Having performed and toured for many years in support of other artists’ music and theatre projects, including the folk-roots trio Jessica Pearson & The East Wind in recent years, Ottawa-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Malia Rogers has long yearned to fulfill a musical journey of her own. Having shared a few singles over the last five years, Malia’s quest to create a collection of tunes came to fruition back in late May with the formal release of her debut solo EP, “Chameleon.”
Produced and engineered by Neil Whitford “Chameleon” draws from the many influences that shaped Malia’s artistic vision, as well as shared experiences, vulnerability, and self-reflection. Adding her sheer musical talent, the resulting EP is a journey of love from so many broad perspectives. From finding ways to love oneself, to stretching out a loving hand to a suffering friend, and to see things more clearly and courageously walk away, Malia has crafted six original songs that breathe so much life and meaning into these messages.
While “Chameleon” is a brief 20-minute experience, we very quickly discover an artist who has clearly been perfecting her songwriting skills for a long time, with this resulting EP demonstrating Malia’s hard work and commitment to the artistry she was clearly destined to create. Striking a chord close to my own soul, I particularly love the brilliant vulnerability shared with listeners in the EP’s title track. Back home following a brief string of shows with Jessica Pearson & The East Wind, Malia Rogers kindly took time to chat with us about her music career and the release of the EP.
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You’ve built quite a portfolio thus far in the arts as a singer, musician, and actress; what made you decide to add on a solo EP now? (Special mention to your Welcome video that highlights the many facets of your musical talents! Loved this!)
Thank you! I’m grateful to have a multifaceted career in the arts and to get to grow by supporting other peoples’ projects and visions. But I’ve also been a songwriter since I was fourteen, and it’s consistently been my primary means of processing and sensemaking. Other projects can dry up, or rely on my being chosen by other people, or get interrupted by circumstances like pandemics – but music is always available to me. I turned back to songwriting in a meaningful way during COVID-19 and I’m so glad I did, because it helped me navigate a lot of uncertainty, loss, and relationship/life changes. I finally feel grounded and confident enough to share more of that practice with the world beyond my family and friends.
Having worked with Jessica Pearson, how did being a part of that trio shape the way you took on this solo endeavor?
Being a friend of Jess and a member of Jessica Pearson & The East Wind has done a great deal for me in terms of helping build my skills as a multi-instrumentalist, my network and community in Ottawa (where I’ve lived since 2020) and in the folk music world, and my confidence and sense of belonging as a singer-songwriter. There’s an ethos of lifting-each-other-up in that band and Jess is always so quick to share her experience, advice, contacts, and insight with me in ways that make me feel entirely capable of building my own project. It’s an incredible gift to be part of a group that affirms my self-worth, and I’m also deeply proud of the ways that I’ve stretched as a musician and artist through joining this project. I’m doing touring, session, and side-musician work for more artists these days, and I’m grateful for every opportunity to study someone else’s songs and figure out how I can complement them as a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist.
Share with us a little more about the song “Stay” and how you came to create something so beautiful and caring for mental health awareness.
Some of the songs on the Chameleon EP are recent compositions, and some are resurfaced artifacts from my late teenage years. “Stay” is one of the latter, and I wrote it directly after a tough conversation with a friend experiencing depression and suicidality. I’ve always been someone who jumps into action when challenges arise, and I remember it being very anxiety-provoking to not know what to do for my friend in that moment. I was still learning then that sometimes, all people actually need is for you to sit with them in the darkness for a while and remind them they’re not alone. “Stay” initially emerged as a kind of desperate prayer, but I hope that it can also be a song of comfort for people who are going through it or who have friends going through it. The official music video, which features my friend Emma Bayash, endeavours to capture that.
As a people-pleaser working to break many of these habits of disguise myself, I appreciated “Chameleon” the more as I listened to it. What inspired this track to become the title of your EP?
It wasn’t until late in the process of recording this EP that “Chameleon” emerged as the title of the whole project. I credit my producer Neil Whitford, who is as insightful as he is talented, with this thought: ‘Chameleon is the only song on the record that digs into my inner world without a second or third character involved (other than the general “you” of an audience). It’s the most stripped-down song on the project, and — instead of imploring another person toward forgiveness, accountability, compassion, healing, or hope — it sits in its own admission of self-erasure, which in some ways makes it the most vulnerable piece. There’s something powerful in shining considerable light on the darkest, smallest part of something.’
The project itself — spanning a lot of different sonic references and vibes — is chameleonic, as is my current artistic practice. When I’m treating myself with love instead of shame, I can view being a chameleon as a superpower and a source of personal growth. As long as I’m shapeshifting for myself, and not from a place of seeking to please others.
The Celtic influence that makes an appearance in your work is lovely. Can you share a little about growing up in Nova Scotia and the role it played in your growth as a musician?
Although I’m currently based in Ontario and have lived a few different places, Nova Scotia will always be my heart-home and the place I most associate with my music. For me, growing up there meant that — even though I didn’t spend my childhood fiddling and dancing at Ceilidh’s — music was deeply embedded in a lot of the culture, and surrounded me in almost subliminal ways. I got most of my musical ability from my dad and my dad’s family, and I’m extremely privileged to have been put in music lessons at a young age that informed my ear and intuition as a teenager and adult. It wasn’t until my early 20s — once I moved away and started picking up instruments like mandolin — that I started really appreciating and getting familiar with East Coast, Scottish and Irish musical traditions, learning repertoire, and absorbing some of that influence into my own sound and writing. I’m so glad to hear it comes through.
“Indefinitely” is such a sweet love song! I think we would appreciate having YOU around indefinitely (wink). Now that the EP is out there in the world, what should listeners expect next from you?
This year has been incredibly busy for me so far as a musician, and even though I just released “Chameleon” a couple of months ago, I’m already thinking about the next project. I’m really interested in writing about how relationships change through the life cycle, and have recently been writing about loss, aging, and non-traditional companionship in ways that celebrate change and embrace complexity. No new record in the works just yet, but it’s definitely coming.
In the meantime, I’ve been accepted into the ‘RBCxMusic 2025 First Up’ program and will be learning from lots of great mentors through the fall, as well as performing onstage with ‘Theatre Gargantua’ in their actor-musician project “Dissonant Species” this November in Toronto. I just finished touring out east with Jessica Pearson and the East Wind and have some exciting solo shows and band dates coming soon. Don’t be shy – let me know where I should play next 😉
Thanks again for the chat. Hmm, to that final statement – I wonder if we can coax you down here to central PA? We will be keeping an eye on your calendar in the meantime, that’s for sure.
Photo Credit: Curtis Perry / Jessica Pearson
Jess has always enjoyed a wide range of music genres and eras. Connecting deeply with classical music, she played cello from grade school through high school, and although no longer actively playing, her affinity for finding an emotional connection to music is still strong. Residing in central PA, she is new to the Canadian music scene and enjoys listening to new artists as a way to break away from “the usual.” Jess is an avid yogi who often finds a sliver of peace while on the yoga mat with good music playing in the background.
