Melodica, Melody and Me

Melodica, Melody and Me

Melodica, Melody and Me should be filed under....and therein lies the problem. This young South London six piece have such a beguilingly and unique sounds that they demand a purpose built category of their own. Having toured with Laura Marling, Mumford & Sons, Bombay Bicycle Club and Johnny Flynn, it's little wonder that they're often shoved into the nu-folk box. But it's an uncomfortable categorization that barely scratches the surface of their rich and truly international sound.

In fact, folk is a term that sells them quite criminally short. This is a band whose music spans as many continents as it does genres, whose songs seamlessly marry Latin American notation with African-inspired rhythms, while blurring reggae style skanks with traditional folk finger picking. On paper it might sound awkward, but in practice it's simply sublime. As the Observer Music Monthly put it: "Incredibly beautiful, with harmonies and rich instrumentation that make you want to dance and cry at the same time."

As well as more traditional elements such as guitars, bass and drums, they favour both the melodica (obviously), the Kora and the Charango – a Latin American ten stringed lute. Multiple melody lines are woven in and out of one another to create warm and textured music that relishes in its own contradictions: For example, new single Come Outside features eclectic yet coherent melodica lines, charango riffs, kora grooves and violin swoons all swimming together in equal-weighted harmony. Combined with Huw and Anna’s deeply-felt vocals, it makes for a song that is instantly attractive but with subtle depths that promise new discoveries with every listen. The same might be said for the entire MMM catalogue which is a diverse mix of sounds, intelligent and complex yet totally accessible.

At first glance it might seem strange that six guys and girls from Brixton - for whom the average age is still just 21 - can create such compelling globe-trotting music without it ever sounding contrived. But South London is a melting pot of communities from every corner of the world, and Huw, Anna, Rudi, Emilio, Greta and John grew up surrounded by the sounds of their foreign neighbours. On the basis of Brixton's well-known Caribbean community, it's little wonder that reggae played a major role in their earliest recordings – so much so that one of their first compositions borrowed the chords from a Lee Scratch Perry tune.

A combination of this adventurous musicality and their high-energy live performances soon saw them travelling far outside South London. Barely a year after their first gig in 2007 they were hitting the festival circuit, playing to major crowds at Camp Bestival, Secret Garden Party, Electric Picnic, Green Man and even headlining the Club Dada stage at Bestival.

This was when Anna was just 16, and while Huw, Rudi and Emilio were still at university. For practical reasons (they often had to sneak Anna into venues that she was too young to normally visit) and to allow everyone to focus on their education, they didn’t pursue the band as a full-time career. But even an absence of official releases and scant promotion couldn’t stop the music from taking on a life of its own. After establishing devoted fanbases in their respective university towns – Brighton, Manchester and Leeds – the band watched as the music travelled the UK by word of mouth and the usual Internet zing. Before long they were hearing reports of their songs playing in cafes in towns they’d never even been to. One girl they’d never met before approached them after a gig in Scotland and announced that she had performed one of their tracks for her music college audition. And somehow the music also made it around the world. The band were surprised to be approached at another show by a couple of fans from Namibia. And after the UK and US, Mexico is one of the countries with the highest download hits on their MySpace.

It’s worth pausing for thought here and considering that the bulk of this substantial success has been based solely on demos and dynamic live shows. Logic suggests the band will have an even greater impact now they’re releasing official material – with the full backing of the Everybody’s Stalking label. Debut single Piece Me Back Together was playlisted by XFM last summer, and enjoyed repeated outings on Radio1, Radio2 and 6Music. And similar exposure is expected of forthcoming single Come Outside (released April 4) and the band’s debut album, due out on Everybody’s Stalking on July 4. A further indication of just how seriously MMM take the music, the band have spent the past year turning Rudi’s bedroom into a professional recording studio, where they’ll be producing the album themselves along with the help of Rudi and Anna’s father, the Bafta-winning sound editor of The King’s Speech; André Schmidt. And a range of other musicians are also expected to perform on the record, including celebrated Brighton composer Nick Pynn, who has already leant his virtuoso fiddle skills to Come Outside.

It should be clear, however, that the band don't need much help. With a solid UK fanbase in place, high profile press plaudits and youth still on their side, they're positioned to become one of the hottest new acts of 2011. More importantly, they have the proven musical intellect and vision to carry themselves above and beyond any passing trend. When nu-folk is just a distant memory, Melodica, Melody and Me will still be defining their own sound - whatever it might be.