#melody pool

So use me like another one

Of your little whores

And don't confuse your own desire

This is coming from a person who has listened to Melody’s debut album circa 1000 times (each song that is, not the entire album as a collective). Legitimately.

This woman has the ability to completely level with an individual lyrically. I am personally so fucking proud of her. I’ve met her several times and recently obtained a copy of her EP “Awake, You’re All Around Me”. 

Upon initially listening to this ep through Bandcamp I’m going to be completely honest, it was the lyrics that grabbed me. She has a way of being completely raw with her audience, with her listeners, and still being able to create songs that will fundamentally enable for her audience to relate. 

Now this is something I have to say upfront:  Being a human, Melody is completely able to whole heartedly (with 90% of her songs) rip your heart out of your chest. 

I had heard about Melody originally in a class at uni from one of my lecturers who has JUST heard her song “Henry”. (I will blog about that entire album when I’m emotionally capable of doing so) And that song just touched me more than anything I’ve been able to relate to. 

As tough, rough and dominate I might seem on the exterior I can guarantee you that if you truly do know me I am probably one of the most sensitive persons you might meet. The first time I met Melody I was in complete awe (with her performance and mostly her personality). I had driven all the way to Newcastle to meet the woman who on many occasions had provided the courage and strength I needed to keep breathing. But fuck if I was going to let her know about that (and cue strong exterior Ellie). 

I recently had someone say to me “I hope that dark cloud leaves you alone for now” and oh god how I wish it would leave me alone. Because I am one to have dreams of working (recording wise) with or collaborating with said Melody Pool. I could certainly die a happy woman then. 

Anyway, coming back from that and getting back to the entire reason why I’m writing this piece, Awake, You’re All Around Me. This scrumptious ep rings me straight into the core of my heart. Every piece of it. As an audio engineer and producer, as a musician and lyricist; EP or not, I wholehearted recommend any person with half a heart to listen to anything written by the witchy Melody. 

Awake, You’re All Around Me: I have absolutely no idea how to write this but I’m going to initially write everything on an emotional perspective. Listening to her songs, its the melody, the lyrical content and the fact that apart from her vocal being her main instrument, she plays guitar. I personally don’t have many idols or people that I look up to that know how to exceptionally know how to play guitar (bar Ani DiFranco; whom is someone like Melody I put right up there).

Speaking as an audio engineer and a producer, this is the type of song that I want to produce and create. I want my artist to express themselves whether that be lyrically, or instrumentally. Another thing that pops out to me are the (what I think are) male melodies that are sung  in the chorus. It completely emphasises the message that shes trying to put out. Baby voice or not. This is a spectacular song. It has the perfect level of panning with the guitars, each layer sticks out to you each time you hear it.  There is the perfect amount of reverb placed on the main vocal. It is central. It is key and I absolutely agree with it. It causes for the listener to add their attention to the lyrics the vocalist has wholeheartedly written with love, heartbreak, and emotional turmoil that might have been felt at the time of this piece being written. I just cant even. 

Broken and Bound. Now let me tell you about this song. Fuck the amount that it emotionally levels with me. “It’s my own fault for letting him in”. It is my own doing (even as a lesbian) for putting these people in my path, on my journey. “Oh me who has lost her faith, will never learn from her mistakes.” Oh preach Melody, preach my dear. Even me as a lesbian, you always seem to put yourself in the position where in the long run you have absolutely no doubt that you’re going to be hurt, but comfort is what will always get you, comfort from your current lovers, the people you love.  Or you think you love. Would do anything for. You (or me) who has put complete faith in this person, who has given everything to, would do it 100 times over and even though you know you’ll be hurt. It is that sense of want. It is that sense of being needed that draws you to that person.  "I’m keeping my nose to the ground by I’m not keeping my hope". Like Jesus Christ Melody, be a little be more real for me?

Production wise, I fucking love how it starts with acoustic and a vocal. We have this thing where we say, you start with the raw vocal and that main instrument (other than said vocal) and come the pre chorus/chorus you build. You build until you reach that point where you know its so emotionally and musically involving that you just let the artist “go”. Go into that place where you know that emotionally, lyrically and musically they can go no further. I wholeheartedly agree with that, I believe that as an audio engineer you need to push your artist to the point where that have dropped all their barriers, they have dropped all their self-consciousness and are performing completely to their audience which I wholeheartedly believe that Mel is totally doing in this song. She pushes herself vocally, she makes the listener beg for more. More truth. More rawness, if thats even a word, and more emotion.  Effects wise, again, the person who has done this has there perfect mix of wet and dry, double layering the vocal or not, there is the perfect amount of reverb vs. echo. There is so much I could say, but I believe that it is a conversation I should be having with the artist herself :P 

Tiptoe: This song, from day one I grabbed my guitar and was like “fuck it, I want to play it on guitar” Now I myself am VERY self conscious of my ability to play guitar (even if I might have a grade 8 with Trinity London). I am very doubtful of myself as a person and a guitarist hence why I don’t really tell any clients that I can play for them (I leave that up to my boss). Melody in this song is what I believe to be (what I have said many times in this post) very raw. 

I LOVEEEE the ambient electric that is playing in the background and  I long for the day that she will play either Royal Queen (Mary) or anything that she has written on electric. I am a strong believer of the impact instruments also have on the emotional impact of a listener. This being said I currently have tears steaming down my eyes, I legitimately cannot deal with this song. This song is my life. I do absolutely everything I can to keep breathing. For that day that one day someone will recognise all my hard work and the amount of passion I have for both this woman that the music that she creates which is so close to the heart. I know I have to stop and I’m sorry but I can’t deal with how vulnerable she makes me feel.

Talking about this song on a production level; having the electric guitar creates the entire emotion that is being set by the artist. I wouldn’t change an entire thing about this song. Creatively speaking it completely captivates the listener, both lyrically and production wise where it occurs on musically recording technique and also that reintegrate the lyrics being central and where Melody’s blissful vocal completely captures the listener. 

Benita: This is also a song where I honestly picked up my guitar and was like ” you know what? fuck it. I want to learn it. I want to also have the ability to sing this songs and rip peoples hearts out in the way Melody does my own”. 

The greatest thing that I can say about this woman is the way that as a single individual (going through whatever she is going through) has the ability to write songs that are completely captivating 

And as I’ve constantly written, raw and in it own way so raw filled. Especially with Benita. She has the ability of titling a song and still reaching out to her audience. 

For My Sake: As an instrumentalist, her guitar has a beautiful sound/is a complete extension of herself. I can’t help but notice the panning, the way in which both what sounds like a banjo and a second acoustic supporting the simple rhythm being played by the main warm sounding guitar. 

In all honesty I have so much to say about this song especially because of me bing an instrumentalist and (selfishly) wanting to have the ability to play every instrument in this song. Minus the vocals, cause I’d totally fail at that part. 

Worn Me Out: THERES FUCKING BELLS IN THIS SONG!!!! I cannot absolutely contain my excitement at how well the (what I call) “Christmas sleigh bells” were and are placed in this song!!!! That is actually really exciting for me, to the point where I’m going to start on the production aspect of this song;

The acoustic guitar (as per usual) is vital, it is warm, and even though it may not be 98% central, it has a definite presence. It, along with the vocal, creates the central element to the song that is what we call the body to the song where everything else sits around. Be it the main vocal or be it the banjo, the backing harmonies, the extra guitars. I just can’t even with this song. 

Lyrically, the words that stick out to me are the ones that say “your tenderness has fallen to the ground”. On a completely personal aspect. I have been feeling completely worthless, as both a musician and an engineer. And this song with both the harp and all its elements just completely resonate in every aspect of my human being. I know nothing of the meaning behind this song (or any of the songs written in this EP for that fact) but this is the glorious thing about Melody Pool, and her ability to write songs that as I’ve been saying the whole time are completely relatable to her listeners and her audience. I know that I will never be able to completely express how much both her EP and her album has done for me. 

And lets now conclude this with the 300 or so hits that I have on my iTunes with “Awake, You’re All Around Me”. This ep is the perfect introduction to the raw (theres that word again), heart wrenching and completely honest human being Melody Pool is with both her song writing and her flawless guitar pieces. And on the eve of my 22nd birthday I know that with everything I’ve been able to achieve in life, this ep (and her full length album) is something that I can continue to listen to and hear new things every single day that I wasn’t able to pick up the day before. I know that I’ve posted this before but if I’m ever able to work with an artist whom is so real and true to themselves as Melody is I will have succeeded in everything I have ever wanted as both a musician/guitarist and an audio engineer. 

Anyway. Theres my rant. And this is probably as real as I’ll be in the next 22 years but, as I’ve said before. This woman deserves all the awards. I know that I have so much that my emotionally incapable self won’t be able to express but she really does and I hope she keeps doing exactly what she does and touches many more people with her lyrics and her captivating vocal.