Notes from across the ocean

Indian-origin Australian singer-songwriter Reuben De Melo and Milan Ring take centre stage at the Australian High Commission

I always have my moments of doubt. Whether people are going to listen to my songs and kind of get the real story ….. If you didn’t doubt yourself, you wouldn’t be as passionate,” says Australian singer-songwriter Reuben De Melo. The Indian-origin singer who took home the title of The Voice Australia in 2024.

On Friday, February 13, De Melo and Australian songwriter, producer, engineer and musical director Milan Ring will take to the stage for G’Day & G’Green, an exclusive sundowner hosted by Philip Green, the Australian High Commissioner to India at the lawns of his residence in Chanakyapuri. The evening brings together two sharply distinct artistes who share roots with India.

For De Melo, who was born in Goa and raised there until the age of 10 before migrating to Western Australia, life has unfolded between geographies. “Music is in our blood in Goa. We had music in every gathering and our family would get together, play and sing in harmony,” he recalls.

The move to Australia, however, demanded adjustment. Cultural differences, bullying at school and the slow work of belonging. Music became a language that bypassed explanation. “When I got into music, I felt like I was easily communicating everything with everyone,” he recalls.

Before winning The Voice Australia in 2024, De Melo balanced songwriting with construction and mining work. A former FIFO worker, he performed at small gigs, hesitant to push himself forward. It was his wife who secretly signed him up for the television competition. His recent EP, When The Show’s All Over, looks inwards. The track American Odyssey wrestles with aspiration and identity, particularly the pressure to chase a globalised idea of success. “You don’t have to chase an American dream to make it. As long as we still have the fight in us, we can make whatever possible,” he says.

Songwriting, for De Melo, begins with words. He speaks of pulling over mid-drive to record a lyric that surfaces unexpectedly. The loss of a close friend, Josh Anderson, marked a turning point. “I wanted to tell his story. Maybe what he would have said if he had lived longer,” he says.

If De Melo’s creative instinct is lyric-led and rooted in memory, Milan Ring’s is architectural, built layer by layer from instinct and technical precision.

Her music journey began early. “I’d say the moment my mum bought me a nylon string guitar when I was in early high school and I started teaching myself songs from guitar tabs and by ear,” she says. From there, experimentation followed naturally. A band with friends in the final years of school became her first songwriting laboratory, but she had already been journaling and writing poetry. “Music has been a lifeline for me, a way to channel my emotions and questions of life into art”.

Growing up in Sydney’s inner western suburbs in the ’90s shaped her music and the way she looks at it. “Somewhere I felt that I both belonged and didn’t,” she reflects. Her move from Sydney to Berlin in 2024 has reframed that tension. She says, “I guess I have more of a sense of what home is to me now.” She adds that Berlin has freed her up a lot, “I feel more confident to follow my instinct, especially with song structure.”

As a self-taught multi-instrumentalist (she is a guitarist, vocalist and engineer), Milan curates every detail. “My writing process always begins in a different place. It consistently feels like I’m searching for something, like an excavation. The bones of the piece can be revealed in minutes, or I have to dig for weeks or months,” she explains.

Her connection to India runs deeper. “My grandfather grew up in India and migrated in his 20s to Australia,” she says. Though he passed away when she was young, his heritage lingered in the household. In vegetarian curry and the statues of Nataraja.

Musically, she encountered India through the ensemble project, Bridge of Dreams, collaborating with artistes such as Shubha Mudgal and Aneesh Pradhan. “It was incredible hearing this jazz Indian fusion being created. I have much more to hear and learn,” she says.

Over the past year, Milan’s meticulous approach has expanded her reach. Apple Music labelled her ‘Australia’s R&B Princess’. She performed at Splendour In The Grass with Red Bull Music, embarked on her debut headline tour, and earned a nomination for Best Live Act at the National Live Music Awards.

Yet her philosophy resists productivity metrics. “I’ve never used the term writer’s block,” she says. “ I need input, to go to shows and exhibitions, read and just live. But if I feel super stagnant, I would take myself out to experience new things, to learn, and to witness other art forms other than music”

I always have my moments of doubt. Whether people are going to listen to my songs and kind of get the real story ….. If you didn’t doubt yourself, you wouldn’t be as passionate,” says Australian singer-songwriter Reuben De Melo. The Indian-origin singer who took home the title of The Voice Australia in 2024.

On Friday, February 13, De Melo and Australian songwriter, producer, engineer and musical director Milan Ring will take to the stage for G’Day & G’Green, an exclusive sundowner hosted by Philip Green, the Australian High Commissioner to India at the lawns of his residence in Chanakyapuri. The evening brings together two sharply distinct artistes who share roots with India.

For De Melo, who was born in Goa and raised there until the age of 10 before migrating to Western Australia, life has unfolded between geographies. “Music is in our blood in Goa. We had music in every gathering and our family would get together, play and sing in harmony,” he recalls.

The move to Australia, however, demanded adjustment. Cultural differences, bullying at school and the slow work of belonging. Music became a language that bypassed explanation. “When I got into music, I felt like I was easily communicating everything with everyone,” he recalls.

Before winning The Voice Australia in 2024, De Melo balanced songwriting with construction and mining work. A former FIFO worker, he performed at small gigs, hesitant to push himself forward. It was his wife who secretly signed him up for the television competition. His recent EP, When The Show’s All Over, looks inwards. The track American Odyssey wrestles with aspiration and identity, particularly the pressure to chase a globalised idea of success. “You don’t have to chase an American dream to make it. As long as we still have the fight in us, we can make whatever possible,” he says.

Songwriting, for De Melo, begins with words. He speaks of pulling over mid-drive to record a lyric that surfaces unexpectedly. The loss of a close friend, Josh Anderson, marked a turning point. “I wanted to tell his story. Maybe what he would have said if he had lived longer,” he says.

If De Melo’s creative instinct is lyric-led and rooted in memory, Milan Ring’s is architectural, built layer by layer from instinct and technical precision.

Her music journey began early. “I’d say the moment my mum bought me a nylon string guitar when I was in early high school and I started teaching myself songs from guitar tabs and by ear,” she says. From there, experimentation followed naturally. A band with friends in the final years of school became her first songwriting laboratory, but she had already been journaling and writing poetry. “Music has been a lifeline for me, a way to channel my emotions and questions of life into art”.

Growing up in Sydney’s inner western suburbs in the ’90s shaped her music and the way she looks at it. “Somewhere I felt that I both belonged and didn’t,” she reflects. Her move from Sydney to Berlin in 2024 has reframed that tension. She says, “I guess I have more of a sense of what home is to me now.” She adds that Berlin has freed her up a lot, “I feel more confident to follow my instinct, especially with song structure.”

As a self-taught multi-instrumentalist (she is a guitarist, vocalist and engineer), Milan curates every detail. “My writing process always begins in a different place. It consistently feels like I’m searching for something, like an excavation. The bones of the piece can be revealed in minutes, or I have to dig for weeks or months,” she explains.

Her connection to India runs deeper. “My grandfather grew up in India and migrated in his 20s to Australia,” she says. Though he passed away when she was young, his heritage lingered in the household. In vegetarian curry and the statues of Nataraja.

Musically, she encountered India through the ensemble project, Bridge of Dreams, collaborating with artistes such as Shubha Mudgal and Aneesh Pradhan. “It was incredible hearing this jazz Indian fusion being created. I have much more to hear and learn,” she says.

Over the past year, Milan’s meticulous approach has expanded her reach. Apple Music labelled her ‘Australia’s R&B Princess’. She performed at Splendour In The Grass with Red Bull Music, embarked on her debut headline tour, and earned a nomination for Best Live Act at the National Live Music Awards.

Yet her philosophy resists productivity metrics. “I’ve never used the term writer’s block,” she says. “ I need input, to go to shows and exhibitions, read and just live. But if I feel super stagnant, I would take myself out to experience new things, to learn, and to witness other art forms other than music”