When pandemic pessimism is back on the rise more than ever, it makes some of us more productive. Toronto-based musician Melissa Lamm is one of them. She spent last summer's lockdown on her balcony. While the pandemic upset her honeymoon plans, she wrote a song about it. Her latest single ‘Balcony’ is about appreciating every moment wherever you are. Other than her chill pop melodies, she does a lot of live-stream fundraisers on her Twitch channel. She has been raising money for different organizations such as Alzheimer's Research UK, Australian Brushfire Disaster, and NAACP Legal Defense And Education Fund with her live streams. We talked to Melissa Lamm about her music and lockdown days. Check out our interview below to find out more about Melissa Lamm.

Where are you based?
Toronto, Canada!

What inspired you to get into music?
I’ve loved music since I was a little kid! I started taking piano lessons when I was six years old and I’ve been obsessed with music ever since.

How do you describe your music style?
Chill pop! I try to make music that makes people happy and that people can sing along to, or just vibe out to.

You wrote your recent song ‘Balcony' during the lockdown in the pandemic. It reminds us to be happy with the little things and enjoy every moment no matter what. What is the story behind this song?
I wrote this song last fall when the weather was starting to get cold and I was feeling really nostalgic for my summer spent on my balcony with my husband. Like most people, because of the pandemic and lockdowns, we didn’t get out too much last summer. We mainly spent our weekends hanging out on our balcony, sort of watching the world go by. At the time it was sort of a plan B, the balcony was somewhere to be instead of traveling or seeing friends or going to patios. In hindsight, I just have so many nice memories of things I saw from my balcony or conversations we had, or plans we made. The whole experience is just a reminder to embrace what you have and appreciate those low-key moments.

The music video of the Balcony is cozy and simple. All of your music videos feel sincere and warm. How do you decide on the theme of music videos? How was the filming process?
Thank you! Music videos always involve a lot of brainstorming, and sometimes creativity is born out of your own limitations. I shot the ‘Balcony’ video with my husband during Toronto’s third wave. I had plans to rent out a really nice balcony for the shoot and hire a videographer but decided not to when things started to get really bad in Toronto. We shot it, just the two of us, on our own balcony. It’s always a challenge when you do that stuff yourself, but I think it made the video even more personal.

We also loved 'Give'. Tell us a little bit about your collaboration with Hadi and Kerfo!
Hadi reached out to me after seeing me perform on Twitch, where I perform music live online. He’s an amazing artist from Lebanon and he actually came up with the hook for ‘Give’ while watching my Livestream. Everything was done remotely! We wrote the song remotely just bouncing ideas back and forth through emails and recordings and shot our parts for the music video on two different continents. Kerfo is a super talented producer from the UK who co-produced the track with Hadi! It’s amazing what you can do nowadays creatively without ever even needing to even leave your house, haha!

During Covid you have been actively live-stream fundraisers on your Twitch channel. Can you tell us a bit about this? Will you continue to do this now that things are opening up some? How is this verses performing live?
I love live-streaming on Twitch, and fundraising through live-streams has been so rewarding! I started streaming about two and a half years ago, and it’s just so much fun. I have all my audio and camera equipment set up from my home studio, and I play songs by request to people watching online from around the world. They also type in a chat so I can talk to the audience live, which is really cool! I’ve really enjoyed my time on Twitch, and even when things open up and live gigs are more of an option again, I still plan on continuing my live-streams in addition to live gigs. It’s pretty different from performing live, it’s a lot more casual, a lot more banter with the audience in between songs, and a lot more interactive. It’s a great platform to host fundraisers, and I’m always amazed at how people are so keen to support all sorts of different causes. Even when things open up and live gigs are more of an option again, I still plan on continuing my live-streams!

You have been raising money for different organizations such as Alzheimer's Research UK, Australian Brushfire Disaster and NAACP Legal Defense And Education Fund with your live-streams where you sang songs and took requests from people on your Twitch account. What made you decide to do this and support these organizations?
Yes!! Using my channel on Twitch and music to raise money for causes that are important to me has been one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. It started in Jan 2020 when I saw so much of the footage of Australia on fire. I felt really helpless, I wanted to help but it all felt so much bigger than me. My husband suggested I host a fundraiser on Twitch, and basically, I would play songs for people who donated to the fundraiser. We ended up raising over $5000 AUD for the Australian Red Cross! In May of 2020, I saw all of the protests after the murder of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Once again, I just felt so overwhelmed with sadness and so helpless. I hosted a week-long fundraiser on Twitch for the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, and performed songs by Black artists. It was such an educational time for me and super emotional. But I feel really grateful that during those times, so many people came together with me to support these really important organizations. More recently I actually took fundraiser suggestions from my Twitch viewers, and then let them vote on four different fundraising options. We collectively decided to fundraise for Alzheimer’s Research UK, a fantastic organization!

When you make music, do you get more inspiration from bad things or good things?
For me personally, it’s easier to write about something bad than something good. But usually, with my music, my goal is to make people happy. I try to write about the good things in life or frame bad things in a positive light somehow.

What are your future plans/dreams for your music career?
For a while, my dream was to make music full-time. And for the past couple of years, I’ve been doing that! It’s still surreal to me that being a singer and songwriter is my job. In the future, I want to release more music, collaborate with more artists, do more live performing when things open up, continue live-streaming, and all in all, just share my music with more and more people! It would be a dream to work with some of my favorite producers and writers like San Holo, Julia Michaels, Jeremy Zucker, Chelsea Cutler, and write for up-and-coming pop artists!

Other than enjoying the balcony, how did you spend lockdown days?
I worked a whole lot! I released my first EP, I’ve been livestreaming about four times a week, I’ve been writing and recording from home and have a bunch of new songs and other exciting things in the works. For fun on the weekends, I’ve been cooking some new recipes, which is fun. Lots of walks and hikes when I can get out of the city. Sometimes I play video games, which is a great way to explore from the comfort of my own couch.

How have you been staying positive during a shelter in place?
Lots of calls to family and friends, lots of support from my husband, and lots of free time spent working on new music. I’ve also been livestreaming so much, and my Twitch community really helps me stay positive. When I perform online, I always get so many nice comments and get to hang out with so many nice people. It’s a time where I’m able to really focus on the present and not think about other negative stuff.

What is your motto in life?
“Take care.”

To learn more about Melissa Lamm, please follow her via the below platforms:
https://www.melissalamm.com/
Instagram: @melissalammmusic
Twitter: @MelissaLammMus
Spotify: Melissa Lamm
Twitch: @melissalammmusic
YouTube: Melissa Lamm

Melissa Lamm: Finding Happiness Right Where You Are