Artist Feature | Melanie Penn
Tell us what first drew you to songwriting?
I came to songwriting very late in life. I was formally trained as a singer from a very young age and studied music formally. But eventually, I grew tired of singing other people's songs and other people's words. I felt like I had my own words to say. One year, I committed to a new year's resolution to try writing songs ... I've been writing ever since.
What does your creative process/rhythm look like, and how has the pandemic changed that process?
The pandemic helped me lean into solitude and the mental space of the quarantine. I realize not everyone had that luxury! Especially my friends trying to home school suddenly and keep their families going with some degree of normalcy! Every one of the new songs was written on a walk in my parents' neighborhood. Over time, taking walks has proven to be the best way to write songs.
Very rarely I'll co-write a song from the beginning. Most of the time I write 99% of a song alone and then can bring a song to Ben or someone else to help me finish it!
You've made your last several records with producer Ben Shive. Tell us why that has been such a great creative partnership.
That's such a good question. Ben is a great blessing to me! I think I'm only the second or third client that Ben had after Andrew Peterson (a Christian artist with whom Ben also has a long-standing relationship). So, in a lot of ways we "grew up" together. The creative relationship with Ben is very safe, and founded on the core values of having fun and making something beautiful! Our relationship has lasted over 10 years and so far we've finished 5 albums. I'm excited about the future.
What do you draw inspiration from?
The main theme I like to write and sing about is nature and the truths that can be found in nature. I don't believe that songs come from within; I think that song ideas and melodies are in our atmosphere and all you have to do is make yourself available to them.
If you had to choose one record, one band, and one book that has had the most influence on you as a songwriter, what would they be?
record: The Far Country by Andrew Petersen
band (not so much a band, but artists): Judy Collins and Patty Griffin
book: The War of Art
Tell us about your new record.
The album is called More Alive Vol. I, a collection of songs that was supposed to come out this year with additional new songs from the quarantine. They are all what I call "hopeful anthems" and point toward a better world post-Covid and beyond.
What are you working on right now?
Well, it might seem obvious but I'm working on finishing More Alive Vol. 2! That album will come out next year, along with another new album of 10 folk songs that we are modeling after the recordings of Allison Krauss and the Weepies. We are super excited about that and leaning into more of a folky style.
To learn more about Melanie and to hear her music visit MelaniePenn.com