Monday 1 February 2016

Swept Away

“I am currently working on a new song ‘Swept Away’.  It will have acoustic guitars, a simple melody and catchy hooks.” Melissa James

We caught up with our Melbourne singer/songwriter, Melissa James on her upcoming song, “Swept Away.”  

Having written many fun and breezy songs, Melissa and long term band member, Shane Ryall, are scheduled to lay down the tracks of a slightly different song. While it’s a pop number, the song has a very serious theme. It was inspired by the world refugee crisis in 2015 where millions of Syrians fled their homes because of the conflict within their home country, half of them being children. It was when a three-year-old Syrian boy’s body was washed up on a beach in Turkey in a desperate attempt to flee to Canada, the world was forced to see how deadly the Syrian civil war has become.  

“Inspired by the shock and tragic news of this little boy washed up at sea, Shane was so touched that he went away and named the song ‘Swept Away’ after this tragedy,” says Melissa.  “Asylum seekers’ lives are precious and the children need saving, we need to provide them with a good life.”

While one may expect minor chords of melancholy and an undercurrent of mourning and sadness in the new song, Melissa has superbly turned the suffering into something of pride and strength with a mixture of happiness and love weaved into catchy hooks. The lyrics mostly revolve around love so that they are easier to relate to. 


Chorus 
“Swept Away, without an emotion,
‘Swept Away, like a boat in the ocean,
‘Swept Away, your love’s like a potion,
‘Swept Away for love”

The sweet simple groovy melody with happy acoustic guitar has a pleasant way of surprising us about how the human brain processes sadness and a breezy beat all at the same time. The song soothes the emotions and good for our mental health. 

“‘Swept Away’ is not a sad song, I have made it a happy love song,” continues Melissa. “It’s about love, whether it’s for a precious child, family or partner and how beautiful it is when it arrives.”

The new song is scheduled to record in February 2016 so watch this space.