By Ryan B. Patrick
Pride Entertainment Writer
Oct. 19 2005
The last time I spoke with talented R&B singer/songwriter Melanie Durrant, it seemed like the stars were finally aligned, and she was ready to blow up. She was signed south of the border to legendary Motown Records and was opening for the likes of Sean Paul and Jay-Z, and all signs pointed to huge international success. But a year later, the spunky Toronto native finds herself without a major label deal (Motown dropped her and never did release her material) and is now back in Toronto with a new label (Koch), and a new independent album, Where I’m Going, set for release on October 27.
Durrant manages to keep things in perspective. Indeed, while the Canadian chanteuse’s career begins to play out exactly as the lyrics to her ebullient breakout hit, “Where I’m Going” – “I’m going to get to where I’m going, slowly but surely” – Durrant takes it all in stride.
“I’m only human,” the classy Durrant tells Pride News Magazine, in an exclusive telephone interview.
“I wasn’t feeling too hot about not having my album released through Motown, but when you fall down, you’ve gotta dust yourself off and keep it moving. So that’s what I’ve done.”
The sparkling vocalist has had music on her mind since she was a small child. Her mother, Karen Durrant, is an established professional singer known for her uncanny impersonations of Tina Turner and Donna Summer.
Durrant fondly remembers singing along to the sheet music that her mother brought home. If the show wasn’t in a bar, young Melanie would often watch her mother’s performances.
The younger Durrant’s style is a honey-dipped dash of R&B, a splash of alternative rock and roll, and a heaping helping of soul. Her singing/songwriting style is often referred to as “adventurous”, as her musical influences run the gamut. The admittedly old school Durrant cites artists as diverse and eclectic as Stevie Wonder, Aerosmith and Diana Ross as influences. She describes her sound as “alternative hip hop soul”.
But it’s almost as if she’s defying you to categorize her. Durrant has been best described as a mix of Blu Cantrell, Jill Scott and the late great Minnie Ripperton.
It all started, when, after honing her skills at Toronto’s Earl Haig School of the Arts, and training at the Royal Conservatory of Music, Durrant began performing in underground spots across the country – such as Toronto’s female Honey Jam talent showcase – which parlayed into a short stint in the Broadway production of “Rent”.
It was there she met singer Jill Scott, who encouraged her to continue writing songs.
By now, the whirlwind story behind her signing to the legendary Motown USA label is the stuff of Canadian urban legend: After being introduced to Toronto urban music video director wunderkind X (then known as Little X), he promised her, if he ever directed a car commercial he’d use her song. Sure enough, X got the gig, and the aforementioned, “Where I’m Going” appeared on a PT Cruiser car commercial in 2002.
Motown prez Kedar Massenberg just happened to catch the commercial on television, and Durrant was flown out to New York and – bam – the budding songstress was on a star-studded Motown R&B roster that, among its notables, includes Brian McKnight, Erykah Badu and India.Arie.
Later, Durrant was dropped from the Motown label.
Undaunted by her music industry experiences, Durrant kept things moving. She continued to tour and record fresh material. Her manager (Taj Critchlow of Maxamus Entertainment) started his own label and eventually signed a distribution deal with Koch.
The new album, Where I’m Going, is a 14-track effort that combines tracks from the ill-fated Motown release, with new material. Most of the songs were recorded at downtown Toronto’s Soundproof Studios, where Durrant ably nailed each song in one or two takes.
After the jazzy-hip hop brilliance that is the title track (featuring rapper Common), the rest of the album is solid. The “Kill Bill Vol. 1”-inspired cover of “Bang, Bang” (featuring the omnipresent Kardinal Offishall) is on point, as is the shiny happy pop-vibe of “Sky”, and the dancehall-riff of “Let Me”. Tracks like “Still the Same” and “Eddie” allow Durrant to demonstrate her range, as she invokes a more traditional R&B/soul flavour.
The reggae-vibe of “Same Ol’ Thing” could have used a tad more production polish, but is probably the only blip on an otherwise strong project.
Durrant herself cites the acoustically-driven, multi-tracked, “Best Thing” (You’re a million miles from me/High as the moon and deep as the sea), as her favorite track.
“It makes me feel really good, and I always get a warm reception from my audience when I’m singing that song,” she says.
In some respect, releasing the album independently allows for more creative control, Durrant adds. “And the thing is, Motown promised me creative control, but they didn’t deliver.
“But I don’t want to focus on negative stuff. Through music, I’ve expressed my feelings, and I think it feels good to get it off my chest. I feel great right now.”
The current Canadian urban music landscape, where artists like Jully Black and Divine Brown are getting mainstream love, bodes well for Durrant.
The timing is right and it’s good to see these artists doing their thing, she notes.
All things considered, Durrant is all about leaving the past behind and moving forward.
“The good thing is that my album is coming out, I’m about to go on tour…things are good all across the board.”
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