Biography
“There is an embrace to Merinda Dias-Jayasinha’s voice – it is an open palm for one to rest within.”
– Josephine Mead
Merinda Dias-Jayasinha is a unique genre-crossing Australian vocalist, recognised for preternatural intonation, creative versatility and sweetness and variety of tone, whether in a haze of vocal layers or a single heartfelt lyric.
Multi-talented and perennially pluralistic as a performer, composer and improviser, her music slips fluidly between genres and beyond into other disciplines, with recent projects exploring the nuance of her queer and diaspora identities installation, and oral history. While on home turf as a singer of songs, her debut album as a leader-composer, Sense, was released in 2022 to national critical acclaim.
In demand as a collaborator, Merinda’s voice is just as at home on a Sampology track as in a tower of reclaimed pianos in a remote Australian forest. Merinda performs regularly in leading jazz venues and festivals across Australia, and has released music with a myriad of unique collaborative ensembles: a quartet of voices and strings Meridians (MADE NOW MUSIC, 2018); trombone-saxophone-voice trio Strong Cotton Socks (ABC Jazz, 2020); and layered improvisation trio FIM (2024). Her voice adorns acclaimed recordings ranging from contemporary classical (Singing Stone, ABC Classics) to the tendrils that reach from jazz into avant-choral (Invenio Singers); indie (The Rest Is Silence); ambient minimalism (Claire Cross’s Sleep Cycle) and dance (Don Glori; Sampology).
Recent works have spilled into other forms. Dias-Jayasinha’s interest in text and vocal layering has spawned two works exploring her Sri Lankan-Australian heritage: The grey area is an audio journey through family oral history, The blue area a reconstructed bedroom space in which layered inner monologues surround the artist as she dresses in a saree. Frequent cross-artform collaboration brought her work to sound design (Siobhan MacKenna’s Rhythmic Fictions); theatre (Chamber Made’s Little Operations); video art (Freya McGrath’s The Receiver); digital art (H_ME W_RK Collective’s Digital Landscapes); and dance (Zöe Bastin’s That which was once familiar).
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“She has a dedication to stretching musical boundaries… She does not surround herself with safety nets… The hallmark is the determination of Dias-Jayasinha to allow her collaborators to be themselves, and for all of them to take creative flight.” – MUSIC TRUST
“The pillar of Merinda’s disarmingly unwavering voice allows for a gorgeous texture of sound and silence from her beautiful ensemble, with every choice adding to the imagery and intimacy of the song.” – GIAN SLATER
CV
Music (Lead Artist)
2024 | Live at Make It Up Club - Merinda Dias-Jayasinha, Grace Ferguson, Lily Tait, Abby Sundborn, Genevieve Fry
2024 | FIM - FIM (Flora Carbo, Isaac Gunnoo, Merinda Dias-Jayasinha)
2022 | Sense - Merinda Dias-Jayasinha
2022 | How We See (single) - Merinda Dias-Jayasinha
2022 | An Ear to the Edge - Merinda Dias-Jayasinha
2020 | Falling Towards You - Strong Cotton Socks (ABC Jazz)
2018 | first cycle - Meridians
Discography (Collaborator/Supporting Artist)
2025 | Songs for Dead Sailors - Toby Wren
2024 | Sleep Cycle - Claire Cross
2024 | Singing Stone: The Music of Christopher Sainsbury - Ken Murray
2023 | Yore - Charlie Hill
2023 | Galaxy - Sampology & Charlie Hill
2022 | Welcome - Don Glori
2021 | Regrowth - Sampology
2020 | I AM - Invenio Singers
2020 | FOTOS - Akihiro Nishiguchi
2020 | Stories We Tell, Songs We Sing - Matt Hoyne
2020 | A Short Film - The Rest Is Silence
2020 | Middle Name Dance Tracks Vol. 2 - Middle Name Dance Band
2020 | Crossing The Bar - Oscar Neyland and Merinda Dias-Jayasinha
2019 | Trading Fours (Celebrating Queensland Jazz History) - The Riversides
2019 | Music of the Piano Mill 2018 - Harrigans Lane Collective
2019 | Cruel Sea - Jonathan Cooper
2018 | Volume 1 - Brisbane Conduction Orchestra
2018 | Middle Name Dance Tracks Vol. 1 - Middle Name Dance Band
2018 | Seeds - Sam Stosuur
2016 | Light Shade Light - Gerard & Leo McFadden
Broader Artistic Practice - Projects and Collaborations
2024 | TIN! A Minor Opera, presented by Harrigans Lane Collective - Vocalist
2023-24 | Little Operations, facilitated by Chamber Made - Artist
2022 | Rhythmic Fictions by Siobhan McKenna - Sound Design
2022 | Digital Landscapes, as part of H_ME W_RK Collective, facilitated by Arts Gen - Artist
2022 | Let’s Take Over participant, facilitated by Darebin Arts Speakeasy - Artist
2022 | Mono-Poly at Liquid Architecture, commissioned by Josephine Mead - Artist
2021 | That Which Was Once Familiar by Zoë Bastin, (Dancehouse/Bus Projects) for Midsumma Festival - Live Musician
2020-22 | Isolation Improvisation Collective - Ensemble Member
2020 | The Receiver by Freya McGrath (The Dirty Laundry Collective) - Music and Sound Design
2019-ongoing | Invenio Singers - Member
2018, 2020 | 84 Pianos - Performer
2018-19 | Brisbane Conduction Orchestra - Ensemble Member
2018 | Noisy Women, presented by the Queensland Conservatorium - Performer
2018 | Easter at The Piano Mill, presented by Harrigans Lane Collective - Performer
Other Professional Experience
2025-ongoing | Melbourne International Jazz Festival - Associate Producer & Programs Coordinator
2023-24 | Melbourne International Jazz Festival - Festival & Programs Coordinator
2022-23 | Melbourne International Jazz Festival - Festival Administrator/Ticketing Manager
2022-ongoing | Moonglow Jazz Band - Manager
2022-24 | WTF Tuesdays Curator at The Brunswick Green
2021 | Melbourne International Jazz Festival - Festival Administrator
2021 | Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music, Monash University - Research Assistant (JPAIR)
2021-2022 | Lebowskis - Committee Member
2021 | Midsumma Pride volunteer
2019 | International Jazz Day - Production Volunteer (Stage/Artist Manager)
2018-19 | SuperSonic - Manager, Creative Producer
2017, 2018, 2019 | Generations In Jazz Vocal Scholarship Finalist
Selected Live Performances (Music)
2022 | The JazzLab (‘Sense’ album launch)
2022 | Melbourne International Jazz Festival (as part of Flora Carbo’s Take Note Commission ‘ECOSYSTEM’)
2022 | Wangaratta Festival of Jazz and Blues
2022 | Lebowski’s “An Exposition II” (part of Brunswick Music Festival)
2020 | MPavillion (Isolation Improvisation Collective)
2019 | Melbourne International Jazz Festival (Linda Oh ‘Aventurine’ with Invenio Singers)
2018 | Melbourne Women’s International Jazz Festival (Merinda Dias-Jayasinha Trio)
2018 | Brisbane Jazz Club (Meridians album launch)
2018 | Melbourne International Jazz Festival (Duo with Theo Carbo)
2017 | Brisbane International Jazz Festival (Merinda Dias-Jayasinha Quartet)
2016 | Bennetts Lane
2014, 2017, 2018 | Magnetic Island Jazz Festival
Publications
2023 | INSIDE THE MUSICIAN. Merinda Dias-Jayasinha: An ode to vocal music - Loud Mouth Music Trust
2021 | Interview with Tamara Murphy - Melbourne Jazz Co-operative Emerging Artist Interview Series
Press
2022 | The Music Show (ABC) - Interview with Andrew Ford
2022 | Loud Mouth Music Trust E-Zine - ‘Sense’ Album Review
2022 | Age of Leisure - Artist Profile
2022 | Music Feeds - ‘How We See’ Debut
Teaching
2019-22 | Princes Hill Secondary College - Voice Teacher, Choral Conductor
2018-19 | Brisbane Girls Grammar School - Workshop Facilitator/Composers Camp Tutor
2017-ongoing | Private Music Tutor (voice, piano)
2016-18 | Brisbane State High School - Private Music Tutor
2015 | Brisbane Girls Grammar School - Classroom Music Tutor/Administrative Support
Education
2021-ongoing | PhD student, Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music, Monash University
2015-18 | Bachelor of Music (Honours), Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University