Melina Coolen is a Canadian musician, songwriter, producer and audio engineer. 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. Paying homage to the Brill Building greats, Melina researched production and recording techniques of the past while studying at Ryerson University. There, she released her debut EP, All of My Life, in 2017 in conjunction with her master’s thesis on analog and digital recording hybrids.

I composed this piece about eight winters ago shortly after my grandfather passed away. I’m a spiritual person, and I could sense the response in nature and his presence. For about a week or two after his passing, I remember the sun being extra vivid in the sky. Once I looked out my window on a stormy day and the clouds were dark but the sun was shining brightly behind them. It was very striking and inspired “Behind Every Cloud.”

What can you share with readers about your new project?

Behind Every Cloud is the first in a series of instrumental pieces I aim to release alongside my retropop songs. I composed Behind Every Cloud piece about eight winters ago shortly after my grandfather passed away. I’m a spiritual person, and I could sense the response in nature. Once I looked out my window on a stormy day and the clouds were dark but the sun was shining brightly behind them. That visual struck me and was an inspiration for me. I felt that it was like a metaphor for what happened when my grandfather passed, with the dark clouds being the mourning and the sun signifying the love and peace that he is in and that we can also receive here.

How does this release compare with your other projects you had in the past?

This is a little different than my retropop songs, but I believe you can still hear my voice in it and that’s what ties them together. Behind Every Cloud combines my song-writing side that loves a good melody, my classically-trained side and also my love for prog and beat music. So it’s actually not too far of a leap – in my mind anyway, haha!

What about this single makes you most proud?

I have been composing instrumental pieces on the piano since I was around eight years old. I later started composing these electronic pieces on a basic digital audio workstation (DAW) – back when you had to pay more for better instrument packages and it still didn’t guarantee finding non-cheesy strings and sax sounds, haha! I feel like I really grew as a composer and arranger composing these electronic pieces because it was easier to create bigger soundscapes with more than one instrument sound readily at your disposal. And now that I know how to mix properly and have access to better sounds and advanced DAWs, it feels significant to actualize young Melina’s dream of getting these songs out there in higher quality.

Was there a specific goal you were trying to accomplish with this release?

My main goal with this release was to initiate the start of my instrumental series. I felt Behind Every Cloud was a good track to start things off with as it has a big presence and showcases another aspect of my musicality to my listeners. I also think this song suits the new year perfectly in finding light and having a new start.

What inspires you to create music? What motivates you to keep going?

Music is like breathing to me, it’s just something I’ve done and was hooked on since I started picking up instruments and playing by ear around age three. For most of my life, it’s been my voice, a safe way to communicate how I feel and express myself. I’m also a very visual musician, creating the scenes I see in my mind with sound. I have lots of inspirations, but relevant to this song and a lot of my instrumental pieces is the deep connection I feel with nature. I have this scene in my mind of an epic storm and I tried to paint that picture in Behind Every Cloud.

If you could collaborate with anyone – dead or alive, famous or unknown – who would it be and why? If it’s an indie/DIY artist, please include a link so readers can check them out.

Oh goodness, how can I choose just one? I feel like the answer differs per genre I’m composing in. For my songs, of course I’d say Ray Conniff, Paul Simon, Burt Bacharach and Carole King for the top few. But keeping it relevant to Behind Every Cloud…my father got me into prog growing up and a group we’d very often listen to is The Moody Blues. I know people think of them and think of Nights In White Satin, but they’re a group I strongly encourage going behind the hits and listening to the “lesser known” songs. Their songs have this passionate big sound that goes beyond conventional commercial song-writing and production, in my opinion. I love their electronic soundscapes, so expansive and evocative. And even though there’s not one song in particular that I can say influenced Behind Every Cloud, they definitely had a big influence on my electronic/instrumental compositions. I also grew up listening to Vanessa Mae a lot, so rock strings music was not something unusual for me, and something I really enjoy. Can you imagine a Vanessa Mae and Moody Blues collaboration? That would be cool!

What was the last song you listened to? Favorite all-time bands/artists?

Thinking about musicians I’d like to collaborate with got me down a bit of a musical rabbit hole and I am currently listening to Sir Karl Jenkins. I feel resonance with his emotionally evocative instrumental and choir pieces – which maybe you’ll see in the near future when I release my choir series! I find it interesting that he doesn’t use words, but phonetic lyrics, which is something I’ve always been drawn to for some reason and actually do in some of my choir pieces. I’m listening to his and De Wolfe’s Dream Child from the Sunny Jim album right now.
Oh I think I inadvertently answered my favourite all-time bands/artists up above – or started to, anyway! There’s a lot more but I’ll leave it at that for now so I don’t write a novel!

Where is the best place to find you and stay connected?

Instagram! And if you really like my music and want updates before I even post them, go to my website and subscribe to my quarterly newsletter.

I really appreciate your time. Is there anything you’d like to share before we sign off?

Thanks for your time!