What was the inspiration behind the song? Were there any bands in particular you’ve been listening to that have influenced you?

I had a few situations where I wanted to talk and the other person didn’t. I wear my heart on my sleeve but sometimes struggle to speak my mind. When you finally open up like that and are met with nothing it’s rough. I’m not very confrontational so can end up really going round the houses in these kinds of conversations.  I wanted a song that could say what I sometimes couldn’t, honest and direct like I always wanted to be. Ella Jane is such a huge inspiration for me. She is literal alt pop perfection and writes in such a conversational way that’s still a sucker punch to the gut. I definitely was listening to a lot of OSTON and Alessi Rose at the time. I started out writing songs that leaned in more of a folk-pop direction but I love a bit of vocoder and thought why not make something that’s full pop bop. 

What message do you hope listeners take away from the song?

I hope listeners feel empowered to own their emotions and be more unapologetic. I wrote it for the people who always say sorry when they don’t need to. So maybe the main takeaway in a funny way is to actually say sorry less and if they don’t want to talk, you can’t control that, sometimes the silence speaks for itself. 

– Who did you work with on production/mixing/mastering? Did their involvement shape the track in any way?

Callum Golby produced the song and he’s so good at taking the voicenotes, inspo playlists and bit and bobs from my notes app and making them sound better than I could’ve imagined. I wanted him to play with it and make it his own and then we just went back and forth a little bit.  The first demo I got from him was bang on and he really took the best bits of what I loved and made them massive.  USNABOY was on mixing duty and I always trust him to do an amazing job. Ben from Rare Tone Mastering is the loveliest guy and smashes it everytime. 

Have you got any gigs planned surrounding the release?

I played a gig on the day of the announcement which was pretty cool and has kickstarted this new meliss era off! I’m hoping to get another gig in by the end of the year but definitely have some plans surrounding more upcoming releases.

– Are there any Leeds artists that you’d recommend people should check out?

My first support slot was with the lovely SISTERLY- they were so supportive and they put on a good show every time! My girl Prior Silk will make you stare at a wall and rethink life because all of her lyrics are so beautifully devastating. Lola Simms released her song Happy Go Lucky recently and it is just gorgeous and warm and screams autumn to me. 

– What can fans expect to see next? (Feel free to leave this or answer vaguely, I’ve seen the timeline 🙂 )

It’s been exciting to see all this music I’ve been sitting on for years become something outside of my bedroom. I released my first single two years ago and spent some time figuring out life. I left musical theatre, knew I loved writing and have a few songs that really have got me through those two years to now. 

– Anything else you’d like to add?

Listen to talk us to death!! And feel your feelings xxx