Meleka Interview
After winning Hugo Urban Rules in 2008, MELEKA has stormed the scene with her quirky performances alongside her party-starting funky house. No Meleka we do not want to GO, we want to stay here with you. And yes we will MISS YOU when your gone! Anyway, enough of this god-awful stand-first…lets get to the interview!
So, firstly, well done for winning Hugo Urban Rules! How did that feel?
It was great to win! It’s great to win anything, it was really cool and it defiantly helped put me on a platform and let people know about Meleka, so yeah I was very grateful!
You rapidly went on to make a track with Basement Jaxx, how was your working relationship with them?
It’s really good, I speak to Basement Jaxx when they’re around, when they’re in the country because they tour a lot, but our working relationship is good.
Out of all of the songs you have done, what is your favourite?
This is gonna sound really, really rubbish, but my songs are like my daisies! They all come from a certain place in me because I write my own songs. Go has defiantly got a special place in my heart because it was the first single and it helped put me on a platform and it helped win Urban Rules. I would say that my favourite song right now would have to be ‘Miss Me’, which is the new single, which will be out on the 26th of September.
What was your dream as a kid?
My dream was to be a singer, a songwriter, a dancer, an actress [laughs], a model, a lawyer, a hairdresser! But I love singing so it was always kinda singing, and performing.
Well your swiftly on your way to succeeding all of them! I’m not sure about the lawyer thing though, are you going to pursue that?
[Laughs] Well I might play a lawyer in my video’s! But I don’t really think ill be representing anybody anytime soon…
Who do you like to listen to?
I’m really enjoying UK music at the moment; incisive is someone that I really enjoy listening to. I really love Skepta’s song ‘Rescue Me’, I just love it!
What are your ambitions now for the future?
My ambitions would be to continue my success that I was able to get with ‘Go’, my new singles out soon, which we just shot the video for, so I’m very excited about that. I’m also doing a lot of collaborations with people which I’m really excited about.
Wicked! Who are you collaborating with?
I don’t even know if I’m allowed to say at the moment! Just some very, very hot collaborations, coming very soon…
You mentioned the daisy theory, so I imagine that all of your songs have a bit about you in them?
Absolutely! With ‘Go’, its more than a sentiment, its more the attitude, that you kind of get from that song, that kinda, no nonsense! That’s probably more me than anything else in that song..I mean..As far I know I have never been cheated on!
What inspires you to write your songs?
Life really inspires me. Things that I’ve gone through, things that friends have gone through, things that I want to say to family members, things that I’m not allowed to say! Also, the music kind of inspires me…I will hear music, and all kinds of words and ideas and different scenarios just pop up in my head.
What would you say puts you apart from other artists?
Defiantly my name. You can’t go to Blackpool and buy a cup with my name on! But, I would say my honestly, I’m a very real person, and my music reflects that. Also my ability to interchange, and put my self across to be relatable.
When you’re on stage, does it matter about the amount of people in the crowd, or is it more about the vibe?
It’s completely the vibe. Sometimes I’ve been at a show with hundreds of people and it just isn’t as fulfilling as shows where it’s more intimate. The other day I did a private party and it was really intimate, and I was performing ‘Miss Me’, and some of the younger boys and girls started singing it when it came on! It was quite early in the promo stages and it was just like…wow!
Wicked! But I take it you’ve been places where the vibe wasn’t as good, what do you do in that situation?
It’s very difficult, just like if you were doing any job and people weren’t really paying attention to you. For me, I just kind of zone out, and I’m a bit crazy on stage! I kinda look to be mischievous…I’ll take off my shoes, and dance around, and if I could do cartwheels I would probably do them..
Haha! Do you still get nervous before going on stage?
I don’t get nervous when I’m singing ‘Go’, but I’m getting nervous singing ‘Miss Me’, just because it’s a new song, and people might not know it as much as they know the old single. I think it’s good to get nervous.
What was life like growing up?
I’ve had a really good life, I’ve moved around a little bit, but I was always involved in music. I went to Sylvia Youngs for a little while, I went to acting schools as well, so I was very performance driven at a young age.
So now we’re gonna have a little fire round of a few random questions… If you could take any artist to dinner right now, who would it be?
[Laughs]. Who would it be? It’s a difficult one! I would probably go out with…erm…let’s say..Tinie Tempah, because we did a few songs a little while ago so it would be nice to catch up with him.
McDonalds, KFC or Burger King?
Oh gosh! McDonald’s breakfasts, but Burger King whoppers! And then..and then KFC chicken burgers! Ok I need to stop eating…
If you could be in any country right now, where would it be?
Right here, because I’m working and my music’s doing a lot, and I’m from England, why not? UK baby!
Do you have any lucky pants?
No! I don’t have anything lucky! That’s a bit rubbish. Maybe that’s what I need!
Do you have any OCD’s?
I do. I like being clean. I like the house to be clean and when I’m stressed out if I’m having a bit of a difficult time, that’s when it kind of goes to the extreme!
If you could have a swimming pool filled with anything, what would it be?
Shoes. Shoes. Shoes. My Nan always used to tell me when I was younger, ‘you can tell a man by his shoes’, and so it’s very important that you have good shoes! They don’t have to be expensive, but they just have to look good.
Has anything embarrassed you on stage?
Embarrassing things happen to me all the time! Quite recently I was performing at Penthouse, I started off in the wrong key at the beginning of the song, and then my microphone turned off, and then I pulled my earring out of my ear, and this was obviously all in the space of 2 and a half minutes.
How do you pick yourself up from that?!
I’ve got a really good sense of humor and I know I’m really clumsy. I could break something just by standing still.
Who would you most like to collaborate with?
I do love Mary J Blige, or Brandy. I’ve loved them forever!
Make sure you grab the new single ‘Miss Me’ from 26th September and keep up to date with Meleka by:
Twitter.com/melekamusic
worldofmelekamusic.com
