10 Questions with ... Meiko

1. Where does this interview find you now?

This interview finds me in Hamburg, Germany! My husband, our two-year-old son and I moved here recently. Everyone's sleeping and I'm enjoying the quiet.

2. How do you think 2018 has been treating you and your music career?

I think 2018 has been interesting. I find myself writing a lot more. Everyday seems to give me so much new material. Being a mother should be enough, but I've also been very inspired to write more songs about being a woman in this world and the bad-ass-ery that comes along with it.

3. Growing up, was music always a big part of your life?

Music has been everything to me since I can remember. I guess my first memory was when I was in kindergarten, I started an all-girl group called "The Cool Girls Club." We stood on top of three tree stumps in a triangle formation and did synchronized dancing ... we practiced every day during recess.

4. How do you think you and your music have been influenced by your hometown and where you live today?

I grew up listening to classic rock with my dad, but I also had a hunger for new music discovery. I'd hear a song playing in a store and I'd find out who it was and buy their CD the next day. That's how I learned about Frente! I heard their music in the Journeys shoe store while I was working at the local mall.

I also automatically loved the new music my older sister loved. She moved to Atlanta when she graduated high school and her roommate worked at Geffen Records. I was turned on to so many amazing bands and singers (e.g. Portishead, Sade, Mary J Blige, Outcast, Fleming and John). Not really sure yet what the music scene is like here in Hamburg, but I hope to dig in!

5. How would you say that you have grown as an artist since you first started making music?

I've grown as an artist since I started making music because I've grown as a woman. Earlier, I would write a lot about heartbreaks. Now I write more about the world around me and how it makes me feel. Being a mother hasn't changed my music very much, but it has changed the way I write. Having a baby is so full-on, I really have to make time to do it.

6. Let's talk about your newest album, Playing Favorites. What was it like going into the studio to put this collection together?

I loved making this record because it was all live. I got to record it in one full day with my good friends Ed Maxwell and Josh Day in a beautiful abandoned church in Brooklyn. We had the best time. I picked all the songs that I loved in high school, which made it all the more fun. I recorded about 20 songs, but we narrowed them down by picking the best-sounding recordings.

7. Tell us more about the recording process.

It was done as art of the Chesky Binaural+ Series, all recorded with a single binaural microphone. It was really interesting recording the way we did because I was able to hear all the nuances. Every breath and foot tap. It was a very intimate setup that caught every little thing which makes the listener feel like they're right there and I'm singing to them.

8. Tell us more about your song choices. [They include The Cranberries' "Zombie," Sade's "No Ordinary Love," Ben E. King's "Stand By Me," Blind Melon's "No Rain," Mazzy Star's "Fade Into You," Duran Duran's "Come Undone," Portishead's "Wandering Star," Erykah Badu's "Bag Lady" and more]

I've always wanted to record these songs and thought it would be cool to make a record of all of them in one go. I chose these tracks because I've loved them for years. Some of these songs have gotten me through some hard times. Quintessential songs that are always playing in my head ... or [in my] car."

9. Tell us more about playing with Josh Day and Ed Maxwell.

I've been playing with my band for maybe 10 years. I met Ed at a little studio where I was recording my first record. The drummer is Josh Day. I love both of these guys so much. We had mutual friends and we started playing together on a whim and have been very good friends ever since."

10. What do you think makes for an ideal live show for you?

I like a listening crowd. Clanking forks and knives or a few loud people in an otherwise quiet setting makes it really hard for me to focus. I love small theaters like the Doris Duke Theater in Honolulu, or the One World Theater in Austin. There are so many beautiful places all over America where the setting really calls for a quiet audience.

I'm playing a couple of shows in Hamburg that I'm excited about. I know I'm just starting fresh here, but it's so exciting taking all the things I've learned about performing and the music business, and I am utilizing it in a new setting. Plus, I weirdly get off on performing for people who have no idea who I am. There's something magical about hearing the crowd start off so noisy and then quieting them with just a song.

I've got a few Stateside shows coming up in September; I'm looking forward to getting back to Los Angeles for a visit!

Interview by Leah Brungradt