Music: Melo-Zed – Eleven EP

*Album of the Year*

Melo-Zed is an incredibly talented artist from South London. At only 21 years old, he has already performed at places like Boiler Room, composed soundtracks for short films for Channel 4 and created sound installations at institutions such as the Tate Modern and Tate Britain.

On his debut EP Eleven, Melo tells his story through an incredibly gorgeous, intricate, intimate and textured soundscape. He seems to take inspiration partly from the experimental LA Beat Scene, with the beat and synth arrangements on tracks like “Social” and “Still Hungry” featuring Emmavie, sounding like something off a Flying Lotus album. The gorgeous vocal snippets on “Back Home” are incredibly well layered with the buttery smooth production. “Here For Me” featuring Cari exposes Melo-Zed’s talents on guitar, with a smooth melody being interpolated with pitched vocal samples, subtle percussion and an infectious groove that emanates soul and passion.

I can go on all day about how impressive this project is musically. The maturity that Melo-Zed displays on this album is stunning, and his talents should be celebrated. Songs flow effortlessly from one another, creating a soulful, chillingly beautiful vibe from front to back. “11am” featuring Dani Sofiya is a perfect closer, her haunting vocal performance just takes my breath away it’s so stunning. As well as crafting this amazing EP, Melo-Zed has also released a short film co-directed, produced and scored by him, which gives visuals which accompany his boundary-pushing music. Watch it below.

You can listen to Melo-Zed’s Eleven EP below via Bandcamp. Do not forget to support, as this kid deserves all the support and love in the world for this masterpiece. It was released on Huh What & Where Recordings.