Artist Advent Day 28: Melissa Fear
Written by: Keyali Mikaela
In today's enchanting reveal, we unwrap the talent and charisma of the remarkable Melissa Fear, a boundary-pushing performer and producer hailing from the serene coastal landscapes of Somerset. Fear's musical journey transcends the conventional, weaving seamlessly between the realms of Pop and left-field Electronic, reminiscent of iconic artists such as Lady Gaga, Lorde, and Charli XCX.
Melissa Fear introduces her debut single, "HEAVY," —a song she wouldn't change a note of. As we embark on Day 28 of the Next Wave Advent Calendar, we invite you to immerse yourself in the captivating world of Melissa Fear and discover the magic of "HEAVY."
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Next Wave: What inspired you to pursue music?
No particular event or thing inspired me to pursue music particularly, it’s always felt kind of like a compulsion; even when I was tiny and had such bad stage fright I would literally vomit, I knew that performing was what I wanted to do. I was at a family wedding when I was about four, watching the band play and I can just remember scheming to go up and take the microphone because it was my dream just to hold one! A couple years later I got a hot pink Bratz karaoke machine for Christmas and I finally got my wish!!
Next Wave: Who are your musical influences or role models?
Ever since I heard Just Dance, I have loved Lady Gaga - I loved the darkness of her music and visuals, the strong roots in electronic dance music in a really industrial way was just so cool to me when The Fame Monster first came out.
I had a real dry spell for finding new artists that I liked until I really got into Charli XCX - I’d heard of her before that point but I had never realized the depth of her career within more experimental sides of music, it really opened me up to a whole new world and led me to other artists like SOPHIE and the PC Music scene, which just melted my brain in the best way possible.
Next Wave: What's the most challenging aspect of breaking into the music industry?
It’s getting people to care - everyone is so busy with their own lives, and people are entirely overloaded with information and content like never before; it’s incredibly difficult to get people to invest their time and energy into actually supporting your music and your career. When you find those people that do, you have to cling on to them.
Next Wave: How has technology and the internet impacted your music career?
It has forced me to change the way I approach things - initially with any music education I was given they taught us how the industry worked in a very traditional sense, but the pandemic and TikTok coming to the forefront of the mainstream has really sped up the decentralization of music that many saw coming with streaming and social media; everyone lives in their own little corner of the internet and likes their own little selection of artists and micro-niche genres. It’s great that it allows for more and more smaller artists but the flip side is that it is harder to get bigger and has placed nearly all of the promotion work onto the artist themselves - it’s meant that I’ve had to find a way to thrive in a DIY approach; it’s definitely hard to do it all by yourself but I enjoy the freedom and creativity it gives me.
Next Wave: Can you share a memorable moment from your musical journey so far?
I had a one-to-one songwriting session with Paul McCartney through my uni - it was incredibly surreal to hear him sing the songs that I wrote back to me. I told him I was finding the experience really weird but he thought I was referring to having to do it through Zoom - that was unusual but chatting with a Beatle was definitely stranger!
Next Wave: Can you share a little about your creative process and how you come up with new ideas for songs?
My songwriting has always been a very independent process for me, particularly since I’ve learnt to produce for myself. I work in a bit of a strange way in that I generally produce my music at the same time as I actually write it - the two processes are completely linked for me. I often shut myself in my room for hours at a time and carve it out bit by bit - it’s kinda like a mad haze until you come out the side with something you’re happy with. And I’m always thinking very visually while I’m doing it; I’m seeing color schemes and how the music video looks, the outfits I’m gonna wear - I love the collision of audiovisual and I think the fact that I love all aspects of the creation process makes me a little bit of a micromanager, but I completely live off the thrill of seeing it all coming together.
Next Wave: What song, ep or album of yours would you recommend to someone who is listening to your music for the first time?
I can only recommend one as I have only just released my first single ‘HEAVY’, but I am genuinely so happy with the song and it’s weird to say but I would not change a note. Listening to your own music can be really strange but HEAVY is a song that I can hear and actually enjoy, it was the first song that I’ve ever been 100% pleased with so I am really happy that I can call it my debut single, and I just hope that others love it too!
