Following in her thoughtfully-produced retropop sound is Melina's latest single, Nothing At All (feat. Linda Vilela) (2023): "I really wanted to release a true blue retropop bubblegum tune. I drew inspiration from the Wrecking Crew’s recording sessions for Be My Baby and and other pop tunes around that time. But you’ll also still hear a soft little nod to 70’s-80’s pop ballads with my love for extended chords. As production went on, Nothing At All found its own voice and I’m really happy with the sunshiny pop song it grew up to be"
Nothing At All (feat. Linda Vilela) enjoyed international airplay as well as features and interviews. Check some of them out here: Aesthetic Magazine, Canadian Beats and East Coast DNA Described as "an exquisite set of idiosyncratic pop miniatures" (William Brookson, GroundSounds), the inspiration for Windows (2022) came from when Melina was studying and living in Toronto. She found comfort from loneliness in watching the cityscape light up at night, thinking about all the different people with their own stories: "I think it’s fun to think of the whole EP like stepping into someone’s window and having them sing their stories to you like a musical!"
Soon after its release, Fairytales Again (feat. Jade Bennett) quickly went from Producer's Pick to being voted into 5th place on the East Coast Countdown's Top 10 Chart. Wrapping up a successful album release, she was nominated for Best Songwriter in The Coast's The Best of 2022 by popular vote. |
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Unlike her first EP, All of My Life, Melina did not use a reel-to-reel tape machine to add in the analog warmth. However, she was still deeply inspired by legendary producers and engineers:
"I love the production of music back then, and paid homage in how I arranged and mixed the instruments. For example, there's subtle layers of instruments that you may not even know are in there, but help build that big sound" -Melina Coolen quoted by Joanne Ellis, The Mastehead News (pg. 7) |
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If you are interested in having Melina produce or record your music, reach out at melinacoolenmusic(at)gmail.com
Background Photo Assembled By Kate Mosher
Portrait Photo by Dr. Michael Murphy