Folk-Country Singer-Songwriter Meels Recently Released Her New EP 'Across The Raccoon Strait'
- Sabrina Shahryar
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Do you have a favorite lyric from your upcoming project?
Meels: Yes, it’s one line from my song “Vultures,” it’s “I’d be doing jail time if it was a crime to be small and alive”. Every time I sing it, it makes me laugh. It's silly, but it also brings me into the story of the song as the writer. It's cheeky and fun. I'm singing about a fly being hit by my car. That's probably one of my favorites.
You’re going on tour this year. Is there a song you're eager to perform?
Meels: I’ve been performing this EP a lot on tour, actually. But I have to shout out “Vultures” again, especially when my mom is in the audience. She gets up to the barricade anyway she can and is literally singing the song at me the entire time. It's her favorite song I've ever written. So that is really special when I get to have that moment with her.
When do you know your work is complete?
Meels: I would have to say when the song is out. Before then, there are so many possibilities the work can morph into. But when it's finally out to the public, that's when I'm officially like, okay, she's done, and now she's in the hands of the audience.
In your own words, how would you describe your sound?
Meels: I've been calling my music critter country or folk country critter songs. I think that's because I use animals as metaphors a lot in my songwriting. When I was in college, I went to NYU at the Clive Davis Institute. I took a branding class, and I remember all my peers had such great, catchy little names for the genre they would put themselves into. Back then, I didn't really know what kind of music I wanted to make yet; I was still absorbing everything. I finally fell into this genre that was so personal to me and felt so good and I was like I wonder what I could call that and then I was like critter country.
Across The Raccoon Strait feels like its own little universe. What was the emotional starting point for this record, and how did you know these songs all belong together?
Meels: I would say the emotional starting point for the record was my eagerness and my longing to move back to California. I never felt creatively inspired in New York when I was living there. I was just in school and absorbing everything I could. When my boyfriend and I decided to move back to California. The floodgates opened creatively. I ended up writing most of the songs on the record in my New York apartment. I was like I'm moving back to California! I felt so inspired again.
Which song felt most vulnerable for you to write, and why?
Meels: I would have to say, probably “The Wizard” was very therapeutic for me to write. It's about my lifelong struggles with OCD. In a way that was fun and digestible. It made it easier for me to work through those issues. At all my shows before I sing it, I say, Hey guys, this is the deal with the song. Show of hands, who has OCD? In places like LA, I'm getting 20 hands up, and in places where mental health is more stigmatized, I get a couple of people. I feel it's important to bring it up and talk about what the song is about to make people feel less alone. I know little me, who was dealing with those issues, would have loved to be like oh my god, this person feels the same way too.
What is your favorite song on the EP?
Meels: I really do love them all. It's like asking who your favorite child is. I would have to say “Marsha June,” the one I wrote about my 86-year-old grandmother. We’re so close. I had the privilege of living with her on and off while I was touring. Learning so much about her life. It just inspired me to write this song; she's had such a wild life. Everything in the song I'll say is true. So I'm excited about that one.