Jay Som: 2019

Los Angeles-based singer and songwriter Melina Duterte, who records as Jay Som, has been making music since she was a kid. Her first love was actually the trumpet, but writing songs on guitar was a lot easier, so she switched her main instrument.

These days, Jay Som plays everything, including bass, drums and keys, and she also records and produces all of her music. She has a serious work ethic; in fact, her last album was called Everybody Works.

Since the release of that last album, Duterte has been working with folks like Chastity Belt, Sasami Ashworth (SASAMI), and Justus Proffit, with whom she released a collaborative EP called Nothing's Changed. Proffit is also on her new album, Anak Ko, along with some other friends.

During this FUV Live session, I spoke with Duterte about the making of her new album and she played a couple of songs, "Nighttime Drive" and "Superbike," in Studio A.

[Recorded: 8/13/19; Engineers: Carly Johnson and Sam Lazarev; Producer: Sarah Wardrop]