Melissa Tkautz is back with a brand new song ‘Gotta Let You Go’ which has seen her team up with popular DJ Digital Damage.
Melissa chatted with OUTinPerth’s Graeme Watson about the challenges of being a working Mum, her new collaboration with Digital Damage and why she’s passionate about stopping bullying.
I love the new track, you’ve teamed up with Digital Damage – who we love.
I’m really excited about it, this is my first track sine I gave birth to my second child. I did the ‘Greatest Hits’ record and then I got pregnant and pretty much took a year off to looks after him.
Having two children, Wow! It’s completely different. I didn’t do anything, I was house-bound with a baby. With my daughter Ayla, I was back after three months, this time it’s been a year. Different child, different timeframe, it shows that they’re all individuals.
I say this to everyone, I didn’t know what being a mother was until my son was born. That’s the honest truth.
I was reading your Twitter updates and seeing all your updates about the many challenges of children.
That’s my life isn’t it, I juggle that and then you’ll see ‘Oh rehearsal day, and OMG what I’m going to wear on stage!’ You try and juggle everything but it’s like I’m leading to separate lives because when I’m on stage this alter-ego ‘Melissa’ come out, and then when I’m at home – it’s the domesticated mother of two. It’s crazy.
I love your Instagram updates, they are very real.
It’s all real, it’s honest. Absolutely.
Well a lot of people have other people who do it for them, and you can tell it’s not realistic.
I know aren’t you proud that I do it myself. I do it all myself because if its not me it’s going to be ridiculous. This is my life, the kids, the performances, the outfits and doing your hair, and getting you’re eyebrows done. I’ve got to keep up appearances.
You share it all though, there’s a picture of you getting the foils in your hair, a lot of people just wouldn’t show that.
I want other women to realise that people in the entertainment industry and in front of a camera, don’t wake up looking glamorous. We’ve got to work at it too.
And, there’s nothing wrong with a Mum taking time out for herself to look after herself. I’m all for it.
Do you have any tips for Mum’s with challenging two year olds?
Just get rest when you can. That’s the biggest thing I can offer at this point. I like to work out, plus I’m working and tell you what, it can get really crazy at times. I find it really difficult to allow myself to rest.
As soon as I stop I think, ‘There must be something that I could be doing’. And it’s such a bad habit, because I’ve just found that to be a better wife, to be a better mother and a better artist – I need to find the time to rest , and it’s OK if you decide not to exercise.
What was it like making this record with Digital Damage?
It was different because I recorded the vocal and then Digital Damage took it and went into his little DJ cave and came up with, what he came up with. So it wasn’t us together in the studio. We met up and worked on things but we weren’t together in the studio.
He’s such an amazing DJ, he played at my 40th birthday party! He such a lovely guy and great to work with, what he came up with for my track is just amazing.
We went back and forth with a few things, and changed a few things here and there. He’s very much in the clubs and the dance world and the dance scene – and I’m not. I’m there when I need to be there but I’m not hanging out in clubs anymore. So I really had to take his knowledge of what’s happening and what’s current.
Digital Damage was great at helping us come up with something that was [pauses] I don’t want to say ‘too cool’ but I didn’t want something that was too out there. It still has to be relevant to me as a person and me as an artist. It had to be hip enough for the clubs, but I’ve also got to like it.
I mean, if I don’t like what I’m singing and dancing to on stage, what is the point.
You’ve done a lot of work as an advocate against bullying.
I’m so anti-bullying. It disgusts me. I have no tolerance against it what so ever. It doesn’t just affect the child, it affects the whole family. I think that applies on both ends.
If you know your child is a bully, or if your child is getting bullied, it doesn’t just affect the child it affects the whole family. If I knew that my daughter was getting bullied at school that would absolutely destroy me. I wouldn’t be able to cope.
As you say, if your child was a bully – you’d be thinking ‘What did I do?’
You’d be thinking “what did I do?’, ‘Where did I go wrong?’, ‘Where is it coming from’ – it’s just awful for everyone.
It’s such a widespread issue, you see bullying in the workplace, amongst the cool kids in nightclubs, it just knows no borders.
It really saddens me, why can’t everyone just get along. It’s not that hard to love the person next to you. I just don’t understand where bullying comes from, I struggle to understand what the bully gets out of it.
It’s so much easier to be nice.
Melissa’s new single ‘Gotta Let You Go’ is available now via iTunes.
Graeme Watson
