Women's Series: Meron T Talks Being a Woman In Music

Meron T is a South London singer songwriter who has managed to blend a number of genres together to create her own unique sound, with an incredible melodic voice that has had great success with her track “Hunny” featuring Sey G, and recently with the track “Standing There."

I met Meron in Croydon on a beautiful autumn day. One of the first things I noticed about Meron was her guitar she had slung over her shoulder. She told me she was on her way to a recording session after our meeting and it just showed how hardworking she is to keep making music. We walked for a few minutes and found a couple spots we wanted to photograph. I remember feeling instantly comfortable around her as she brought great energy and a positive spirit for the photo shoot and interview.

How would you describe your music for someone who hasn’t listened to Meron T?

“It’s a mixture of R&B, Neo Soul, Jazz”

Would you say your earlier sound has changed compared to your new work?

“Yes 100%, I started off with just me and the guitar on soundcloud, which was mainly acoustic based. Now there is a lot more production going on. Definitely trying to have some more upbeat tracks now too.”

What has the greatest influence on your music?

“I’d say what I have listened to throughout the years: my family introduced me to a lot of Ethopian Jazz, my dad would play Bob Marley's albums every Sunday. My sister introduced me to a lot more indie and electronic music in my teenage years. Then I discovered a lot of hip pop in my teens; my music taste has become so varied throughout the years. Growing up in South London listening to Grime, artists like Giggs have all subconsciously had an influence on my music. Having a varied amount of music has had the biggest influence on my sound I would say.”

Going on your experience as a woman in music, have you found it harder to be a woman within music and what sort of challenges have you overcome?

“I don’t feel I’ve had any problems, I feel my race and gender have actually been an advantage. Because I come from the more R&B background it is a predominantly black genre, with a heavy female presence. I feel like I haven’t struggled with opportunities as I'm not going into a world that is very different to me.”

What advice would you give younger women starting out in music?

“Do your research, learn about the music industry, self study the ins and outs of it. Get a grasp of the music business side of it, as I self manage and I’ve learnt a lot over the past few years. If I knew it first, I feel I would have been a lot more efficient. It’s taken these last couple of years to know the avenues to go down, but I’m still figuring it out though. The more you know how it works the more leverage you have and can do things yourself. This is a job that leaves you to be broke a lot of the time: you're going to need to learn how to do things yourself.”

Do you feel there are enough support networks for women in music?

“There are a few but they are way more niche, they’re quite genre based. As I said, R&B is quite a female genre, so there are a few platforms that do celebrate R&B. But I do think generally there could be more, I know a few amazing women in music now and I do feel we need to team up and give the next generation an opportunity. I know for a lot of people it can be quite isolating, especially if they’re not as lucky as me to have been in the right place at the right time to have met these women.”

“There’s definitely more room for us to provide more opportunities for female collectives and female led labels. The industry is quite male dominated and that is quite jarring.”

Who was an important woman in your life growing up?

“My gran, she is a top G. She's the reason I’m living in this country as she came here in the 70’s. She paved the way for her kids to come and my mum gave birth to me here. She has worked so hard her entire life and that made me realise that you can’t get complacent and take things for granted. Knowing my Gran’s history and how lucky I am to be here, has definitely been a big motivation for me as I've been blessed with an opportunity to have a life here, being a first gen British child. I don’t want to let my luck go to waste.”

Which artist was important for you when growing up?

“Lauryn Hill, her MTV Unplugged. When she was talking about how they wanted her to have this perfect voice, that was a big inspiration for me as I had a big vocal injury when I was 21. I remember not wanting to sing anymore as I didn't like the sound of it. Her doing her MTV unplugged with her really husky voice and still giving so much emotion and being honest about the fact we can’t always have this perfect voice, was the only example I had seen of someone who was real about it. A lot of the people we hear, their voices are polished and perfect. To see the likes of her pushing through despite what the industry says was amazing.”

Nowadays, who's an important artist for you?

“Rosalia, she is in charge of her; creative direction, her production of her songs, her voice is impeccable, vocally she has trained her, seeing how well she is doing in the last three years, has been a huge inspiration, it’s definitely got me back on the path of needing to train my voice.”

What does the future have in store for Meron T?

“I have a few tracks coming out, I’m sitting on a lot of music I’ve been making during quarantine, so it’s just about getting it out now. I’m really excited.”

Photo credit: @josephcphoto & www.josephcphoto.co.uk

Words by: Joseph Clarke