the themes, and maybe think about things a little differently and put their own life into perspective. Instead of just keeping doing what we think we’re supposed to instead of what feels true. I just want to sing and live my truth, and hopefully that’s enough that others will be inspired to live as their authentic selves too.

Visually, the cover pays homage to the EP’s introspective nature and is beautifully reminiscent of Joni Mitchell’s iconic Clouds. Why did you connect so strongly with the themes of that album in particular?

My collaborator Cherish’s husband, Clifford Bailey, is a world-class artist, and when we were talking about concepts for the album artwork, she mentioned the Clouds cover as a reference over the phone, and I just happened to have that record displayed on my wall at that moment, as it was the last album I was listening to, so it seemed like the perfect direction! I’ve always loved Joni Mitchell because of her gorgeous, unique voice that is so pure, and her songwriting is a great example of fierce truth-telling delivered in a way that still comforts and soothes the soul. Visually the cover is a striking self-portrait she painted herself. We wanted something that felt familiar yet was also unique. Clifford offered to do the painting with a reference to each song on the album in each corner, making up the single covers, and the final album cover was all four corners put together to make up the whole picture, and therefore, Becoming You.

It’s been a busy year – returning to the UK for your third tour, including dates at FOCUS Wales 2025 and a headline show at The Dublin Castle in London. What has been a proud or favourite moment for you so far?

Yes, and I am actually returning for the fourth time to the UK in October to tour and have an EP release show on the 26th in Chester. Since my first visit in 2024, I have loved the UK so much and felt such appreciation and love from folks for my music that it made sense to come back and continue building my audience. Some of the most exciting moments were performing in London for the first time; also, getting a private tour of Abbey Road Studios, and then later, seeing Ringo Starr at Heathrow Airport felt like an amazing coincidence. One other major highlight was also getting to attend a Wrexham AFC match where my song was played as the teams warmed up. I also had my picture printed in the programme and a special PA announcement introducing me to the whole racecourse and welcoming me to Wrexham, which made me feel rather special.

Looking back, how do you feel Becoming You reflects your musical journey up to now? Do you think you needed to write it as part of your own self-discovery?

I used to think I had to do everything myself, but as I’ve continued on this musical journey, I’ve learnt more than ever: you simply can’t do everything yourself, and it doesn’t make it “better”. We don’t exist or create in a vacuum. Who you ARE is directly in relation to the world around you and the world at large, and that changes constantly! So every creative project for me is a form of self-discovery, and this one was important for me to write and discover who I am in the world. It became less about having to prove myself and what I can do and just becoming a channel for what the higher creative forces need to bring into this world.

And finally – what’s next? Are you already writing again, or are you letting the dust settle and allowing Becoming You to work its magic?

I had a group of songs written that I’d been wanting to get finished for a while, so in November 2024, when I went back to the UK for the second time, I had some recording sessions with the fantastic musicians I met there in an old bunker-turned-recording studio out in the Welsh countryside, and when I went back this past May 2025, we recorded a few more newly written songs inspired by my time there. So with my next trip in October, the plan is to finish up the recording process, and by early next year I will have a whole new full-length record finished, made in the UK, and I am probably more excited about it than anything I’ve released yet! I’ve also been working on a new EP in Seattle this past summer with one of my collaborators, a project called Anó Meros, which is dark synth-pop and also very different, so stay tuned. My goal is to keep writing as much as possible right now and keep exploring the realms of my creativity!

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