Singer/songwriter Meena De Silva has been selected for this year’s Northern Sound System Academy program. Her debut album “Paid My Dues,” released in 2021, and her recent single “Love You Right with You,” are influenced by artists such as Rihanna and Beyonce. She shares her plans for future projects, including an EP and a piano album, and her excitement about performing at this year’s WOMADelaide.
Congratulations on being selected for The Northern Sound System Academy program. How did you feel when you found out?
When I applied, I didn’t really think I’d get it, but I did get in, which was really exciting. I was overseas when I found out. I heard that it was five people who got chosen, which is pretty cool. The day after I came back from the US, we had a workshop with everyone. We got in a rapper called A.Girl, and we got to meet everyone and just do a Q&A. All five of us are really close, and we all get to explore each other’s genres. Working with each other and listening to each other is just incredible. It’s been really rewarding to just put so much time into music this year.
I understand that you’ve been into music since you were young. You’ve obviously had a lot of family support to grow your career over that time?
It’s such a funny story and I feel like I say it all the time, but every time I say it, it has a lot of meaning to me. From the beginning, I used to watch my older sister play piano when she was, like, eight, and I was four. I was really jealous of her. My parents said that you’re probably too young, but if you want, you can have lessons too. I said, “yes, please”. I just took it and ran with it. She still plays, and she’s taught me so much as well. But also, I was a really shy kid, but I really liked to sing, so my parents put me into this thing called Mighty Good Talent School in South Australia. It’s singing, dancing and acting, and that really helped me get out of myself. It’s all part of the journey.
You use various instruments such as the piano and the violin, but in my mind, your voice is your real instrument.
I do love that it’s just a different feeling when I sing. Yeah, I would say it’s my main instrument, but I adore learning to play different instruments, and I just get so excited at the prospect of having all these instruments. Definitely, vocals are first, and piano I’d put up there along with vocals.
How do you approach the recording and mixing process?
I learned that stuff at Uni; I did the Bachelor of Music, Popular Music and Creative Technologies, which was great, learning how to do that stuff. But in this day and age, how good does everyone’s music sound? I go to write everything, and I’ll get all the instruments out and everything laid out. Then get someone else to help with production.
You mention Rihanna, Beyonce and Shakira as being influences. How have they helped define your sound?
These are ladies who I listened to growing up when I started singing, so I have an accent when I sing, because I just grew up singing all of their songs. So, yeah, the genres of pop and R&B soul is what I fit into.
Your 2021 album Call on Me has got some great songs in it. The track, “Paid my Dues” has a stripped back, soulful sound. How did it feel like releasing that album? What did you learn from that experience?
The experience showed me that I definitely just want to be doing music. Doing music as in, writing the songs, working on everything, and just bringing the tracks to life. I worked on that one with Spare Second Recording in Adelaide. The engineer was called Lucky Bruce, and he was so great at working through the songs with me. We worked on it together for months. “Paid My Dues” was actually the first song I ever wrote, so I really love that song. The lyrics are pretty in your head and stuff, but I’m not broken. I’m still learning stuff.
To me, your voice really comes to the fore in that one. Another track, “Runaway” is still soulful, but more layered and passionate, with a lot of emotion.
That’s one that I did at Uni, so I did most of the production for that. I was very proud of myself. Some of these songs, I do a lot of it, some of them I don’t. But I want to start working on more of the production from next year especially.
Another track I really love is your latest single, “Love You Right” with U O M O. It’s got a dance vibe techno sort of feel about it.
That’s my mom’s favourite. U O M O is an Adelaide based producer who’s also in a duo called Ton of Roses. He just hit me up Instagram one day and asked me if I want to write a song or a few songs with him. We did “Love You Right”, and we started doing another one, that one is going to be released soon. It’s called “Desk Job”. It’s about being a musician and wanting to do that full time, but having to do a job that obviously helps you out.
He also recently worked with My Cherie on a track, “Run, Run, Run.”
Yes! I actually went to Uni with My Cherie. She did the pop course as well at Uni, she’s really amazing. She also played the SA Music Awards.
I love how she’s grown as an artist. Your other single from last year single, “Believed” is a young and naive soulful love song. How did that come about?
I wrote those lyrics two weeks after a breakup, but I didn’t really do anything with the song because I was so ugh. But then I found the chords. I wrote the melody, and it came to me really quickly. I recorded memos on my phone. Then I realized that I really liked the song. I played it with my band live two months after I wrote it, and everyone loved it. Then it took me a year to go and get it recorded. It took me another year to decide, yeah, I can release this now. I actually released it at the end of 2023, but I wrote it end of 2021. It was my favourite song to play at the NSS and WOMAD Academy showcase back in November. We played it as our last song.
The chords are really the same chord throughout the entire song, but we really build on them towards the end. Especially our guitarist Ricardo, he solos out in the end, and I’m screaming, not screaming. I get the audience pumped, and then I run off the stage. So yeah, that was the one that ended the set. Now when I sing it, I just feel like it’s really cathartic, and also really relatable. I have so many people tell me, oh my gosh, Meena, whenever I listen to this song, it just really helps me.
I often wonder about musicians being able to turn these life experiences into music and how it feels to put yourself out there: this is what happens, this is how I feel. Then to have people come and thank you for that, because that’s how they feel.
It feels so good. It was after “Believed” that I really connected with people with lyrics. I’ve only recently started to feel more comfortable sharing as much. Before, I just made stories up because I was just like, my feelings. I don’t want to talk about what I think, but I think it’s important to and it’s hard, but it resonates with people.
Some of the best songs are some of an artists most private thoughts and feelings. But I don’t think that I could lay my soul bare like that.
I felt the exact same way. But it’s like magic when it also rhymes, but it’s like, truthful.
You’ll be playing WOMAD in March, but do you have any other projects planned?
I’ve made some plans, but I’m also trying to keep myself open, because I don’t know what’s going to happen next year. Gigwise, I have a few other gigs booked. One at The Gov, and I’ll be playing for a City of West Torrens festival with my band, which will be awesome. But music and songwriting wise, I have lots of plans to release more. I’m working on an EP that I want to co-produce, and I’m also working on a piano album that I can release – just piano, maybe with some ethereal vocals in the background. For so long I’ve been itching to write and release something like that.
Meena De Silva will be playing WOMADelaide Friday night. More details here
With 0ver 700 artists from 35 countries playing 8 stages over 4 days (7-10 March), WOMADelaide is truly something special.
For more information and tickets click on the link: www.womadelaide.com.au
