Get To Know: Melina

Montreal-born singer-songwriter Melina arrives at Curious For Music with a body of work that feels less like a release cycle and more like a reckoning. Her new EP A London Way Back To Me traces an emotional and geographical arc between Montreal and London, stitched together through vulnerability, reflection, and the quiet discipline of rebuilding oneself. Recorded partly at the legendary Abbey Road Studios, the project captures a moment of arrival that is also, paradoxically, a return—one shaped by loss, clarity, and the search for emotional truth.

In this conversation, Melina opens up about the unexpected path that led her back to Abbey Road years after an earlier recording plan fell through, and how that sense of unfinished business became the creative spark behind the EP. She reflects on a writing process rooted in immediacy and honesty, often unfolding at the piano in long, uninterrupted bursts, as well as the decision to keep the arrangements intentionally sparse to let the storytelling lead. Across the interview, she speaks candidly about burnout, creative rediscovery, and the act of translating deeply personal experiences into songs that still invite listeners in.

What emerges is a portrait of an artist in transition—one who has learned to embrace simplicity not as limitation, but as revelation.

Welcome to Curious For Music! Can you tell us about the inspiration behind your latest release?

This is like a response-project. During the recording of my first record ‘’Revival’’, we were supposed to record part of the album at the Abbey Road Studios, but for various reasons including a global pandemic, that unfortunately did not happen. After the release of my album, I sat with songs I had written over the last couple months and with this feeling of needing to see this project through, and so I messaged the Abbey Road Studios and managed to get a date, and from that point on, everything fell into place. I called my producer and worked up the dates around our Abbey Road session, also called two of my friends that are videographers with this idea I had of documenting the whole project and making this behind-the-scenes documentary between home back in Montreal and my new home here, in London. Everybody said yes, everything aligned. I am still in awe of how everything fell into place while creating this album.

What was the creative process like for this project?

It all started with the title. I had been picking songs for this project based on where I was at emotionally, and the ones that came together felt like they all represented a long way back to myself. But the main point of this journey was my trip to London to record at the Abbey Road Studios, and therefore ‘’A London Way Back To Me’’ came to be. Recording this project was quite the healing process. I had been going through a whirlwind of emotions and writing these songs was very liberating for me. I used to rent a rehearsal room with a grand piano back home in Montreal, and this is where I wrote all of the songs from the EP, except ‘’I Decided To Forgive You’’ that I wrote many years ago. I often say that I write songs for my future self, and this was very much the case — I met that song throughout the recording process of this EP. Otherwise, all the other songs were pretty much written around the same time. The first track called ‘’(Back To) Square One’’ was written literally a month before going into the studio — we were missing a song and I knew I had not written it yet. I had two hours to write something, and I just sat at the piano and the song was born within an hour. The whole writing process was so organic that I wanted to capture that in the arrangements. A piano, a guitar, percussions, bass and my voice. Simple, honest.

How does this new release differ from your previous work?

My previous record took me six years to record, while this one took barely three months. I had songs I had been sitting with, telling the stories I was currently going through, and so it felt very vulnerable to be working on an album that felt so close to me at the time of making it, yet also so very liberating. The arrangements are also simpler; just a few instruments, no big choir or string arrangements. We kept it simple to bring the lyrics forward, for this EP was kind of like my journal — it closes a chapter of my life before the start of the new one. I wanted to bring that forward.

Were there any particular challenges you faced while making this music?

I would say the biggest challenge was to be very transparent in my songwriting. I always am to a degree, but to go in the depths of my emotions and really transpose that into words was challenging, but so freeing. I think ‘’Who’s To Blame’’ was probably my biggest challenge, but at the same time it was the most liberating song to write. I had been sitting with this need to speak up, and the song came out at once and I remember sitting at the piano and finally feeling like I had freed myself of a big weight I had been carrying for far too long. Listening to it brought me peace, and while sadly so many of us have had to deal with toxic people, I felt like this song could really resonate with many and hopefully have that same healing effect.

Did you collaborate with any other artists or producers on this project?

I was lucky to have my longtime collaborator producer Jacques Roy on board for this project, and I got to work with John Barrett and Neil Dawes from the Abbey Road Studios, who really had the perfect energy to accompany me through the vocal recordings. Jacques and I have been working together for over a decade, I was really grateful to get to put together this vulnerable project with him, especially with him knowing the circumstances around which these songs were written; we make a great team in the studio and I am very grateful for that.

What message or emotion do you hope listeners take away from this release?

I think we all reach a point in our lives where we re-evaluate where we stand, what we want, what we need, if our life aligns with us, and I consider it is important to ask ourselves these questions from time to time, especially because the answers can change along the way. It is OK to get lost and to not know for a minute, and going through that process teaches us a lot about ourselves. This short album is my personal journey through that; it speaks of fear, letting go, standing up for myself and mostly learning that healing isn’t linear. I hope that what people take away from this EP is that if they have ever felt like they were losing themselves, I hope these songs serve as a reminder that they can always find their way back.

Is there a story or concept that ties the songs together?

The songs are written like a journal, the song order was precisely picked. In 2022, I went through a burn out and requestioned everything; I did not sing for months, got a 9 to 5 job and wondered if music would ever be my home again. It took me through a long journey of rediscovering myself and through these songs, I share the main steps I went through my healing journey; the questioning, the exhaustion, the reclaiming, speaking up, letting go, forgiving without forgetting, moving on. The last song ‘’I Decided To Forgive You’’ closes the project but also contains a little bit of all the songs on the EP, at the very end, in an echo arrangement. I wanted to bring all the songs together like whispers through the wind because they all represented a chapter in that journey, and that song stands as the final step to moving on, inspired by all these chapters that brought me there. I love the way the EP ends, I am very proud of that.

How has your sound or style evolved on this release compared to your earlier work?

I think that with this project, I was not trying to show what my voice could do with runs and power notes, but I was more onto telling a story; my story. My story while making it open enough and relatable enough for listeners to also find theirs through these words and melodies. I musically took the liberty to go simpler, choosing just a few instruments to accompany the vocals, and I also went deeper into the vulnerability and transparency of the subjects I wrote about, for I search for that deep connection when I discover new music and wanted to offer that myself through this project. In the end, I think we look to meet an artist through their art while looking for a little bit of ourselves along the way, and that was my goal. I hope I did it justice.

Is there a track in your music discography that feels especially meaningful to you? What makes it stand out?

This is really hard to answer because every song I have written holds a piece of me, but I will say that ‘’Hope’’ holds a special place, maybe because it was the first song I put out that launched my first album project, but the message it holds never seems to be outdated. In the world we live in, especially in these times, everybody seems to be looking for hope in people, places, everywhere. And while I originally wrote this song for someone else, there was a time in my life where this song met me and felt like the warmest hug, reminding me that I could go for my dreams, that they were not too big for me to achieve, that I could do it. And in a way, I would not be where I am today without this song — it really has paved the way. This song got me my first studio recording, which then led to recording my first record, meeting my producer, and the rest is history. ‘’Hope’’ will always hold a very dear place in my heart.

How do you plan to share this release with your audience? Are there any upcoming performances, videos, or special projects in the works?

The last episode of the documentary ‘’A London Way Back To Me’’ will be out before the summer; it is a touching episode presenting the final recording touch-ups and how everything came about together. Stay tuned on my YouTube and social media pages to find out when that episode comes out! 

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