Itchin’ to Get Back Home to California: Meels - °1824 Press Conference
The start of a new year brings in a debut EP by folk/country artist Meels. Her redefining sound is a homage to her hometown, Mill Valley, CA, where she grew up surrounded by animals and redwood trees. Before the release of her debut EP, Across The Raccoon Strait, °1824 held a press conference where Meels discussed the creative changes and shifts in her upcoming project.
The transition moving back to California from New York felt like a true calling for Meels. Both places allowed her to grow as an artist, but she felt more herself being back in California. The time spent living in Los Angeles nurtured her sense of belonging as an artist and unlocked new inspiration. “My Northern California self that's always gonna be tugging at her sleeve creatively is the one version of myself that I will return to,” she said. Meels finds herself drawn to her hometown as it’s the root of her artistry.
Meels' latest EP falls into the direction of classical folk Americana. “I hadn’t really arrived yet to the sound that really felt true to me, and I felt like this new record is me returning to my roots as a folk music lover,” she said. “Vultures” is one of her favorite songs from her new EP and one of her favorites to play live.
We were treated to a sneak peek of a new single called “Outwest”, which will be on her new EP Across The Raccoon Strait, out Friday, January 30. The sound effects of the train horn played a punch in the theatrics in the song.
Her mentor from college mentioned her approach to songwriting was like “writing happy about the end of the world, kind of like they do in fairytales,” she said. Whenever she’s writing, she comes back to these words. As it makes the heavier and deeper themes she writes about easier to process. Even being subconscious about her listeners as they intake her lyrics.
Henry Pakeman was the music video art director for both “The Wizard” and “Willow Song”. Both music videos shared similarities in how they appeared visually due to the use of 1970s broadcasting cameras.
“Willow Song” was sincerely different sonically. “It’s kind of a lot slower, what’s gonna be eye-catching, we can't really do all these camera movements that ‘The Wizard’ has,” said Meels’ boyfriend Henry. He had to think about other TV shows popular in the 70s, other than Hee Haw. John Denver’s cover of The Garden Song from The Muppets Show creatively shaped the artistic direction of Willow Song.
Meels will be playing her first headlining shows this coming year in New York and Nashville.“I’m just so happy that Station Inn was interested in hosting me in Nashville for my first ever headline. It's just an iconic room that so many iconic artists have moved through,” she said. Meels is super excited to be able to bring her new project to new places this year.