3-time Juno-nominated, Toronto-based artist Melanie Durrant is back after a hiatus with her latest single, “Ride With Me”.
The indie-pop track showcases Durrant’s stellar vocal prowess and serves as further testament to her reputation for being one of the most talented and versatile artists to emerge from Canada’s vibrant R&B/ soul scene.
“I’m not the type to get boxed into one musical lane,” Durrant explained. “It’s not about genres, it’s about good music, timeless music. I love rock and roll, and ‘Ride with Me’ allowed me to mesh some of that direction into my signature soul style.”
Durrant has been an artist living in the moment, reflecting life back without any constraints or labels. She crafted the new song’s writing with Grammy Award-winner Sebastian Kole, who has also recently worked with the likes of Alicia Keys, John Legend, and Alessia Cara.
Kole’s transcendent storytelling abilities helped Durrant paint an evocative picture of a lost soul looking for love, helplessly filling the void with a wild and carefree lifestyle leading her from one misconceived partner to the next. On the outside, she’s beaming, but doing everything she can to drown out the deafening loneliness.
For production, Durrant enlisted Toronto-raised Ricky Tillo, who has been a guitarist for pop star Lady Gaga for over a decade.
“Sebastian Kole helped me paint the picture into a vivid story and Ricky Tillo’s guitar work is always magical.”
Check out “Ride With Me” below and find out more about Melanie via our Five Questions With segment.
Care to introduce yourself to our readers?
Hello, my name is Melanie Durrant and I was born and raised in Toronto Canada. I’m a singer/songwriter with a passion for harmonies and beautiful melodies.
Tell us a bit about your music and writing style.
I’ve been told that I’m very eclectic style-wise and musically. I guess I’ll take that as a compliment. To me, the word “Eclectic” translates as versatile. I love all music styles so I can’t say I have a favorite. I grew up listening to R&B, Soul, Motown, Rock & Roll, Jazz, House music, neo-soul & hip hop just to name a few. I have always found myself leaning toward Jazz undertones within my writing style. Even when it isn’t intended it’s in there.
Do you have any upcoming shows? For someone who has yet to see you live, how would you explain your live performance?
I will be doing some online shows hopefully sooner than later. I’ve been trying to figure out where exactly in my home will work the best. I think what people can expect from my live show is real music. No lip-syncing from me.
If you were asked to suggest only one of your songs for someone to hear, which would it be?
It’s hard to pick just one song because I have a personal attachment to each piece of work from my catalogue. I think it would depend on who’s asking and what they are into before I could even attempt to choose a song for them to listen to. What I can say is right now I’m listening to “Ride With Me” quite heavily. I love the way it feels old yet it’s brand new.
Canadian Beats is all about Canadian music, so who are your current favourite Canadian bands/ artists?
That’s easy my favourite Canadian artist is Gary Beals. Gary is a very talented singer/songwriter/performer who sings with such emotion and passion. I will confess that we are very good friends but that doesn’t affect my opinion I would never say something or someone is good when it isn’t.