Mel Fitzpatrick Music Artist Interview

How did your interest for music and growing passion for production as an individual artist all begin? And do you think your environment growing up influenced your musical taste? I've always had an interest in music, particularly vocals, for as long as I can remember. It probably started when I was a growing up because my dad and his brother have always been very musical and both song writers. Listening to and watching their music as a child is what got me into performing. I believe growing up listening to British music definitely influenced my music as well as listening to other international artist.

How would you describe your music genre? My personal music genre is quite a wide range of mixed genres, but I'm probably most interested in classic R&B such as Aliyah and Brandy, soul because of my love for Stevie Wonder, jazz, reggae and old school British bands like The Beatles, such legendary music really stuck with me whilst growing up and stay with me at this point in my life.

Which is your favourite song to perform? Whether it be your own music or a cover of another artist. I would say that my favourite song to perform would either be Etta James- something’s got a hold on me. Etta was such a vocally strong female artist which influences me a lot. Also I do enjoy Jessie J – Mamma Knows Best because it’s a vocal masterpiece, I do love belting out that one.

What British musician/singer/song writer inspires you the most? Emeli Sande and Jessie J are probably the most inspiring British musicians for me because of how much passion and emotion they show in their music. I can listen to Emeli for hours on end; her lyrics are what make her the outstanding artist she is. And Jessie J just owns her vocals, her range is what I definitely aspire to, she just hits them notes I’ve never heard before. I’ll say I prefer her acoustic versions of her music compare to her pop styled tracks.

What do you enjoy so much about music? I enjoy music because it's a great release. It's something that instantly makes me feel good, and I can just lose myself in a song and forget everything else. Like Rocket by

Bey. That tracks in insane, vocally, lyrically, it just blows your head off. I truly appreciate the arrangement of this songs because in this generation of One Direction, Cher Lloyd, Nicki Minaj and all. It’s really hard to come across music that still breathes passion and soul. I hate that all these artists just throw out a single and it’ll hit the charts then burn out so the throw out another and it’ll burn out and so on. I believe music should be a piece of art work, like an album shouldn’t be collections of songs thrown together because they were singles. Albums should be a body of art, telling a story, you know.

Where has been your favourite gig to perform? My favourite gig to perform was probably singing at the Parr Hall for the first time when I was in high school because it was such a liberating experiences performing in front of a large group of people at such a young age. I really appreciate moments in my life like that.Do you have any new music? I’ve tried writing my own music many of times and I have been finding it difficult as sometimes I have so much to say and other times I could sit there for hours on end with no lead or idea to muster up a song. I feel brain washed by the media hearing nothing but the same beat all day every day, you know it gets into your head subconsciously and can throw artists off producing original pieces. I don’t really write anymore. I focus more on my vocals.Are there any international music artists that inspire your music and performance? Beyoncé is without a doubt the most inspirational international artist for me. I grew up listening to her music evolve from destiny’s child to a solo artist. A lot of people would argue she’s over rated but all I know is that she been number 1 for 15 years in this industry. Her latest album she dropped out with zero promotion or warning for the public sold over 1 million copies in 5 days online only with no physical copies in store. Living legend.Have you ever performed with other artists? Do you prefer being a soloist or interacting with others when performing? I've performed in bands in the past as part of my course at college which has been a great experience interacting with other artist. Doing that gave me a different sense of performing, but probably boosted my confidence when performing alone after experiencing performance alongside others.