New York's MELOMANE make smart, cinematic rock music. Their distinctive sound has been compared to such disparate acts as Magnetic Fields, Roxy Music, Elvis Costello, Calexico, Wings, and Stereolab. Some have called Melomane "the most European band in America," and others call them pop-noir. Experience the lush sonic textures, sweet harmonies, and biting yet hopeful lyrics and let your ears decide. “These tracks combine garage accessibility and boho poetry with an ingenuity that will win over intelligent listeners and show musicians just how far a band can travel…†(All Music Guide).
The band are currently mixing an EP of disaster-themed songs begun in a studio in the Pyrenees during a break from their August 2007 tour of France. It is their most rocking output to date, featuring the cynical/poetic/political lyrics of their first three albums, but wading into all-out guitar aggression, large-scale orchestral soundscapes, and bittersweet melodic heartbreak in turns. Or as LucidCulture.com puts it; “Living proof that epic grandeur can be synonymous with great fun.†The EP will feature a collaboration with LA-based singer/songwriter Eleni Mandell, who lends her vocal abilities to Melomane’s first French-only number, Allumette.
Glaciers (2006,Vermillion Music), Melomane’s 3rd full length CD release, expanded on the enormously appealing artful arrangements of the first two LPs. Most notably, the track I’m in Love with Love/The Ballot is the Bullet, is a timely and personal comment on the American political situation as it stands. From opening track Hilarious, a deft love waltz set against the backdrop of global warming, to final track Kill Kill Kill, a death-disco invocation against violence, this album thrills and chills throughout.
Melomane’s first two releases, Solresol (2003) and Resolvo (2001) received rave reviews throughout the US and Europe including Rolling Stone, Magnet, The Village Voice, Intro and more. These CDs are available in the US on the band’s Vermillion Music label via the band’s website www.melomane.org, myriad online distributors, and in Europe through Hamburg-based XXS Records/Indigo, Seahorse Recordings in Italy and Soyuz Records in Russia.
Originally conceived in 1998 by front-man Pierre de Gaillande, Melomane’s line-up eventually solidified to include bassist/vocalist Daria Klotz, cellist/synth-player Frank Heer, keyboardist Quentin Jennings, and drummer Kenny Savelson. Frequent additional performers include Eveline Feldmann (trombone), Jeremy Thal (trumpet, French horn) Jody Redhage (cello), Philippa Thompson (violin and saw), and Brad Stewart and Jesse Neuman (trumpet).
Over 6 years, Melomane have performed regularly in NYC at venues such as Joe’s Pub, Tonic, Mercury Lounge, BAM Cafe, Northsix, and many others. The group tours Europe each year and has appeared at festivals and venues throughout Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Spain, Italy, and France. They were sponsored by the US embassy in Moscow in September, 2006 for a four-concert series in Russia. Melomane has appeared in New York, nationally and internationally with artists such as Wilco, Keren Ann, Luna, Arab Strap, Eleni Mandell, Fastball, and many others.
Songs by Melomane are regularly featured on TV shows such as HBO’s Real Sex, Discovery Channel’s Alain Bourdain No Reservations, and various programs on MTV and VH1.
