Singer songwriter realizes her dream and releases debut album
By Nancy Kelly
Melanie
Samson, a Cape Breton native currently living in western Newfoundland,
is realizing her dream and releasing her debut CD.
“La
Route Courbee” is a direct influence of her French roots and culture.
Samson grew up with French parents and French as her first language.
She feels that writing and singing in her native language is very
important. Her full length album features twelve original songs in both
French and English and focuses on cultural identity and rural living.
“If
you lose your language, then you lose a part of your culture,” said
Samson. “You lose a part of who you are and if you let it go too far
then it will be too late. If people become interested in finding out
who they are, you suddenly find a lost set of people who don’t have
these cultural references anymore. It is very important to pass this
down.”
As a child Samson was always
interested in music. She sang in church choirs, variety shows and even
on stage with one of her idols, Natalie MacMaster. Some of her
influences include the traditional music she grew up with, as well as
artist such as Ti- Jardin, Dolly Parton, Bob Dylan and Gord Downie.
Growing up, Samson never thought that making music could be a feasible career.
“I
was never interested in making this my life’s work,” Samson said. “I
would have liked to but it seemed too unrealistic. Music is a risky
business. It was never a conscience decision to record an album but I
was always a singer.”
After high
school Samsom went to university and received her education degree,
bringing her to the west coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. She met a
friend in university from the Mainland who gave her the idea of
teaching on the French Shore. Samson teaches at Ecole Ste. Anne in Cape
St. George. The school is a K-12 French school.
“A
lot of my inspiration comes from here,” said Samson. “Moving to
Newfoundland and Labrador I could see the world through new eyes, a new
place and new situations. Teaching and being around young people gets
you inspired by the new generation and you see how important it is to
pass things on.”
The CD was
recorded at the l'Association regionale de la cote oust, the
francophone association on the west coast of Newfoundland and Labrador.
“ARCO is a great tool,” said Samson.
“It’s free and that is wonderful for the people who want to pursue a
music career and don’t have any outlets.”
Samson is currently in Ottawa finishing her masters but is not giving
up on singing and songwriting. She has already started writing for her
next CD. The official release party for “La Route Courbee” is scheduled
for mid -December. Copies of her CD are available at the ARCO offices
in Mainland or at Party Sounds in Stephenville.