My Musical Influences: MEL
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MEL is a three times Drum & Bass Arena award nominee and the first-ever female to break into the best producer category. She cut into the scene as a producer with her debut track ‘Protagonist’ on UKF last year. ‘Protagonist’ destroyed dance floors across the world and received amazing feedback from the likes of Andy C, A.M.C and Koven to name a few.
Known for her killer skills during live sets and her insanely entertaining radio residencies on our own Data Transmission Radio (catch her show every 4th Friday of the month) and Rough Tempo, MEL is also quickly becoming recognised as one of Drum & Bass’ finest up and coming producers. It is safe to say she is making waves in the scene right now.
MEL has honed her craft and skills by performing everywhere from dingy underground venues to prestigious festival stages. Combining firing selection with a silky technique she has caught the attention of Drum & Bass heavyweight brands such as RAM Records and Rampage. She recently released the hard-hitting ‘Live Wire’ on Viper Recordings as well as representing RAM on BBC Radio 1!
‘Live Wire’ is a warping slab of hard-hitting, neuro mix with a squelchy, jump up influenced bassline. Highly distorted synths twist through the body of the track weaving their way through layers of punchy stop-start hats and a thick soundscape full of techy hits. The ominous breakdown, laden with modulated vocals barely gives us a chance to catch our breath before we’re thrown back into the intoxicatingly relentless mix. Not one for the faint-hearted ‘Live Wire’ is going to spark some serious energy in the dance.
To celebrate her incredible success we recently had a catch up with MEL to find out about the music that’s inspired and influenced her career so far…
Does it Offend You, Yeah? ‘We are Rockstars’
This track instantly takes me back to the Indie Sleaze era, the party scene of the rise and peak of Myspace (RIP) I was definitely underage when this was happening but I would sneak out with my sister’s passport. This was my first taste of nightlife and I instantly fell in love with it. I loved the fusion of electro and rock and the fashion that came with it.
Rage Against The Machine ‘Killing In the Name Of’
I first started my DJ path 10 years ago in sweaty dive bars in Camden and this was a staple track in all my sets, it brings back a lot of memories. Rage Against The Machine are such a prominent band with such a strong message, I couldn’t not include them in this!
Pendulum ‘Masochist’
Growing up my music taste was always really varied but it was quite Rock and Metal centric, which makes sense for Pendulum to be my crossroad into Drum & Bass. I remember me and my friends had them on repeat in the summer of 2007 and ‘Masochist’ is a highlight track for me, it has such an epic intro and I always lose my shit when I hear it being dropped in the rave. I opened with this track when I performed at Rampage, so this track will always be up there for me.
The Prodigy ‘Breathe’
The Prodigy I just love full stop. It’s quite hard to pin point a favourite out of their huge discography that spans over decades, but ‘Breathe’ has to be up there for me. The track has so much attitude and feistiness about it, I love the grind of breakbeats and guitars. They are massively influential to me because they’re unapologetically themselves and don’t give a fuck, when they first came onto the scene they were different and that wasn’t accepted, to start with, but they trail-blazed their way through and as producers I am in awe of how they craft their samples.
Camo & Krooked & Mefjus ‘Mandala’
The entire ‘Mosaik’ album is a masterpiece from start to finish, I had it on repeat when it came out in 2017. Camo & Krooked really bought something unique and different to the table with this. It’s hard to pin point a favourite track but ‘Mandala’ I would say is the most inspiring to me as a producer.
Ed Rush & Optical ‘Alien Girl’
This classic is a staple in my live sets, for me it’s super important to not always play music from the recent years and to show your knowledge, especially if you’re playing to a mixed age crowd – I love throwing out classic curve balls! My productions take a lot of inspiration from Neurofunk and of course, Ed Rush & Optical are such pioneers for the sub-genre.
Nero ‘Innocence’
I love everything about this track, even the music video. The clips from the anime Cyber City Oedo 808 work perfectly with the song. Nero partly inspired me to go down a video game-style route when coming up with a concept and an idea for ‘Protagonist’.
Chase & Status ‘Pieces‘
Over a decade on and this track still gives me goosebumps. ‘More Than A lot’ was another entry point for me into Drum & Bass in 2008 and also to RAM!
Loadstar ‘Change the Channel’
Loadstar I would say are definitely one of my top inspirations when it comes to creating and producing music myself. The energy of their tracks and the quality of their productions is something that really captivates me. It’s so hard for me to whittle down to one Loadstar track but ‘Change The Channel’ gives me such an adrenaline rush every time I hear it.
Junk Mail ‘Lock Stock’
This track is a staple in my DJ sets, another huge inspiration when it comes to producing, I’ve been a big fan of his work since the Mind Vortex days. I am in awe of his skills as a producer, especially with sound design – I don’t think there’s one track i dislike from Junk Mail/Mind Vortex!
Make sure you grab MEL ‘Live Wire’ from here
