After more than five years without new music, the Filipino-American musician Melina Duterte, known by her stage name Jay Som, has returned with a new album titled Belong. Her latest album layers her trademark introspective lyricism with heavier guitar-driven tracks, while still carrying the melodic instincts that made her earlier work so distinct. The record also reflects her admiration for the artists who shaped her own tastes, featuring collaborations with Jim Adkins of emo pop band Jimmy Eat World and alternative rock act Paramore’s Hayley Williams.
Som has quietly built one of the most impressive resumes in indie rock. Her contributions to the scene goes back nearly a decade ago with her debut album Turn Into in 2016. In this exclusive interview with Rolling Stone, Som has become known not only as a songwriter but also as a producer, arranger, and collaborator who has left her mark across some of the most beloved records in recent memory.
When the pandemic halted touring in March 2020, Som stepped further into studio work, lending her touch to projects that shaped the sound of a generation. She contributed to the debut album of boygenius, the indie supergroup of Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and her longtime friend Lucy Dacus, as well as records from Illuminati Hotties, Vagabon, and Chastity Belt.
“I’ve been a fan of Melina’s music for years,” Dacus tells Rolling Stone via email. “Getting to be up close to see her work as a player, engineer, producer, and band member has been a real treat. I think she has room to be way less humble; she can pretty much do everything and anything.”
At one point, Duterte thought about leaving her Jay Som project just to pursue producing for other artists full-time. “I did have those moments where I was like, I have no business singing,” she says. “What’s the end game here? Just classic imposter syndrome. Like, am I too old?”
Turning 30 has given Som a new perspective. Rather than signaling an end point, it has become a reset. She speaks of wanting to expand her repertoire, work with more Asian artists, and eventually spend time in the Philippines with her family.
“I just want to get better,” she says. “I want to collaborate with more people on the off days and weeks on tour, and I want to get into the studio and record people whenever I’m in their city. I want to write new songs.”
