Meeting Mia Wray is like stumbling upon a journal you weren't meant to read — except she's left it open on purpose, dog-eared pages and all. The Melbourne-based artist's debut album 'hi, it's nice to meet me' arrives as both confession and celebration, a chronicle of self-discovery.

Wray's approach to unveiling her truth feels refreshingly unpackaged. Like reading Patricia Highsmith in a coffee shop or discovering Tegan and Sara's 'The Con' for the first time, there's an electric current of recognition running through her work that makes even the most intimate admissions feel like shared secrets.

The album represents a culmination of over a decade's worth of artistic evolution, though its most pivotal moments emerged from more recent revelations. "I've been writing music for the past 10+ years, so I'm very ready for this to be out!" Wray explains, noting the album's expansive timeline. "There's a song on this record that is 6 years old and some as new as a year old, so the timeline is massive..."

"I met a girl, and she changed the game for me," Wray reveals, with the kind of directness that characterises both her music and her conversation. "Two weeks later, I was on a plane to London for a writing trip, and I couldn't stop thinking about her and what she represented for me. I was in a long-term straight relationship, so it was a pretty emotionally turbulent time."

That turbulence became the creative catalyst for an album that spans a lifetime of self-discovery. Like a musical version of Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking — if Didion had been grappling with sexuality instead of grief — 'hi, it's nice to meet me' transforms personal upheaval into artistic breakthrough.

The journey unfolds with each song marking a different stage of awakening. The process mirrors what psychologists might call radical acceptance, but with a soundtrack that ranges from intimate confessionals to triumphant declarations. Throughout the record, Wray navigates what she describes as "the five stages of grief/self-discovery...?"

"I was sadly surprised at how deeply closeted I was," Wray admits. "I really thought I knew myself until I found myself saying hello to myself for the first time in a long time. This was where the album title came from."

Literature plays a crucial role in Wray's journey of self-discovery, particularly Taylor Jenkins Reid's The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, which tells the story of fictional actor Evelyn Hugo's life through her relationships.

The novel's impact on her songwriting process reveals itself in unexpected ways, especially in the track 'Not Enough'. "When I wrote 'Not Enough' with Pip and Rob, I was basing it off this book because I was too scared to be open about my sexuality," she explains. "Even though it's technically about two women falling in love in the 1950s - whenever I sing it, I'm thinking about my experience."

This literary influence extends beyond mere inspiration — it provided a safe harbour for exploring identity before Wray was ready to claim it directly. "I read this pre-everything," she reflects. "On a subconscious level, it connected straight away. I think just reading about a woman falling in love with another woman was just so devastatingly beautiful to me."

The album's emotional centrepiece arrives in the form of 'Sad But True', a track that crystallises the bittersweet nature of self-discovery. "It's about the sad truth behind my break up with my partner of seven years," Wray shares. "I loved him so much, but I wasn't happy... and in order to be 'me', I needed to let him go and that version of myself."

Like Glennon Doyle's Untamed — another literary touchstone Wray cites as significant — the album doesn't shy away from the collateral damage that often accompanies personal revolution. Instead, it examines the complexity with the kind of nuance usually reserved for prestige television character studies.

The process of creating such vulnerable work while maintaining emotional boundaries presents its own challenges. "It's a bit of a wobbly walk between the two," Wray acknowledges. "I just listen to my gut. I do wear my heart on my sleeve quite a bit and I have a few rituals and affirmations to help feel safe and protected if I've opened up a wound too many times."

This delicate balance between revelation and self-preservation suggests there's more still to come. When asked about material that didn't make it onto this record, Wray confirms: "Yes, many many things. There are so many albums to make, and I'm really looking forward to it."

As she prepares for an extensive tour that will take her across Europe and Australia, Wray's focus shifts to translating these intimate revelations to the stage. "I'm just getting ready to go on tour overseas, so lots of rehearsals and looking after my health," she notes, adding that she's particularly excited about her upcoming Australian tour "beginning at the end of March."

The future promises more exploration, both geographical and emotional. When asked about her next songwriting direction, Wray responds with characteristic openness: "Probably LA? I've been doing a few writing trips there that I've been enjoying. Many of my peers here in Victoria are some of my favourite songwriters, so I sometimes hit those people up for a session, too."

'hi, it's nice to meet me' stands as more than just a debut album — it's a document of metamorphosis, a testament to the courage required to rewrite one's own story. Some artists make albums that sound like diaries; Mia Wray has created something that feels more like a mirror, reflecting back not just her truth but the potential for transformation in anyone willing to look deeply enough.

"There are so many albums to make, and I'm really looking forward to it," Wray says, hinting at future chapters yet to be written. In the meantime, this first volume serves as both introduction and invitation — a hello to herself that doubles as a welcome to anyone else who might be searching for the courage to say hello to their own truth.