THE POLYMATHS OF MELODICA, MELODY AND ME

THERE’S a lot to learn about Melodica, Melody and Me.
The Brixton six-piece have as many assorted facets as the eclectic range of instruments they employ.
Take singer Huw Williams.
On face, he’s a polite singer and musician who formed a band with his schoolmates – a band which has progressed to touring with Mumford and Sons, Laura Marling and Bombay Bicycle Club among others.
Inquire further and you find he’s a philosophy graduate and special needs teaching assistant.
But it’s not until much later that Huw reveals he’s just completed his tree surgeon qualification, is a bit of an environmentalist and used to grow vegetables on his own allotment – all at just 23.



He’s not unique, among the group are a mental health worker and a sports journalist student who’s somehow managed to rope eminent political philosopher Noam Chomsky into an email exchange on his thesis on the socialist nature of American sports.

Not a simple lot, Melodica, Melody and Me are tough to define.
They have at times referred to their music as folk-step “but it never stuck”, said Huw.
Central to their sound is the melodica, but the Kora and the Charango (a Latin American lute) are also in there as their harmonies and folk finger-picking are laid over Andean sounds, reggae skanks and African rhythms.

The work of legendary dub producer Augustus Pablo shaped their use of the melodica said Huw: “He plays it on dub and reggae tracks, that’s what defined our sound at the start. We played acoustic instruments but with the melodica playing reggae-ish melodies or sort of skank.
“When we first got the melodica we thought it was special but it turns out they’re used all over the world to teach kids how to play the piano. So in some parts of the country it’s like the most annoying instrument in the world – the equivalent of the recorder.”

They’re haunted by their choice of band name, inspired by Roald Dahl’s The Giraffe The Pelly and Me.
They wanted to use the word melodica and liked the alliteration but it seems no-one can get it right: “The amount of times we’ve had it in reviews and billings as something completely different like Medolica, Medallions and Me. They’re coming up with better ones!”

They’re lucky enough to be able to record in guitarist Rudi’s old bedroom, which has been converted into a home studio, with the help of Rudi’s father, Bafta-winning sound editor of The King’s Speech, André Schmidt.
Huw said: “It’s good we’ve got access to good equipment but without having to pay the hourly rate at a studio – it’d bankrupt the whole thing.”
The four boys only really began playing instruments aged 17, later bringing in Rudi’s sister Anna (vocals) and drummer Greta – they all attended the same school.

They’ve played Camden a few times: “Whenever we play there, we always try and find food first, struggle really badly, eat those cheap pizzas and end up feeling really ill. And we get enticed by the Chinese foods – it always seems like such a good idea.”

How does he compare the scene here with Brixton?: “Brixton’s a good place to come for music, there’s the Hootenanny and The Windmill, it’s one of the few places in South London where you get to see live bands play. Camden’s really good but there’s a bit more relaxed, gritty, grimy atmosphere I suppose in South London. But it’s changing. Brixton is getting so trendy these days that it kind of feels like east London sometimes.”
Growing up in Brixton “inspired us to be more open to exploring different types of music. There’s so much noise and vibrancy,” said Huw.



They’ve just toured with Johnny Flynn: “We did an acoustic line up with only four of us so we all crammed into one car and were driving round the country. Luckily in every town we had a friend of a friend who let us sleep on their floor. It was in the height of the winter and the snow and we were sleeping on kitchen floors, having the worst night sleep but it was good. I don’t think it’s ever glamorous – the most glamorous it gets is staying at the Holiday Inn. I think I prefer to be at a mate’s house.”

They also forged friendships with Bombay Bicycle Club with whom they toured in July: “We hung out with them quite a lot, they’re really young as well, really nice, quite not shy but quite quiet, they’re really gentle guys. The funny thing about touring is you get very few windows to actually hang out and get drunk because you’re always driving on to the next gig but we did our best. On the last night of the tour we had a big party at one of their houses.”

The band are working on their debut album but haven’t picked a name yet.
Said Huw: “That’ll be a big discussion, that might lead to a fight. You don’t want to name it after one of the tracks or maybe you do but then you don’t a name you’re embarrassed about for the rest of your life. Our band name gets derided enough, we’ll have to balance it out with a good name for the album.”
Melodica Melody and Me play the Lock Tavern on February 22.