Unique songwriter and artist Melanie Penny has already released a handful of engaging singles, and in the run-up to launching a full-length album, we got the chance to conduct an interview to dig into that journey, the creative process, and what 2024 may hopefully bring. Here’s the conversation in full.
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Melanie Penny – excited to talk music with you, thanks for the opportunity! To set things up, where are you right now, and what have you been busy with this week?
Absolutely! I’m excited to share this with you! I have been writing endlessly for my first ever album coming out early next year and preparing for so much new music coming out this fall. To say I’m excited is an understatement, this is what I’ve always wanted to do and now I’m getting the chance to go for it.
Your music aims high with a clear songwriting appeal and pop-punk fusion of weight, pace and melody. Who or what first inspired you to start writing songs, and what’s your primary go-to instrument?
I first started writing songs when I was probably around seven years old, and I picked up my first guitar when I discovered Taylor Swift at age twelve. She’s been one of my main inspirations growing up and then it turned to pop-punk which is what I do now.
Guitar is my go-to instrument and as a pop-punk artist, I should use electric guitar but I just love acoustic more.
Tell me about Bathroom Floor – brilliant song, interesting topic and structure, great use of contrast from quiet to chaos. How did the song come about, and what does it represent for you?
I actually got this idea after I saw Sophie Powers on TikTok and the idea spiraled from there.
The song has a lot of meaning to me because I didn’t grow up the popular kid or have the best relationships so I used to struggle and people in my life would always make it worse. I wanted the song to go through this idea that I can be at my lowest point, people can try to make it even worse but I can and will rise from this. I don’t need the opinions of others to tell me what I can do.
I feel like from a songwriter perspective a lot of songs are just depressing or don’t have a positive note so I wanted this song to end on a positive note so it ends with the lyric of “You can’t beat me down”.
Do you produce your own songs, and if so, do you seek out a second opinion along the way or trust your own artistic direction entirely?
I produce my own demos and then work with producers from there. The producers I work with are very good about seeing the vision I have and improving upon it but also letting me completely direct it a different way if needed. I always get second opinions from friends I have in the music industry but ultimately I do make the final say on the songs.
Ghost In the Mirror is equally fantastic, wholly immersive in its distortion and power. How important is it for you to present the kind of values that this song deals with, and what do you hope listeners take away from it?
I never want to be someone who just writes feel good songs because that’s not how life is. We go through ups and we go through downs but we usually never talk about them.
The values and issues I write about in my songs are so close to my heart, like I genuinely want the listeners to take away that they are loved and have a place in this world.
Is there a therapeutic aspect to the writing of such deeply evocative songs for you?
There is! It was and is a huge outlet for me, trying different ways to write a song or just free-styling lyrics is so therapeutic. I ended up writing an album within a month because it’s just a huge part of my life and expressing what I’m going through.
What’s your biggest ambition right now?
I would say touring and playing shows next year. It’s something I’ve been looking forward to since I started music. I’m a social butterfly so I always want to go out and meet people, so tour is just the perfect ambition for me right now.
How can fans best support you?
Streaming the songs and coming out to shows next year! There’s a lot of summer festivals next year I would love to play and meet fans at.
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Find Melanie Penny on Twitter, TikTok, Instagram & her Website.
