Bristol based singer-songwriter Jodie Mellor strips down the frilly world of pop to its bare bones.
Drenched in raw vocals and honest tales of being a herbal tea enthusiast in a world of pornstar martinis, is refreshing of a new, feel-good age. But this isn’t initially how her music journey began.
Although she didn’t come from a musical family, there was always music in her household. “My mum was a big fan of musicals, and I grew up watching films like The Sound of Music, Oliver and The Wizard of Oz,” she comments. Citing she was also a Disney kid and became obsessed with Hannah Montana, this led her to learning guitar and discovering her love for writing stories which turned into songwriting. She began posting covers on YouTube, and then studied songwriting at university.
As her musical influences are always changing, Jodie expresses, “A constant since I was an early teen has definitely been Taylor Swift, as I’m pretty sure most artists like myself would say.” A playlist that she thinks highlights her musical influence at the moment is the ‘pov:ur that girl’ playlist on Spotify.
She is back with her brand-new single 'Central London' that is laced with tongue-in-cheek songwriting and the universal angst of twenty somethings; a perfect love song to get you out of your bedroom. It’s her first release in two-years. “I wrote it in 2020, inspired by my long list of irrational fears, but how I would overcome them if I had to do them for someone that I love,” she comments. “I hate making appointments over the phone, but if someone asked me to make a call for them, I’d do it in a heartbeat.”
Following on from this, while her songwriting allows her to be vulnerable and real when it comes to writing about personal struggles, Jodie says, “I think a lot more can be said in songwriting because you can hide behind the story, concept or melody. No one ever has to know how much truth there is in it. I also love how sometimes the ambiguity of things can mean each listener is free to interpret it in their own way.”
She loves the process from start to finish, when asked what drives her forward as an artist. She gets so much joy and satisfaction out of songwriting, or being in the studio. “I love sharing the creative process with my friends and also hearing what they’re working on,” she comments. Noting while studying songwriting at university, her close group of friends have kind of become a little music community and she loves being a part of that. She also likes to think that people can find some sort of comfort in what she creates.
Rising to fame, social media has impacted Jodie’s musical career getting recognition on the likes of YouTube. “My YouTube channel and the opportunities that came from it changed a lot of my decisions in my teens, like choosing to study music. It was kind of a snowball effect from posting that first video.”
She likes to give away a lot of herself in her lyrics and hopes that the listeners feel like they know her just from that. “I like the thought of people being able to put their own meaning to my songs and hope that listening adds something to their day,” she responds when asked what she wants listeners’ to take away from her music.
When Jodie isn’t writing or recording, she usually is listening to other people’s music. “I’m a bit of a music lover, and one of my favourite things to do on a Friday morning is lie in bed with my boyfriend and go through our Release Radars on Spotify sharing new music that we’ve found,” she comments. “I love true crime, dog walks, or anything that involves eating and drinking coffee.”
Closing out the interview with a musical highlight, Jodie mentions that Anne-Marie and Halsey have both reacted to her covers of their songs on the Glamour YouTube Channel. “Hearing their incredibly kind words was such a confidence boost and a huge motivator to write my own music.”
Words by Danielle Holian