Melina Coolen is a Canadian musician, songwriter, audio engineer and producer. Her retropop influence is undeniable in her carefully self-produced sound and sophisticated songwriting style. After years of formal classical training and receiving the RCM Silver Medal in piano, she pursued her love for pop and jazz songwriting in college and university. During this time, her song Gone reached Regional Finals in CBC's Searchlight (2015). Continuing to pay homage to the Brill Building greats, Melina researched production and recording techniques of the past while studying her master’s at Ryerson University. There, she released her debut EP, All of My Life, in 2017 in conjunction with her masters thesis on analog and digital recording hybrids.
Melina’s versatility in the music industry led to her composing background musical themes for The Bluenose Legacy (2011) and Borderline (2017); being selected for the prestigious Screen Composers Guild of Canada’s (SCGC) Apprentice Mentor Program; contributing supportive research for the SCGC subgroup Women Composer's Advisory Council's study, Gender In The Film Composing Industry, and interning in music supervision and audio production for television and radio respectively. These experiences coupled with her strong ear has led to her currently working full-time as an audio engineer in post-production.
In November, Melina released a retro soul/pop single, Fairytales Again (feat. Jade Bennett) followed by the full EP, Windows, in February. The album was inspired by a wide range of genres including retro pop, soul, folk, jazz and prog, and features vocalists Jade Bennett and Sarah Frank (The Bombadils). Soon after its release, Fairytales Again (feat. Jade Bennett) quickly went from Producer's Pick to being voted among the top 5 on the East Coast Countdown's Top 10 Chart. Melina is currently working on her third EP and is also collaborating with other artists as producer/engineer for their own musical releases.
Melina’s versatility in the music industry led to her composing background musical themes for The Bluenose Legacy (2011) and Borderline (2017); being selected for the prestigious Screen Composers Guild of Canada’s (SCGC) Apprentice Mentor Program; contributing supportive research for the SCGC subgroup Women Composer's Advisory Council's study, Gender In The Film Composing Industry, and interning in music supervision and audio production for television and radio respectively. These experiences coupled with her strong ear has led to her currently working full-time as an audio engineer in post-production.
In November, Melina released a retro soul/pop single, Fairytales Again (feat. Jade Bennett) followed by the full EP, Windows, in February. The album was inspired by a wide range of genres including retro pop, soul, folk, jazz and prog, and features vocalists Jade Bennett and Sarah Frank (The Bombadils). Soon after its release, Fairytales Again (feat. Jade Bennett) quickly went from Producer's Pick to being voted among the top 5 on the East Coast Countdown's Top 10 Chart. Melina is currently working on her third EP and is also collaborating with other artists as producer/engineer for their own musical releases.
Portrait Photo by Max Denley
Background photos taken from lyric video made by Chris and Sophie Purcell
Background photos taken from lyric video made by Chris and Sophie Purcell