Creative GradFest21: “I was painfully shy, but USW has given me the confidence to release my own music”

Popular and Commercial Music student, Megan Owen, has overcome chronic shyness and anxiety to become a confident, assured singer-songwriter during her time at USW.

As part of Creative GradFest21, she tells us about her EP, 11:10, which is available to download now on all major streaming platforms, as well as on Instagram @meganowenmusic.

“When I started uni in 2018, I was so anxious and nervous that I didn’t make any friends in the beginning. But through the course, I’ve performed with my course mates every week and collaborated with so many different people, that I’ve made huge steps in overcoming that shyness and now, I feel the most confident I’ve ever been.

I grew up in Tonypandy, in the Rhondda Valleys, and so I was keen to take that leap and move to Cardiff to study at USW. Living in student halls was brilliant for me. I had that independence and ended up meeting some of my closest friends through different social groups.

I always wanted to be a musician; there was no Plan B for me. I’ve played the piano since I was very young, and taught myself guitar, so although my background was mostly in classical music, this course has really allowed me to figure out what genres I like best and shape the musician I am today.

I chose USW because of the fantastic experience I had at the Open Day. I could see the excellent facilities at the Cardiff Campus and it was clear that the course was geared towards career opportunities in the industry, which was exactly what I wanted – I couldn’t bear the thought of a purely academic degree; sitting in lectures for three years and not being prepared for a job at the end.

One of the most enjoyable parts of my time at USW was working on the Immersed! Festival, performing with my band and heading up the social media marketing team for the event, which was a huge help in building my knowledge of how best to use digital platforms to promote my own music.

I released my EP, 11:10, earlier this month, which has five songs that I’ve written throughout my final year.

They all come from my personal experiences and explore issues such as gender, sexuality, grief and toxic relationships – so not the cheeriest of records, but it has been a coping mechanism for me to write these songs and reflect my feelings, which hopefully other people can relate to as well.

My music is very much inspired by the sad acoustic style, similar to Joni Mitchell, Dodie and Phoebe Bridgers. The EP has had a brilliantly positive response so far, so I’m very happy and proud of myself.

The next step is to hopefully go on to the MA in Songwriting and Production at USW, which will help me to continue honing my skills.

I’m really passionate about making music and would be just as happy releasing more of my own material as I would writing songs for other people. But I also care about young people having access to music lessons, so I’m interested in working with schools in the future and would like to help give music the recognition and funding that it deserves.”

Megan’s music is available to stream and download on Instagram @meganowenmusic.