Melotika’s official artist channel with music videos, cover songs, reaction videos, and more!
Interview conducted June 08, 2021
By Dan Locke
Based in Toronto, Melotika is redefining what it is to be an Electropop artist. Blending alternative sounds with infectious, dance-able tunes, she stands for self-confidence and embraces individuality. Her lyrics are always laced with a deeper meaning, and offers a form of escapism for anyone who feels confused or alone. She is focused on her upcoming album Dancing Without You. In her latest single ‘Crazy,’ Melotika expressed a deranged story about obsession and the craze behind falling in love with someone new. Influenced by the 80’s, 90’s and House music, her follow up single ‘Dancing Without You’ continues to tell stories from the upcoming album of the same name. With a new school take on Electropop, ‘Dancing Without You’ tells a euphoric and empowering story about moving on from the past with a new love and never looking back.
You are from Canada. What is your upbringing?
I grew up mainly in the Montreal region in Quebec, Canada. Coming from a separated and mixed family background, I grew up loving music with a father who played drums, a mother who had a great diverse taste in music, and a stepfather who Played guitar. While living in the suburbs somehow, music was always a part of my life, and a part of me always wanted to become a singer. I grew up taking dance lessons and took up playing a bit of trumpet and arts in high school. In my young years, I was studying photography, communications, and film, and went out to a lot of rock concerts and music festivals. My desire to make my own music after dropping out of university later led me to go to a recording arts school where I graduated from the trade and moved from Montreal to Toronto to pursue music.
How did you discover music?
My parents mainly introduced me to music as music was always a significant part of our lives in the household. In my earliest memories, I idolized Michael Jackson, Joan Jett, Britney Spears, The Spice Girls, and Destiny’s Child.
How did you start to write music?
I started writing my first poems and lyrics when I was about 7-8. I still have that little journal to this day. Growing up music was always my escape, and writing my own lyrics was just a little hobby. I remember in elementary school performing songs and dance routines to my classmates and family at home. As a teen, I used to hide when I would sing so nobody could hear me at work any chance I got!
How did you get your name?
In 2016 while living in Toronto I met at the time my producer partner Jackman Jones. We formed ‘Melotika’ as an Electropop duo outfit originally before I went solo with the project. He initially had the idea of creating a play-on-words with my name. Since we were both from Montreal, we were playing around with my name Melany and French terms such as La Melodie, which later turned into Melotika.
Describe your music.
My music is a blend of Electropop, retro Pop, and Future Pop providing escapism for anyone who feels confused or alone. My music breaks the rules of today’s current pop culture by being the opposite of trendy and just doing my own thing. Whatever I am feeling needs to be expressed through the music.
What was your first performance like?
It was wild! It was back in 2017 at Club 120 in Toronto. I was opening up for my boyfriend, Alternative rapper Krosst Out’s EP release party. I played only 4 songs and we had a full house that night all our friends and some family came to watch. At the last song, we had inflatables and confetti flying around the room while a random mosh pit was going on in the dance floor. It was a bit odd for a Dance Pop performance, but it was hilarious.
Do you belong to any songwriters’ organizations like the International singer-songwriter association, SESAC, BMI or ASCAP?
I am with SOCAN and BMI.
What makes a good songwriter?
Not trying to be someone you are not and just writing from the soul. And don’t overthink things. It’s hard not to when you have so many tools and sounds to pick from and endless melodies… that is why I always start with my heart and my voice. I think inspiration, experiences and personality is something you cannot replicate and it’s so powerful.
What was the title of your first original song? Did you record it?
I can’t pinpoint exactly which was the very first original song I had many as a teenager. One, in particular, was called ‘Victims.’ It was later re-written in 2020 during the pandemic to what is now officially ‘Beautiful Disguise.’ This song was finally rewritten, produced, and recorded and became the first single off my upcoming album Dancing Without You released this past February! It was so cool to go back to really old lyrics and make something new out of it.
You drop out of university to go for one year to learn music production and audio engineering. What was the name of the school?
Recording Arts Canada
Can you learn audio engineering without an internship?
Sure! Lots of information available online and many opportunities for hands-on experience directly in the field. I found that most of my learning was after school when actually starting to really get involved and doing things. You learn as you go.
MTV vs. Much Music?
MTV!
Tell me about “Dancing Without You”?
Right before the pandemic hit in March 2020, I felt like I was really on a roll. I had just released an experimental second single, stepping away from my debut EP, called Bury The Bones. I had also just recorded ‘Crazy’ at Phase One Studio in Toronto. ‘Bury The Bones’ is a dark synthpop/alternative rock-inspired song produced with my current producer for the album, Sean Savage. At the time, we were really inspired by Depeche Mode, Eurythmics, Blondie and we reminisced about the 80s a lot. When the pandemic hit and I moved back home to Montreal, Sean Savage and I agreed we would collaborate on the next Melotika album. We were just bashing out songs with so much excitement. I was going over old lyrics and poems I wrote as a teen, reinventing them, and writing new stuff. I recorded demos on Pro Tools at home to send to Sean. The back-and-forth creative flow happened very naturally. After researching old equipment used in the disco 70s era and 80s new wave, we decided we wanted to re-create this our way with a modern touch and run the music through tape. From Montreal, I commuted twice to Toronto to record the album. One track that will be on the album is produced by my friend, Twocann. For the first time, I also introduced an additional songwriter other than myself to help write one of the songs, “Gory Gloriana”. It was an awesome collaborative experience, sort of like being in a band.
The album titled single that will be released on June 18 ‘Dancing Without You’ I started writing right when the pandemic hit in late March 2020. The original was a jam demo inspired by a friend I met online. I was bummed out that the song wasn’t going to go anywhere so I took my melodies and lyrics and recreated the song while the pandemic was still going on. I felt like the world needed some good energy.
The full concept album Dancing Without You is a collection of songs expressing the true turbulent emotions I felt in my late teens/early 20’s, and what brought me into making music to begin with.
How long before the album comes out?
Should be out this late Fall!
What is your favorite track on it?
This is very hard. Of course, I have a strong attachment to Crazy, but some unreleased songs such as Tangled Hearts and #1 are new favs.
What are your feelings about streaming music?
I find the streaming industry so weird. We are in the middle of a war between artists fighting to be heard and artists who are buying fake streams and of course the artists on major labels get all the placements. It feels like a Warfield. Artists seem to be competing with one another to be the best and have the ‘highest numbers’ and forgetting what the music is really supposed to be about; connecting, and self-expression. Art.
Digital vs. vinyl?
Digital. Vinyl is great for novelty, but Digital is so practical.
How is it to work with Krosst Out Music?
We have only worked on 3 songs together even though we have been dating for 6 years. The truth is, we are both still discovering our personal musical identities. We go with the flow. If there is a song that works to collaborate, we just do it and we do our parts alone on our own time. If not, we don’t stress about it. I think the chemistry happens naturally and for myself personally, the writing always happens at the moment.Besides writing music, we take on creative projects together such as photoshoots and music video filming. We are involved in a lot of the behind-the-scenes work for both our unique musical projects. Touring and doing shows together (before the pandemic) was a blast!
What is your inner weirdo?
The really shy girl that likes to glam up for her Melotika persona or has many alter egos. My jokes are really bad and I am very quirky and awkward. I’ve always been sort of an outcast so I fit in with the rest of the black sheep’s. I call my fans the Rebelz because we are the people who are not afraid to be weird and to be ourselves.
The last time you hit the stage was March 6, 2020. What before the virus took a new role in everyone’s life? What was that last show like for you?
It was such a wonderful show and well-fitting for my niche! It was sort of a retro night with local Synthpop acts and an Electropop artist from Seattle, US3R, was headlining. I opened up the night and surprised everyone with a ‘Sweet Dreams’ by Eurythmics Medley in the middle of my set. The crowd sang along. Then I didn’t know it would be my last show for a while. Regardless, I still gave it my heart and soul as I do for every show.
If “Video Killed the Radio Star” do you think that the Covid-19 virus has killed live music? Do you feel the Covid-19 virus is going to affect the music business in the future?
I think that once all of this passes and live events kick in, people are going to get WILD. I have a theory that people won’t take live events and live music for granted anymore. It will be better than the last couple of years. I felt like even before this pandemic happened Live Music was at a plateau. People didn’t seem interested in going out to explore new music and local shows because entertainment is now so easily accessible to anyone without them ever having to leave the house. I think people are starting to understand that connecting and physically being with people is important.
Do you think that Covid-19 has been a plus to an artist career?
I think it is what it is. It made the independent artists on an equal playing field with the bigger label artists in the sense that now everyone is fighting for the same online spotlight. Kids are bored at home and always looking for a new influencer or idol. Opportunities are endless. It’s a great time for independent artists to really come through and take advantage of this time.
What have you been doing with your self-quarantine?
I took advantage and wrote an album in 2020. Now I am taking the time to market my music, and come up with creative ways to expose myself and my brand online whether it is through my personal brand marketing, cover songs, reaction reviews on YouTube, exploring tik tok, and networking on social media. It is so much work! It is as if I am the record label now for Melotika.
How was filming “Crazy” out on the street?
The making of the music video was a different experience. Due to budget and Covid-19 restrictions, my partner and I decided it would be best to take up music video making on our own. We
usually hire a videographer. We recently invested in a video camera and hit downtown Montreal to film the craziness! Everyone stopped to watch what I was up to and smiled. It was really cool to get out there
and just make art.
How do you stay healthy during the lockdown?
I’ve been exercising regularly from home doing Pilates and lightweight training. I run outside and also ordered an elliptical machine. Drink lots of water. Try to eat lean – but eating treats has been tempting all year to fulfill the boredom!
Have you discovered or rediscovered any new hobbies?
I got back into painting last summer and have been doing landscaping with my father a few times a year. Other than that – the main focus has been trying to run Melotika as a business. I guess we can call that a new hobby!
Many artists are doing nightly concerts over either YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. In October that is going to change at least on Facebook. Facebook is cracking down on livestreamed shows that include recorded music with new terms of service, preventing artists from using the platform for “commercial or non-personal” purposes, unless they have obtained the relevant licenses.
The updated music guidelines state that users “may not use videos on our products [which include Instagram] to create a music listening experience […] This will includes [Facebook] Live,” and stipulates that such content should be posted for the enjoyment of friends and family only.
How do you think this will change the landscape of Facebook?
All I have to say is – thank goodness I deactivated my Facebook.
How is Twitch as a performance platform?
I tried it out for the first time on May 30th. It was not bad! I loved the fact that there was a chat room and the quality is a bit more decent than the IG streams I’ve done in the past.
How can bands keep their fans if they cannot play live in front of the fans and sell merchandise to them at the show?
There are endless ways you can continue to interact with fans online. I’ve been doing several merch giveaways, live streams, and live hang out streams where I would schedule a time to chat with someone, it’s been loads of fun! What I have done for the ‘Dancing Without You’ music video is a collaborative experience. Due to budget and Covid-19 restrictions, I decided to have my small but dedicated army of fans known as The Rebelz participate and send me video renditions of them doing whatever they want to the song! This is meant to be fun for the entire community and keep the fans engaged.
Is pay to play still a thing? Now pay to play also means things like a playlist on the internet and opening slots for a major band on tour.
Yes, and it is awful. Even the small Spotify curators are asking for money to place songs on their playlists. Platforms like Submit hub eat independent artists’ money daily. The industry is taking advantage of artists.
What about Holographic concerts in our living room?
Haven’t done that yet! lol!
In the past if a musician stopped doing music, they found a new career. For example, David Lee Roth from Van Halen became a licensed EMT in NY for 6 years, San Spitz (guitarist for Anthrax) became a master watchmaker, Dee Snider (Twister Sister) voice over work for SpongeBob SquarePants. If you can’t do music, what would you like to be doing?
Ideally in the near future, I would like to be doing music AND owning/ running my own coffee shop. I have a huge passion for coffee – and the restaurant industry and have many ideas to make this a unique joint.
What is your happy place?
The recording studio
Do you think you would be willing to sell your back catalog if someone like Universal is willing to buy everything, such as all the rights to all your songs?
Right now, definitely not
Spotify’s ‘Stream On’ event on (February 22), the company confirmed that more than 60,000 new tracks are now being ingested by its platform every single day. This means people are added new tracks uploaded to its platform every 1.4 seconds.
The figure, announced by Spotify’s Co-Head of Music, Jeremy Erlich, means that across the course of this year, approximately 22 million tracks will be added to Spotify’s catalog. Spotify confirmed in November last year that its platform now played host to around 70 million tracks.
Therefore it’s reasonable to assume that, by the end of 2021, SPOT will be home to over 90 million tracks. And that in the early part of next year, it will surpass a catalog of 100 million for the first time.
But still back at the beginning of the year Spotify deleted 750,00 songs, mostly from independent artists. What do you think that could mean to independent artists?
I think it means that the competition is so high and artists need to consider making quality versus quantity to stand out more. I have a weird theory that Spotify won’t be as relevant in the next 5 years. The platform seems to be over-saturated. Besides, personally I feel that a lot of these playlists have “in passing listeners” who don’t directly connect with the actual artist they are hearing. I think it is crucial to build your tribe and fan base outside of Spotify.
Sony Music in November and Warner Music Group in December, The ByteDance-owned video app revealed on (February 8) that it has struck an “expanded” global licensing agreement with Universal Music Group. Now that TikTok is now fully licensed by all three major record companies, will you start using TikTok more?
I have been!
Breaking news: TikTok is launching TikTok Radio, a full-time SiriusXM music channel going live this summer. The station will be available in vehicles and as a streaming channel on the SiriusXM App, desktop, and all connected devices.
The station will be part of a new TikTok collaboration with SiriusXM and its subsidiary, Pandora, to jointly promote emerging talent. Do you think this platform could become a force in the future of streaming music?
Most definitely. There is always something new!
Anything in closing.
Thank you for the opportunity!
