The cover of Mel Xkejfa’s new EP, Who, Me?

What happens when you decide you can’t carry on writing the same old songs and a treasured partnership comes to an end? This is the exact question Mel Xkejfa asks herself at the beginning of the press release accompanying her debut EP.

And “Mel who?” is possibly the question you’re asking yourselves next, unless, of course, you’ve had a chance to listen to Storyteller, the lead radio single off the debut EP, which Xkejfa – aka Melissa Portelli, formerly of popular Gozitan duo Chasing Pandora – has aptly called Who, Me?

Having balanced motherhood and music for at least five years now, Xkejfa has been working on re-launching herself as a solo artist since Chasing Pandora ceased to exist towards the end of 2011.

It’s better to be a bit naïve on an instrument because if you get too clever you can get carried away with things

“I’ve been working on the album for the past year,” she says, explaining that there was also the issue of what name she was going to use; essentially a toss-up between using a stage name or her real name.

“The thing is, everyone’s called me Xkejfa since I was a child; it’s a family nickname, so I thought since this album is an introduction to the real me as an individual artist, I might as well use it.”

But having been in a duo for a good number of years, how difficult was it stepping out on her own?

“I didn’t want to step from one band into another so there really was only one way to go,” she admits. “It was important that I moved away from Chasing Pandora, not because I didn’t believe in it, but because I didn’t want to become a creature of habit. I didn’t want to release an album for the sake of putting out an album.”

The singer decided to trust her instincts in doing her own thing and see where it would take her. The first place it took her was to a guitar tutor called Alex Mallia.

“I decided to take up guitar, which was something I had been wanting to do for some time,” she continues.

“Having been a lyricist and a singer for a long time, learning to play an instrument was the obvious next step, and Mallia provided her with the spark she needed, even encouraging her to write her own songs.

“He’s one of the best guitar players on the island and definitely an inspiration to me,” Xkejfa adds. “Eventually I asked him if he wanted to be a part of what I was working on, and he agreed to come on board.”

Starting over as a solo artist also meant people would be expecting something different, which is surely no easy task for any artist, let alone a relatively fresh musician with a lot to live up to.

“Well, I’ll always be the same Mel, so people will definitely find some similarities, at least in the voice, but this is also about me trying to find who I am as an artist,” she explains.

“I did think about trying to do something very different, but I was afraid it might come across as too contrived, so I opted to do what comes naturally to me.”

This is the way she’s always done things, and there’s no denying it’s worked well for her too. Something else she needed to do was find the musicians to work with.

A quick glance at the people involved in the EP reveals some familiar names.

“Yes, people like Dru Mayer, Simon Vella, and of course, Ismael Azzopardi, whom I’ve known a long time,” she agrees, “but there are also new people involved”.

Among the latter is Peter Borg of Red Electrick, at whose Railway Studios Xkejfa’s EP was recorded. “Peter was a great help. He and Steve Brown produced the EP, but they kept me involved every step of the way.”

Understandably, Xkejfa’s involvement was a crucial factor in the making of this EP but, she says there’s still room for her to flourish further.

“I’m still working with other people but now I’ve also started writing on my own, so the next step will be that most of the songs I use would be my own. That’s the point I really want to get to.”

Having learnt the guitar fairly recently should make this easier, but surely it remains a big challenge?

“Actually, you’d be surprised. It’s better to be a bit naïve on an instrument because if you get too clever you can get carried away with things,” she argues.

That said, one can’t help but notice a difference between her new material and Chasing Pandora’s sound.

“I suppose with Chasing Pandora we kept the sound simpler while this album has a full-blown production and more arrangements.”

And if something does ring familiar, it probably lies in the fact that her lyrics, as always, are inspired by her personal experiences, though it must be said that in Chasing Pandora’s final year, there was a more open feel to the words she wrote.

“That’s true, but they were still quite personal at heart,” she insists.

“The lyrics to these new songs were written rather subconsciously though. I didn’t know where they were coming from until I realised they reflected some kind of transition from the me of the past to who I am now.

“I suppose it’s about growing into an adult, though I still feel very young at heart.”

As true as this may be, the songs on Who,Me? nevertheless do reflect a certain maturity within the lingering melodies that sink in deeper with every listen, certainly whetting one’s appetite for what is to follow.

Mel Xkejfa will launch the Who,Me? EP with an evening of live music, performing brand new songs and unique covers at St James Cavalier Centre for Creativity, Valletta this Friday. Tickets cost €10 (including CD) and are available online.

www.sjcav.org