Q&A: Mel Raeburn Embraces The Unexpected With “Serendipity”
WRITTEN BY ANTHONY RATCHKOV
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The word serendipity refers to when events happen unexpectedly but bring a pleasant effect, a happy accident in other words. However, for such a memorable new song like “Serendipity” to be only Mel Raeburn’s second single is no accident. The Manchester-based artist has spent years honing her sound ever since featuring on a John Lewis Christmas advert.
The average reader of this article could probably name multiple people in their lives, if not themselves, that believe everything happens for a reason. However, in her single, Mel Raeburn argues that sometimes you don’t have to know what that reason is. That same openness to chance also plays a part in her creative process, as the theme of this song originated from an ordinary offhand conversation. Despite the simplicity, the best artists know that when the inspiration hits, you take it no matter where it comes from.
A lot of people also like to pride themselves on discovering an artist before everybody else knows them. With “Serendipity” following up her debut single “Table For Two” less than two months later, Mel Raeburn has already established a vibrant world for listeners to throw themselves into. As more content will be making its way into this world soon, her fans can enjoy the arc of this story as it unfolds and let the journey surprise them.
Life on Jupiter had the pleasure of sitting down with Mel Raeburn to talk “Serendipity”, performing live, and everything in between. Read our full conversation below.
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LIFE ON JUPITER: Can you tell us the story of how “Serendipity” came to be, you’ve been previewing it to your fans for some time?
MEL RAEBURN: I wrote “Serendipity” last June, last year was kind of the first year I began writing with other people. I was just kind of a bedroom musician writing by myself before that, but last year I got to start writing with session writers and producers. I was really trying to craft my sound and find what I wanted to say. “Serendipity” was the first song that I wrote and right away I knew something was really special about this one. I remember I was having a conversation with my boyfriend’s mum about what our favorite words were, and her favorite word is serendipity. The next morning I woke up and I had a session that day, and I knew I wanted to get serendipity in the song.
The word serendipity isn't the most commonly used word, was it challenging from a songwriting perspective to use a more unknown term?
RAEBURN: Yeah, definitely. It was in my vocab, but I wasn’t saying it day to day. I think that’s why it was my partner’s mum’s favorite word, because it was something that you only use on occasion. I just think it has such a beautiful meaning. It’s one of those words that sounds like what it means, and I just think serendipity is just such a fun word to say. I was just really curious to try and get it into a song. I thought there was so much to play around with the idea of things happening by chance or by fate.
You made an artist playlist for “Table For Two,” capturing the feeling of a miss you folder. What are some songs for “Serendipity” that capture the feeling of opening the window and letting in the rain?
RAEBURN: That’s so funny, I’ve got two playlists going, one is called “Open the Window Let in the Rain” and the other is called “Finally a Light In The Back of My Mind,” which is in the second verse. I’m toying with which one resonates with me more. I love curating playlists; I just think it's such a nice way of letting people into your taste of music and your world.
On this one, there’s a bit of Katie Tupper, Eloise, Olivia Dean, and Minnie Ripperton. It’s very female-heavy.
If you think about the songs you have out now and the ones that will come out in the future as a book, why was “Table For Two” the perfect song to be the first chapter?
RAEBURN: That’s a great question. It’s interesting because, like I said, “Serendipity” was the first song that I wrote, so I wrote it before “Table For Two.” “Table For Two” felt like more of a statement and an introduction to my world, and it felt like a ballad to me. “Serendipity” is more like the part in a book where you’re starting to get to know the character a little more. It’s whimsical, and they’re dreaming. You're not getting to the height of the story, but you’re starting to get the pieces together a little bit more. “Table For Two” is that strong chapter one intro, and “Serendipity” is setting the context a bit more to who I am.
Some artists like to craft lyrics very directly related to what is happening in their lives, whereas some artists like to put themselves into completely different and unexplored worlds. Where would you say you and your songs are on that spectrum?
RAEBURN: I would say I’m a happy medium. There are some topics or some experiences that when you’re really going through it, you’re not ready to process that and write about it, at least for me. However, “Serendipity” was definitely me writing from experience. I struggle to put myself in a different person’s shoes; I’m pretty much always writing from my perspective. I wrote “Serendipity” in a time when a lot of things were going right, but also a lot of things were going wrong. I kind of acknowledged that I was quick to dwell on why things went wrong, but when things fell into place unexpectedly, I would think that's cool and just get on with it. I needed that as a reminder to enjoy the process. It’s quite an optimistic way to live, thinking my actions might inform this really cool thing happening in two months. I was processing all that at the time I wrote “Serendipity”.
You’ve been playing some shows in support of Ruby Roberts and better joy. Does performing these various shows in the early stages of your career influence your creative process in any way?
RAEBURN: Absolutely, I think there’s nothing quite like playing a song that you’ve written live for the first time. Especially when you’re working on a demo and going in on it with a lot of detail, sometimes there’s just nothing better than just playing it acoustically with somebody. When I’m doing these shows supporting Ruby Roberts and better joy, it’s just me and my guitarist. There are some songs we played that also made me really appreciate the produced versions of them so much afterwards. Often, I’ll sing it different ways each night, or something will call out to me a little bit more, and it then informs how I go back in on the demos. That’s something I’m grateful for, that because I’m so early in my career, I have that luxury of time to just go back in, sit on them for a while, and just really feel them for a while.
Why is your bio on Instagram and Spotify ‘the bobfather’?
RAEBURN: The bobfather is a little play on the film The Godfather. It was my boyfriend who actually came up with it because I wanted a fun bio. I’d recently cut my hair into a bob at the time we were thinking of something, and I feel like that's something about me. If you were describing me to someone who hadn’t met me before, you’d be like, she’s a girl with the blonde bob, I suppose. So yeah, the bobfather came about, and it just stuck, and I haven’t changed it ever since.
What can fans of Mel Raeburn expect from you next?
RAEBURN: They can definitely expect more music from me this year. That’s kind of all I can give away, but it’s probably much sooner than they think. I’m writing so much at the moment and playing around with my sound a lot, so I’m just excited for everybody to hear everything else that I’m writing.