Meleka

zoom  |  next  |  prev  |  play  |  stop

Biography In 2008 Meleka competed with 14 other contestants in a two day workshop with industry veterans such as Don-E (Love Makes the World Go Round), Steve Sutherland (MOBO winning Galaxy fm DJ) and Mervyn Lynn (SonyBMG), who advised the hopefuls about the Music Business. Meleka kept her cool as she was picked as a finalist to perform her two songs for the panel of judges. Nervous, but excited she “wowed” the judges with her performance of her soulful Ballad ”GO”. Picked by GRAMMY Award winning Estelle and former Mis-teeq singer Sabrina Washington, Meleka, who is no stranger to the stage, was given an even larger platform to showcase her talent. It was her soaring vocals, self-penned songs and fearless nature that made her the firm favourite for the grand prize at the prestigious urban talent event. “I couldn?t believe Sabrina and Estelle chose me. It was such a privilege.” As part of her prize, Meleka won the chance to support Estelle (American Boy, Substitute Lover, 1980) at HUGO URBAN RULES? headline gig in Manchester and release her single “Go (Now It?s Over Boy)”. Since winning, Meleka has collaborated and worked with the eclectic Don-E as well as Basement Jaxx, Oopsy Daisy, rapper Chipmunk and U.S diva Kelis, to name a few. But it was her debut single “Go (Now It?s Over Boy)” which really earned her the spotlight. The EP, which features a Simon Diamond remix with guest vocals from UK Rapper Tinie Tempah (PASS OUT), as well as the leaders of Funky House, a collective of musicians known as the Crazy Cousinz. Their use of African drum beats and percussion instrumentation combined with Meleka?s emotional vocal performance, turned this once soulful slow jam into a funky club banger that produced the 2009 summer anthem that ` has turned Meleka into a household name. Having received over 300,000 plays on Myspace and over 1 million views on YouTube (from fans radio rips alone), not including the views she has earned from the music video for “Go” (directed by Ben Jones). Meleka is back with her follow up single, “Miss Me?” Sure to be another summer anthem for the sassy 21 year old, „Miss Me?? see?s Meleka team up with Crazy Cousinz again for another up tempo club banger. Whilst already getting massive support form some of the Industry?s tastemakers, „Miss Me?? is just one variation of her style, “I love music listening to it, creating it experimenting with it, and I like to think that?s reflected in my music.” Not your typical artist, Meleka is currently writing songs not only for her own album, but for others? projects as well, this young lady is proving that she has many strings to her bow. Which are beautifully reflected not only in her vocal ability but in her lyrical content too. Songs such as the aptly titled, „My Pride Song? (produced by Incognito?s Francis Hylton) in which she talks humorously about her character traits, or the heart retching ballad “Suffocating” in which Meleka writes about feeling trapped in a relationship and recalls all the things you miss about being single, “its funny how that song came about, I just wrote down all the things that I hated about being single and turned it around” she proves she can hold her own on every level. It is this type of creativity and originality articulated not only in her songs, but in her performances as well, that it is clear to see why so many people, young and old, relate to her subject matters and Meleka herself.