Stripping down the frilly world of pop to its bare bones is Bristol based singer-songwriter, Jodie Mellor. Her 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.
As a self-proclaimed ‘professional bedroom singer’, she has personally dazzled the likes of pop sensation Dua Lipa, Halsey, Little Mix, and Anne Marie with her stripped back covers, amassing over seven million views.
With support from MTV, Glamour, BBC Introducing, and Hotel Chocolat stores worldwide, her diverse vocal tones and journal entry songwriting make for the ultimate bedroom pop, with hints of genre nostalgia. ‘Central London’ is just that, produced in her bedroom with both her boyfriend and producer Charlie T Smith. Taking inspiration from musical artists such as Kacey Musgraves, Hannah Montana (that definitely counts), and Taylor Swift, her music is lyrics first and acoustic guitar second.
What first got you into music?
I have always been musical, but I think a turning point for me was in primary school when we had to pair up with a classmate and teach each other new skills. I took my roller skates to school and showed my pair how to roller skate, and he showed me how to play some guitar chords. I think I was around 10 years old. My parents then bought me my first guitar and I learned every pop song I knew at the time. I definitely think this is what started my love for songwriting.
Who inspired you to make music?
I remember being completely obsessed with the scene in Hannah Montana the movie where Miley writes Butterfly Fly Away. I just wanted to be her. When I got into my late teens, I started taking music more seriously and recorded my first EP. At this time I really loved artists like Alessia Cara, Gabrielle Aplin, and Julia Michaels.
How would you describe the music that you typically make?
My music is pop and always very lyric and acoustic guitar led. My songs in their rawest form sound quite country, but I love bedroom pop production. I guess it is quite Miley meets Hannah (if anyone knows what that means).
How do you feel the internet has impacted the music business?
Obviously, TikTok is currently taking over the music business, and I’m quite into it at the moment. I love finding new artists on there and seeing people’s songs in their earliest stages. It’s also so lovely to see people go from posting a 30 second verse in their bedroom to playing headline shows in the space of a few weeks just from the power of it. I also started out on Youtube, and I had so many incredible experiences as a result of it. If it’s used in the right way I think it’s an incredible stepping stone for people, but it can also be quite disheartening and difficult to see what’s genuine and what has been crafted for socials.
Have you got a ritual of sorts when writing and thinking about your music?
I always love to light a candle, turn on my fairy lights and sit in my room with a cup of tea late in the evening (and by late I probably mean like 8 pm). For the past few months, I’ve been in a new space and haven’t written at all as a result of it, which just goes to show how important that familiar space is for me.
What inspires your writing? Do you draw inspiration from poems, music, TV, or other media?
My songs are always quite confessional and I feel like I have to draw from personal experiences or feelings to be able to connect with the song. I definitely draw inspiration from my surroundings and quite often find myself taking notes of phrases I hear, sometimes even things I read on Twitter.
Has your musical journey had a deliberate direction or did it simply gradually evolve in whatever direction it found?
It’s definitely been a gradual process. I was kind of riding the wave until I went to university, and even that was a very last minute decision to apply to the course. I studied songwriting and happened to meet my boyfriend there, who now produces my music and writes a lot with me.
He was born in France, so we spend a lot of time going between there and the UK playing and writing music. It definitely feels like it was ‘meant to be’ but was no way on my radar. Maybe I should have a grand plan, but right now I’m happy in the in between.
If we were to look at the artists you are listening to, who would be on your playlist?
I actually have a current faves playlist on my Spotify page, which I update regularly. It’s currently a lot of Annika Bennet, Maisie Peters, Ingrid Andress and JP Saxe.
Jodie’s latest pop single ‘Central London’, released via AWAL, has a conversational,
chill, and sweet feel on the track.
Laced with tongue-in-cheek songwriting and the universal angst of twenty somethings, ‘Central London’ makes for the perfect love song to get you out of your room.
She wrote the track in her bedroom in 2020 on an acoustic guitar; the way she writes all of her songs. It stemmed from a voice note she recorded of ‘I would drive through central London for you’, which turned out to be the whole premise of the song in the end. It’s taken various forms over the past two-years, but this final version was recorded with her boyfriend Charlie T Smith in their flat in Bristol.
“‘Central London’ lists my fears and anxieties, but shares how all it takes for me to overcome them is having to do them for someone that I care about.” – Jodie Mellor.
