The sensational Shelley Segal
Photo Credit Sean Muniz // @seanietsunami300
Melbourne singer-songwriter Shelley Segal has released her brand new song titled ‘Mother’, a song that both tugs at the heartstrings and warms the heart. A stirring ode to Shelley’s own mother, Mother is also accompanied by a touching music video that features footage of Shelley with her mum. We caught up with Shelley to chat about the new song, her planned trip back home to Australia and her new conservation educational project ‘The Watershed’.
Thank you Shelley for taking the time to answer some questions for Music Kingdom Australia.
Hi Michelle,
Thanks so much for the interview and for the opportunity to share my music.
For those that haven’t heard your music before, how would you describe your sound to our readers?
I sing and play acoustic guitar. That is really the foundation of my sound. I grew up performing in my father’s wedding band which was an amazing footing on which to get started. I learned to sing and play in such a wide variety of genres. My music is heavily influenced by the pop and rock songs I played as a teenager at functions and cover gigs. As I grew older I was inspired by lyric-focused music like folk artists and singer songwriters and my writing style took on those influences.
Your latest release is the track titled ‘Mother’ tell us about your new song? What does the song mean to you?
This latest single is very special to me. It’s inspired by my mum, Jenny. I had the idea for the song when I walked past the mirror and saw my reflection in the corner of my eye. For a split second, I thought it was my mum that I was seeing and I was blown away by how differently I processed the image of my own body, when I thought it was my mother. It was an amazing revelation to me how much I look like her. How beautiful and perfect she is and how it follows that I am as well. As her beauty is undeniable to me, so became my own.
“To find love, self love and to say it out loud is an incredibly powerful and empowering thing. ”
What do you hope the listener takes away from listening to ‘Mother’
I hope that the listener will feel the strength and resilience that is embedded in the song. There are so many ways that we are taught to hate ourselves. By society, media, our peers. It’s almost impossible to not absorb those messages. To really stand up and say, I am beautiful, just the way I am, despite all the reasons people may choose to hate me, for my body, for my femaleness, for my ethnicity. To find love, self love and to say it out loud is an incredibly powerful and empowering thing.
Do you have a favourite line or part of the song? What makes that section so special to you?
My favourite line of the song is the chorus.
“I look just like my mother
And she’s beautiful
I look just like my mother
Now you can’t make me feel small”
The first two lines are so special to sing. I love every time, getting to proclaim my mother’s beauty. I want it to pour into her. The next two lines are the embodiment of the song’s message of strength and defiance. Self love in the face of hatred.
The track consists of stringed instruments, trumpets, violins, electric drums and a rarely used talent these days, finger picking on a guitar. Was using this complex list of musical items a reflection of the depth of the subject matter being covered?
The choice of instrumentation came about really naturally. What’s beautiful is that it’s based around my people, my family, my team. My dad recorded the violin at my studio in LA when he was visiting from Australia. The trumpets were put down by my friend Kelly O’Donohue who was visiting LA while on tour with Vance Joy. The drums were done by my friend and writing partner Kevin Anyaeji. We’ve been working together for over 8 years and he’s family. It was co-written and co-produced by my partner Rob and by my best friend and business partner Prince Chapelle (who also did the vocal production) and it was recorded at our studio, Secret Sauce. So it was a real family affair.I’m so happy with the combination.
“I hope we can teach kids to find the strength and confidence to love themselves and be critical thinkers”
Your bio states that you walked past a mirror and the reflection you caught was your mothers, and you would “never accept those hateful messages if they were directed at her”, is this profound perspective what we should be teaching our children, especially in this age of social media stereotypes and body negativity?
I definitely think we should help make young folks aware of the impossibility of the aspirational images and stories that are being sold to us. Products and businesses often succeed by convincing us that we are imperfect. That if only we would use them, we could be better than we are, and need to be so. Our self hatred is profitable. It’s hard enough to be a kid and be compared to your peers. Now you can compare yourself to everyone in the world who has their own platform and is capturing their best moments and angles. I can’t imagine how hard it must be growing up like that. I hope we can teach kids to find the strength and confidence to love themselves and be critical thinkers so that they can assess the messages that they are being inundated with.
‘Mother’ is accompanied by a video that intertwines footage from your childhood. Who came up with the concept for the video? Were there any memorable moments during the making of the film clip?
I worked on the video with local creative director Lex Giana. I’d collected the footage from my home videos and then we shot the rest in a studio in LA. I love the way that Lex styled the clothes and the colours to really match that old footage. It was such a beautiful blend and made the video all the more meaningful, singing about my mother while getting to see her gorgeous face. There are some really cool cuts between us and at the end she flashes on the screen really highlighting our similarities.
“At the moment I’m enjoying dropping singles and working on producing everything at my studio”
Will ‘Mother’ feature on your next album or will it be a stand alone single?
I’m not sure. At the moment I’m enjoying dropping singles and working on producing everything at my studio. It may be on an album but if so that album is still taking shape.
Shelley, you are returning to Australia this September, are there plans to tour while your home?
I really can’t wait to come home and play some shows. It’s been since before the pandemic that I’ve gotten to play hometown shows, to my friends and family and share the stories of everything I’ve been doing. It almost doesn’t feel real until I’ve shared my life in song on stage. Losing so much of that connection in performing throughout the pandemic has felt really diminishing, so I really can’t wait to get to play in September.
How did you get your start in music?
As I mentioned, I grew up performing in my father’s band. I spent nights as a kid doing my homework at my dad’s rehearsals and getting up to sing here and there. It was something that was always a part of my life and I’m so grateful for that. Growing up with that foundation was invaluable and being surrounded by working musicians made it feel so accessible, like that was just something you did.
“We want to educate people in the area about the amazing heritage that they are supported by and create opportunities for them to get involved in protecting their environment”
You are working with Music To Life to develop a conservation themed program called ‘The Watershed’, what can you tell us about this project and when will it be released?
Yes! I’m so excited about this project. I was selected by Music To Life as one of ten artists in a national cohort where we are being supported in developing musical programs to enact positive change in our communities. I’ve spent a lot of time touring in the pacific north west. With my friend, Dan Lombardo, a science communicator from the area, we began to envision this project that told the stories of the Puget Sound Watershed, one of the most unique and diverse ecosystems on the planet, and the animals that live there. We want to educate people in the area about the amazing heritage that they are supported by and create opportunities for them to get involved in protecting their environment. The project will be released and toured in 2024 and will also be released online with a spoken word and animation component.
In your career you have worked with Prince Chapelle, Vanessa Amorosi, HBO MAX, Riot Games & the NFL. You have created music for documentaries, worked on Eurovision song entries and written tracks in support of important issues such as the Mahsa Amini protest. So, what’s been the highlight in your career so far personally? And why?
I’m very lucky to have had the opportunity to collaborate with people I truly believe are some of the most talented on earth. It blows me away. I have to pinch myself sometimes. Last year I got to do some shows with Vanessa singing BVs. It was hard not to lose myself in the transcendent moments she would create at her shows. I was lucky enough to have created ‘Little March’ - a collaborative album with Adam Levy, one of the most talented songwriters and guitarists on the planet! It’s so hard to pick one moment above any other. It’s truly a full life in music that is the highlight. It’s a tapestry of so many things, so many connections. To other creatives, artists, audiences, writers like yourself, PR teams! (Shout out to my team at OnTheMapPR - Emily and Fiona who have been helping me share my music for over 10 years now!!). It’s all so beautiful and meaningful. It’s part of the journey. I do like telling my friends here that I opened for Wu Tang at the Reason Rally on the national mall in DC back in 2016. But it has been just as meaningful playing at the hundreds of weddings and events or at aged care facilities. Playing music through my friend Desley’s organisation ‘Sweet Princess.’ In memory of her daughter Nicole, Desley organises local musicians to perform for sick kids and their families. Playing alone, just for myself coz I need to hear it. Playing with my dad - I don’t think anything beats that. When we’re playing together it feels like time stands still.
Who in your crew or team deserves a shout out but never gets one? And what is they do that keeps your world turning?
It’s hard to say coz I definitely spend my time shouting about my people from the rooftops hehe. I would have said my mum in the past - I think it took me way too long to really appreciate her. I would meet people at my shows who would come up to me and say, “I met your mum at the dog park! She showed me your videos and I had to come and see you.” What an amazing support. She loves me and uplifts me unconditionally. But now with this song, she is finally getting the shout out she deserves. I love you Mum!
“I’m on this great musical adventure that allows me to create music every day with my best friends ”
What's next for Shelley Segal? What can fans look forward to?
The projects that I work on come from my experience. I would never have imagined I’d be writing educational songs about orca whales like the ones I’m working on at the moment for The Watershed. So I’m very excited myself even, to see what comes next. I’m on this great musical adventure that allows me to create music every day with my best friends and allows me to push myself and grow in my creativity and I can’t wait to see where else it takes me.
Listen: MOTHER
Watch: MOTHER
Stream: MOTHER
Interview by Michelle Symes
July 2023