Interview: Petite Meller
Petite Meller
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French-Israeli singer-songwriter Petite Meller is an artist in every sense of the word. Incredibly multi-faceted and talented she operates in a space and field entirely her own. She is not just a pop pioneer but also a model and academic of Philosophy; When she’s not gracing the cover of ELLE, she’s releasing unique Pop masterpieces such as her breakout smash ‘Baby Love’ or pondering questions of existentialism penned by Sartre.
Creativity flows through her veins and she’s been hard at work on an ambitious space-operatic sophomore album, which is shaping up to be another step into the unexpected. Fundamentally however, Petite Meller is a storyteller, expressing her emotion with introspective and at times cryptic lyrics, underpinned by incredibly catchy and intelligent pop melodies. It’s perhaps cliché to label anyone as truly unique or genre-bending, but Meller doesn’t conform, she doesn’t chase a chart hit, instead her music and aura naturally draw you in. She is incredibly captivating with multiple layers to herself and her sound. Such a unique individual’s story simply cannot be told in a traditional manner, through my questions I uncovered a structure to her career. Together we explore the Past and debut record, where she stands currently in the Present during Lockdown and what her Future has in store. So, sit tight and prepare to join us on an exciting journey through the timeline of Petite Meller…
Act 1 - Past.
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“My ear is a compass”, It’s a phrase Meller has used throughout her career from the very beginning, and it’s one that instantly struck me. Meller tells me by this she means “What it absorbs sends me to the direction of the music I’d like to make”. In 2013-2016 that ear directed her to a unique blend of pop, world, and electronic music that encompassed a variety of cultures and influences that surround her aptly titled debut ‘Lil Empire’. It saw her travel to Mongolia, Senegal, and Kenya, resulting in joyous, striking, and immersive music videos for singles ‘Baby Love’, ‘Backpack’, and ‘The Flute’ which highlighted and celebrated of the cultures who guided her unique sound. I wanted to know, does she ever doubt or second guess the direction her inner compass is pointing to? “That’s a very good question… sometimes the message is unclear and you need to experiment till you find your own sound. It took me time during my first album to build my own sound, but now I know my heart rhythm is set at 135 BPM and I like arpeggios with chopped violas”.
Following her debut, she’s released a couple of outstanding singles. ‘Aeroplane’ was a personal summer defining anthem and follow up ‘The Way I Want’ written in Brazil with DJ Boss and Andreas Söderlund was an equally bright, world infused pop smash, effected by the South American country’s natural rhythms and soul with its message of simply just doing things on your own terms. I asked if those lyrics and chorus of “living the way I want” was one she was or is still living by, does she feel free and liberated? “It felt powerful to travel by myself and experience things as a girl on my own. I feel I can do what I want, but sometimes I forget this, then I guess I need to listen to my music again to remind me haha”.
However, it seems that luminous sound is firmly in Meller’s past for the time being ‘This time I traveled into myself, into my deeper thoughts of dealing with life, sanity, and space as well as into my pain to overcome. The new record’s orchestral Pop is more epic”. She believes the darkness underneath Los Angeles has affected her existential themes in a similar vein to Sartre or Kamus, “I come from a philosophy background so it’s always questions I deal with”.
Act 2 - Present.
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When I reach out to Petite, she’s laying on a hammock in Los Felis, the Los Angeles neighbourhood that’s perched underneath the iconic Griffith Observatory. Corona forced the stoppage of recording her new album and despite everyone saying quarantine is good for creativity Meller admits “I wrote only one song this whole time… but it’s a big one as it comes from a broken heart” believing for most this period of time has been one of shock, not creativity.
Now, however, Meller is getting back to accomplish her pieces with producers craving, hungry to meet, and write again. One such producer she’s been working with is Artturi, Meller tells me how she’s been writing with him after discovering the Finnish band Ruusut, a frequent collaborator of his. Other music she’s been listening to through Quarantine is that of Polish composer Henryk Górecki.
What about that big song from a broken heart? I noted to Meller that she’s not afraid to tackle darker ideas and subjects with her lyrics. I asked if she found it hard to go into that mind space, you can only imagine that looking too far inside into your pain can leave you at risk of getting stuck there, or perhaps it can be a cathartic process bringing resolution? “Sometimes I wonder if I went too far with the honesty and painful lyrics, but that’s music for me,” Meller says. “I don’t think a writer can bring themselves to write different even if the topics are harsh, you’ve got to write from your heart, I was broken-hearted in the quarantine and this song that I wrote initially for a movie soundtrack helped me overcome… the musician catharsis is the audience’s catharsis, music helps save yourself and on the way, save others”.
Coronavirus and Quarantine also sent Meller back to the teachings of Kant. “I’ve read a lot of poetry lately like Rilke, but Immanuel Kant was always close to my heart as his explanation of the sublime moments in nature leaves us speechless in trying to grasp the transcendental of reality, the vast beyond which is indescribable, maybe music is its language”.
Act 3 - Future.
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The future is bright for Meller with her new album on the horizon “It’s very different from my debut” says Petite who’s opted to work with different producers, used to creating cinematic soundtracks. “I always went to concerts as a kid but later became fascinated with classical composers like Vivaldi and Mahler and took the adventure to combine electronic pop with a grand operatic sound. I found Vladimir’s orchestra in Moscow to record the songs live with a 40-piece orchestra”.
Whilst this blend of opera and pop within the form of a space setting may seem a wild and surprising idea, especially compared to the more World Synthpop style of her earlier work, for Meller to conduct an orchestra has long been a childhood dream. She’s made this new style by working with her producer to chop up classical pieces she loved from composers like Vivaldi to find new modern melodies, to transfer into the structure of a pop song.
From speaking to Meller I believe one thing is sure to link her past, present, and future sound and that is the idea of hope and making music that lifts people, “As like how I write music, I always tell the producer to finish with a high note as hope is a crucial effect in music for me. I think melodies and rhythm connect people and help them to overcome, you don’t need even lyrics, it’s an ancient language. Even in the times of the Bible music uplifted the soul and connected us together, it’s a higher language than any worded one”.
The way Meller describes her new music is thrilling. I cannot wait to hear her sophomore record. Whilst we may not have a date or a title yet simply the concept of Operatic Space Pop is a bold vision enough to stir up excitement. We have had however, our first taste of the record in the form of her latest single, the simply sublime and string filled ballad ‘Dying Out Of Love’.
We also have to mention it’s creative and evocative video, as seen previously Meller is not afraid to subvert expectations. She also is a genius when it comes to translating her creative vision into thrilling visual extravaganzas as well, We can only imagine what possible spacethemed tour-de-force music videos lie in store for us in her latest era.
In her own words though, what ultimately does the future look like for Petite Meller. “I think 2021 will open a more philosophical era of a strong desire to live… and rebirth of my music too”.