Posted on August 4, 2009 - by Mark Zonda

I adore you Melpo Mene

I suppose this is gonna be just another Kermit presentation to the real guest of the show, one artist I’m admiring so much that I’m quite ashamed to have him here replying to my silly questions on life and music. But here it is. “I adore you” is the PERFECT SONG everyone would have written but that nobone will beat in years. From Stockholm – Sweden – ladies and gentlemen here’s Erik from Melpo Mene.

Mark Zonda:  Melpo Mene. How did your musical adventure began? I was really impressed by your music, both for the production and the melody of the songs. Who helped you on the rcordings and which are the composers you look up to when you sit down to write a song?

Erik: Since i started to make music its been natural for me to arrange music. To me music IS arrangement and the way to create atmospheres and wake up feelings. So im the kind of artist that writes everything for every instrument which is nice most of the times but a little bit square for other people sometimes. I’ve been working with Andreas Dahlbäck (Anna Ternheim, Escobar) for my two albums and will work with him for my next album as well. Getting to know him better in combination with feeling more confident with my music I let him and other people in more and more into the music giving space to surprises and positive accidents during recordings.

Mark Zonda: Wich artist would be a dream-mate for a future collaboration?

Erik: Writing songs with Ennio Morricone, produce them with Nigel Godrich, play them with Devendra Banhart, go on tour with Radiohead and finally have a long lasting marrige with Björk would be something of a dream for me.

Mark Zonda: Ep and Albums, which of your works do you like the most?

Erik: Like always that’s very hard to say. Its a little bit like asking a  parent which of the kids him or her like the most. Both in life and music i want to move forward so though things might have been good in the past I prefer the next step. Therefore my favourite work would have to be the latest album ”Bring the lions out” or even more songs that are not yet released. When i hear an old song i think: Oh boy that little song doesn’t know what she has ahead of her. When I see a child I think, Oh boy that little child doesn´t know what she has ahead of her. The song “We were kids” from Bring the lions out gives me glossy eyes. Its so touching when dark thoughts are not described with rain and darkness but with sunshine and summer. I’m happy about it.

Mark Zonda: Which of your works is Cain? Your next album… how’s gonna be?

Erik: I think my music so far has been very shy and kind of apologizing for it´s existence. And I know that can be charming sometimes, having more than you show and say less than you know, because nine out of ten times its the opposite. Idiot music and idiot people take so much space and sometimes it feels like they rule the world. So for that reason i can see something nice with in shy things but still i think its time for me and Melpo to take a little bit more space and that0s what’s going to happen with the new album. Less shy, louder, more confident and more powerful but with the same charm and empathy-trigger as always. Next album will be fantastic! I promise to send you the music when its done, it may take some time… but I’ll make a note so I won’t forget.

Mark Zonda:  ”Hello Benjamin” it’s like Elliott Smith meeting Stars in Coma. Was the song inspired by a real episode?

Erik: Not really. I was supposed to play music with some friends of mine and we needed something to play and so i wrote some songs, “Hello Benjamin” was one of them. I figured my friends were more into the fashion side of music so i made something more cool and fashion than what id normally do. The name “Hello Benjamin” is taken from “Rush Hour 2″, from a scene where Chris Tucker finds alot of money in a truck and screams: Hello Benjamin!

Mark Zonda: Ever dreamt to work on a musical score?

Erik: One of my biggest dreams is to write music for a fantastic movie. In this very moment im mixing some music that I made for a movie that doesn’t even exist. That’s how turned out: me and the idea of making music for a movie that don’t even exist. But if it’s musical like High school musical or Hanna Montanna then it would be more  a question of money. If I’ll ever have a daugter I’d be happy with her finding a way to grow up without wasting her time on the Disney-princess age.

Mark Zonda: This seems to be the top question of the week: what’s the meaning of life?

Erik: Haha, I noticed that I gave different answers each time I was asked! Oh well, today I’m gonna talk about the problem with that. No meaning would satisfy our brains. Even if God would come down to explain it with a power point presentation projected on a wide screen, talking very slowly and allowing questions.  What would be able to reply? ”So what’s the meaning of that?” What´s the meaning of a meaning? What´s behind what’s behind? There´s no final wall. Making babies and to be part of the life-force seems to be a quite satisfying meaning for most of the people. Me I’m still looking.

Mark Zonda: And that’s the second one of the charts: is indie the new mainstream or is just history?

Erik: It seems that with internet and free access to records pushed people to listen to a wider spectrum of music. They became more aware of many more music realities. You don´t have to be a music maniac anymore to understand that a live performance with unplugged instruments it’s nothing but a playback. People understand the meaning of B-side, Remix, Bootleg, they know what a B-Side is.  Boybands now know how to hold an instruments looking almost like real musicians. Till yesterday choreographers were taking over the World with plain boybands first apparance. So yes, maybe indie is history, maybe just a fashion… but things change alot and they are changing fast.

Melpo Mene – “Louise”

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