La Melodia
Vibing High

I fell in love with a beat…

I read an article the other day about a Dutch album where the (Dutch) reviewer suggested that the album was not only of Dutch quality, but of international quality. This makes no sense to me. While in England we’re far too quick to suggest that our talent is always good enough for the rest of the world, I think that if something’s good, it’s good enough to share with the rest of the world. Most of the music on this site might be Dutch, but it’s here because it’s all fucking good and more people should know about it. Enter La Melodia and their debut Vibing High. Since I copped it two weeks ago it hasn’t been off my stereo or iPod. It’s a great album. La Melodia are a duo from Eindhoven with Melodee on vocals and INT on production. And yes, Melodee is a girl. But as the sample says on My Word: ‘the heat’s on in the street, but she’s doing the cooking and any cat in her way is going to get fried’. More power to her.

The easiest way to describe La Melodia’s sound would be soulful hip hop, but that doesn’t really do it justice. True, they’ve got that classic soul sound as a template, but it’s soul with an edge. Witness My Word, where a Jackson 5 sample is flipped into a stripped down, dirty Detroit beat. La Melodia got one of their breaks supporting Stones Throw records on one of their tours (check Vibing High for the story) and the influence of that imprint, and its finest son J. Dilla is all over this joint, as it is on The South, where Melodee reps for her home over a brutal bass beat.

But that’s not to say that Vibing High is derivative. The only two tracks which sound the same are Vibing High and the outro of the same name. In between the album goes from the lush, soulful sounds of Time and Sugar For Me to the R&B of Choice U Make to the brutal beats of The South. On Time and Sugar For Me, two of my favourite tracks, the sound is hypnotic, with Melodee rapping the chorus lines over what my house music loving friend could only describe as tribal beats. And it’s awesome.

While Vibing High’s production is top notch, you can’t ignore Melodee’s talents as an MC. Anyone that can rhyme ‘about’ with ‘route’ deserves a big up, and with her accent and lyrical prowess, it’s hard to believe that you’re not listening to someone straight out of the Bronx. Her aggressive delivery gives the softer tracks an edge and compliments the harder beats perfectly. While you’ll fall in love with the beats on Vibing High, it’s Melodee who really seals the deal.

Like most of the best albums coming out of NL at the moment, Vibing High is notable for being a complete body of work with a beginning, a middle and end. While you can pick out individual highlights, it works best listened to from start to finish. And that’s something that their more heralded peers in the rest of the world would do well to emulate.

Vibing High is now available at a good record shop near you.

La Melodia are playing the Meet the Streets festival in Rotterdam on the 20th October, and are on tour with Pete Philly and Perquisite until the end of the month. Check www.lamelodia.com for more details.