Emmy Meli is in a reflective place right now. With her new All About Love EP, she’s looking at love from every angle and asking herself some bigger questions along the way.

After the huge global moment of “I Am Woman,” she could have stayed in big empowerment anthem mode. Instead, she turned inward. Written during her first proper stretch of being single in adult life, All About Love digs into romance, ego, friendship and self-worth, inspired by bell hooks and created alongside producer Swindle. It feels personal, reflective and a little fearless.

“Other Things” captures that energy perfectly. It’s vulnerable but self-aware, sitting in that messy space between craving intimacy and trying to break old habits. Even stripped back, her voice does most of the heavy lifting.

For this 18 Questions, Emmy talks solitude, unlearning patterns, creative freedom and what it really looks like to build a life that centres love on your own terms.

1. What’s the very first thing you do when you wake up on a day that actually matters to you?

Not going on my phone for the first hour of my day, making my coffee, and writing/reading!!

2. What’s a small ritual you’ve picked up in the last year that you didn’t realise you needed until it stuck?

Definitely writing my 5 morning pages every day rain or shine, along with a gratitude list. I’ve always journaled a lot but setting aside the time every single morning no matter what has changed my life.

3. When was the last time you surprised yourself?

I surprise myself every day I think!

4. What kind of environment do you need around you to feel creative right now?

Quiet, peaceful, full of fun and joy. But I need to be alone to be creative right now!

5. What song, film, or book do you keep returning to when you’re looking for clarity?

I always turn back to reading The 7 Spiritual Laws of Success.

6. How has your relationship with silence changed as you’ve gotten older?

I’ve begun to value and enjoy it, for within the silence I find my truth. I no longer fill voids solely for the sake of filling.

7. What’s something people assume about you that isn’t quite true?

I actually have no idea what people assume about me yet, I don’t pay mind to negative comments!! I’m sure there’s a lot of crazy stuff they think about me! Maybe that I’m not authentic? That’s definitely far from truth lol. Maybe they think I’m nepo which would be sooooo wild.

8. When you’re feeling overwhelmed, what helps bring you back into your body?

Immediately I turn on self love frequencies and eat dark chocolate. I breathe and breathe and breathe and sing about what I’m feeling!!

9. What version of yourself do you feel most protective over these days?

I feel most protective over my 20-21 year old self right now, poor baby was so sick and lost and confused and deserved better!!

10. What does “success” look like to you when no one else is watching?

Success is knowing in my heart that I truly feel, love, and stand by the art I’m making. To me it is simply living in truth and being present in enjoying it.

11. All About Love came from a period of being single for the first time in your adult life. What did solitude teach you that dating never could?

Solitude taught me that I am the best company! Only in solitude am I able to talk to my heart and my belly, appreciate their beauty, and hug myself!! No one else can recreate that specific feeling. It fills my cup so I can pour into others!

12. You’ve spoken about reading All About Love by Bell Hooks while writing this EP. How did that book reshape the way you think about love, femininity, and self-worth?

All About Love created a new avenue for the female perspective when men are not a part of decision making. It allowed me to decenter men and unlearn a lot of patriarchal structured thinking. I began to ask myself, what would my art look like if I decentered the male gaze? What would my interests look like? My likes and dislikes? My fashion? Even friendships? I felt my bonds with the women in my life grow in a more beautiful and authentic way, and the space to truly grow into MYSELF was finally freed.

13. This project looks at love through a sociological lens rather than just a romantic one. Why did it feel important to explore love in all its forms?

I think love takes thousands of forms aside from romantic love. It is my personal opinion that love is the meaning of life and the center of our being. If love is confined to solely romance, how can we experience the meaning of life and come to understand how magical the world can be? Once we decide what love truly means to us we can begin to see humanity and our relationships from a new perspective, thus creating real change. I felt it was important to explore this!

14. This is the first release where you’re the sole songwriter. How did that level of vulnerability change the way you approached the studio?

It completely changed the way I approached what I wanted to say. I didn’t have anyone telling me what/how to write or change what I originally wanted to say. I didn’t write these songs with a public release in mind either, I wrote them as therapy. It was cathartic and freeing! It allowed me to be more creative than I’ve been in a long time, giving my true self, not polished self, a chance to shine.

15. Working with Swindle sounds like it went beyond just making music. How did those conversations about spirituality and worldview find their way into the songs?

Swindle is like family and we share a lot of similar views. Since I only see him in bits and pieces when I’m in London we have long catch ups about everything. Spirituality and family always bleed into the conversation and somewhere in between talking aliens and patriarchy one of us is like: wait, that’s a song, lol.

16. “Other Things” feels both intimate and quietly defiant. What emotional space were you in when that song came together?

Strangely enough I was in an all too familiar space — being single but finding myself craving intimacy again. I had a crush on someone and was like oh god here I go again, why am I like this? I’m genuinely addicted to dating and don’t know how to stop! I’ve found in young adulthood toxic relationships were a vice for me to avoid being alone. This song begged to explore that metaphor and ditch/heal that mindset. It worked lol.

17. You’ve described this EP as liberation. What were you freeing yourself from while making All About Love?

I think I was freeing myself from my old life entirely. Freeing myself of inhibitions, old patterns, old ways of thinking, holding back, fear, people from my past, being told what to do and what kind of artist to be. It was kind of a big “fuck your opinion, I’m gonna do me and take up space and you’re all gonna love it and sit down and shut up!!!” I was born anew.

18. When listeners sit with this project from start to finish, what do you hope they discover about love or about themselves?

I hope my listeners discover it’s ok to want more magic in their lives and get the confidence to make that possible. I hope they feel heard and inspired. I hope it makes them dance naked and fill themselves with patience and kindness.

All About Love is out now, follow via @emmymelimusic