March 4, 2026February 27, 2026

Interview with me:she

“I grew up playing classical piano, listening to Chicago, Nina Simone, Enya, Tragically Hip, all the great northern Sarah’s.”

NHAM: Hey me:she! How are you? And where are you right now?

me:she: Good morning! I’m at home with a fine oat milk latte I just made.

NHAM: Mmm! Your new album, ★ S P A C E ★, is an absolute triumph and its release has given us the chance to sit down with you and delve a bit deeper in to the world of me:she. So tell us…

How long have you been performing as me:she? Who else is involved? And did anything come before that?

me:she: It was around 2019 that I started using me:she when I would release tunes. It had been a while since Michelle Dumond had any resonance with me as a name and I wanted something fresh. Meshe was who I was to my friends (pronounced me-sheeeeeeeee, with a great deal of enthusiasm by my violinist friend Ciera). Before that I was releasing music as Michelle Dumond – art-folk and mantra mostly, while I was learning to sing and play pop/folk/jazz. I had some wonderful players to collaborate with then and some of them still say yes when I ask them to come into studio, so the good fortune continues.

NHAM: Tell us more about that name, ‘me:she’? Derived from your first name, we assume. A ‘me’ who is a ‘she’ split by a colon but sometimes also a question mark or even a musical rest?

me:she: My mom always called me meshe, it’s a nickname for Michelle. Then when I got heavily into meditation around 20 years ago, examining the constructed nature of forms – that’s when the me with a musical rest started. Having to fit into streaming platform naming schemes forced the colon upon me (but maybe also helped people know both the pronunciation and my pro-nouns?) Actually, I’m of the era that pro-noun disclosure at the beginning of gatherings only started occurring when I was an adult. So, then people started thinking that’s why I had this name. I try not to be confusing, but sometimes reality is complicated!

NHAM: You described ★ S P A C E ★ as a life-long art therapy project! Tell us about the process, and has it been a success in that respect?

me:she: Yes and no. I was diagnosed with MS as a young person and that has shaped the trajectory of my life and art. Making music has ever been something I do mostly secretly, for myself. In fact, I started out playing music because I would hide from bullies in a piano room at school. I was on the medical doctor route before the MS derailed a lot of ambitions and made me re-evaluate my life path.

NHAM: There’s a really wholesome vibe that flows throughout your work in general, not only on this album. It’s reflective both on a human level and with regard to the natural word. Your sound feels pretty unique. You like to play around with different instrumentation, rhythms and tempos, even within a single song. With all of that in mind we’d love to know more about your inspiration and influences. Who and what is to thank for the me:she sound?

me:she: I grew up playing classical piano, listening to Chicago, Nina Simone, Enya, Tragically Hip, all the great northern Sarah’s. My mom is from the Caribbean, Trinidad, her family line got there through the indentured labour highway in cane from South India. My dad has Irish and French roots and loves to sing. Actually they both love music. I went to jazz school for a year (then got a grant to make an album and dropped out). I was in an Afrobeat band playing keys for a while…and also I had some very musical partners that taught me a lot. Plus there’s everything my collaborators bring to the tunes – they are giants in my musical world – Cat especially has been so supportive and is such an amazing musical light in my life. John’s musical arranging mind on sax blows me away literally =) …he’s got such a reedy tone.

NHAM: Whilst often being sincere and reflective, there is almost always a dose of humour within your lyrics/their performance. Is that something you consciously weave in, or is it just a natural reflection of your personality coming through?

me:she: That’s definitely my personality. And maybe I’m trying to balance the earnest? Earnest-ness?

NHAM: Are there any standout tracks on the album for you? Whether that be a finished track itself or something from within its composition which made it so.

me:she: Right now I’m listening to INTERSTITIUM – the continuous instrumental version of ★ S P A C E ★. I released it on vinyl as well. The bass and keys come out a lot more, and I’m here for that at the moment.

NHAM: This is your first release since the brilliant SWEETIE and its accompanying video came out last year. I believe SWEETIE had originally been intended to be on the album but ended up being left out. Why was that?

me:she: Sweetie was such a hard track to make. I have been struggling with fatigue and my arms quite a bit and have to wait for a good day to do anything. Plus when you rage against the machine there is always push-back, so the track went through many technical hitches (I won’t go into them here, but it was excruciating). The video instantly came together though, out of random bits I managed to shoot on my iphone 5s. I think it was done that night! The feel of Sweetie was so different than the other tunes, I thought it best to leave Sweetie as the “frame” or the “soup” that all the other tunes were swimming in. I included Sweetie in the downloads, but it’s not on vinyl. If someone wants it on vinyl, I can do that, though! Easy-peasy made-on-demand.

NHAM: Outside of music what do you like to get up to?

me:she: My life goals at this point are taking care of my body and mind to lessen the burden on my family and loved ones. I do have an acoustic folk album in mind though…

NHAM: With the album now out, what does the rest of 2026 look like for you?

me:she: Recovering from making an album =) Plus working towards a NHAM in Concert livestream later in the year of some of the tunes from the folk album!

NHAM: It’s been lovely to catch up with you. Wishing ★ S P A C E ★ all of the success it deserves!