The Distractions & Luxuries of Mela Roos
In the beginning there was Hope Behnken , an alluring and disarmingly transparent folk guitarist/singer-songwriter making a distinctive impression on the Los Angeles music scene. After spending seven years developing herself as a solo artist (including graduating from ORU with a degree in Music Composition, and time studying at the Contemporary Music Center at Martha's Vineyard) Hope teamed up with talent manager Wogbe Maestro Ofori to reconstitute a new vision for her artistry that had not yet been experienced at least not in this reality. On April 29th 2005, pioneering alternative folk-rock band Mela Roos was conceived.
Mela Roos is as much a way of approaching music as it is a band. Everything we do is focused on establishing and growing the personal relationships between us, our music, and you our fans. To us everything we do must serve those relationships. So, the usual industry process of demoing songs, playing gigs (as opposed to shows), chasing after A&R, try to get a record deal, etc. is out. It's all about the fundamentals - strong songwriting, the live performance, and finding people who are willing to move from supporters to fans (consumers). Once we've gotten those things humming, everything else will come to us.
Mela Roos music is strangely unique and deeply personal. The story-driven lyrics often tell tales of romance & loss, idealism & introspection, factual observation & irony. But no matter what Hope (pun intended) is at the center of it all. Mind you, Mela Roos is not mainstream, per se. For those needing comparative references to decide whether theyll open their ears to us, wed say Mela Roos is the tastemakers choice that draws its musical inspiration from likes of Dave Matthews Band, Radiohead, Muse, Cake, Phoenix, Simon & Garfunkel, Joni Mitchell, and Rufus Wainwright. But for those more imaginative souls, we prefer to say that if Tim Burton were to make a romantic comedy, Mela Roos would do the soundtrack.
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