by 
Portland Selfie Session #3 – Nyleen
From my smartphone to yours
Enjoy the unique sounds coming from Portland, OR in this week’s Portland Selfie Session! Brought to you straight from the smartphone of musician/music-enthusiast Sarah DiMuzio.
Hidden in an outdoorsy nook in the middle of downtown Portland, singer-songwriter Nyleen filled the world with her soulful music in front of Sarah’s iPhone. Her voice is so grand that during the session it captured the attention of some people walking a few blocks away! One might think she was trained for Broadway, but in fact she is largely self-taught, fueled only by an intense passion and love of singing that she has cultivated her entire life. Let’s hear more about that from Nyleen herself via the interview below!
Nyleen – Before I’m Gone (A Portland Selfie Session)
How long have you been playing music?
I took music in school when I was like 11, but I didn’t really know you had a choice, like my mom made me play flute. So I got stuck playing the flute. But it was actually a kind of cool experience, very hard wind instrument, very technical and it helped a lot with my lung power. I did that for a very long time and I played classical. And I’ve always sung. My mom caught me singing to The Little Mermaid when I was like six so she made me go to a talent show that her work hosted. So I always just kind of sang and I did that, just kind of singing with other people. I grew up listening to Etta James, and there’s just a lot of people with really great voices, Jeff Buckley, so I just started singing my favorite artists, Robert Plant and stuff. I got asked to join a band and I noticed a lot of times people would fizzle out, people would drop out, so that’s when I started writing my own music. About when I was nineteen, and I started teaching myself the guitar at about nineteen or twenty. So I haven’t been playing that long, I’ve only been playing— oh I am old, it’s been about nine years, maybe.
Who are your influences or favorite bands?
I like all kinds of music, I really do. My favorite solo artist though, is Jeff Buckley. I love Jeff Buckley. He’s a huge influence, he’s so great, I love his music, his voice. I love stuff like Led Zeppelin, I love ACDC, Janice Joplin and stuff. I listened to Incubus growing up.
Any upcoming releases?
I’ve been putting together an album, but I’ve had some writer’s block, so I’ve been playing with other musicians. So I will be writing for a second album that will be out hopefully by Spring next year.
Where can people find your music now?
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