La Melodia
Ekko, Utrecht
Last year La Melodia tore up stages all the way from Holland to Japan supporting artists of the calibre of Talib Kweli and Amp Fiddler with just with Melodee on the mic and INT on the beats. For their first headline tour they’ve bolstered their numbers with keys, bass and the heavenly vocals of Gia Mellish, which combine to enhance their sound without sacrificing any of the rawness of their earlier shows.
The new formation gives the more soulful tracks like Vibing High space and depth to really blossom, while the bass anchors the sound and propels the likes of Worldwide Connect to another level. It’s La Melodia’s warm, soulful vision of hip hop brought to life in all its glory. They’ve always had the tunes to kill it live, but now they’ve got the full sound and the platform to let it really take off.
It’s still Melodee's magnetic charisma that drives the show, whilst INT conducts affairs at the back of the stage, but tonight they both thrive on the extra energy provided by the band and the crowd. Their headline status provides an audience who are truly down with La Melodia rather than just mildly diverted and this is reflected in the clear mutual appreciation between audience and performers.
My Word and The South go down to the rapturous reception they’ve always deserved, while Melodee dedicating Heads Up to all the artists in the room becomes especially poignant with the cream of Utrecht’s musical talent present. It also highlights the rare ability La Melodia have to appeal equally to their peers and a pop audience. Time or Worldwide Connect can sit happily amongst all the clutter on TMF and shine through, and they can send a room of hip hop heads mad as well. It’s hard to resist beats as seductive as INT’s and even harder to resist someone who dominates the stage as easily as Melodee. When she harmonises with Gia Mellish on Choice U Make’s chorus to proclaim in the sweetest possible tones that ‘you choice you make is for me’, there’s no one in Ekko who would disagree.
The only point when anything or anyone dares to get in their way is at the very end when the curfew deprives them of the band for Dough, but this just lets them prove how hard they can rock it on their own. INT and Melodee have come a long way since putting out that debut 12 inch, and hopefully they’ve got a lot further to go. If they keep on putting on shows as good as this, the rest of the world be vibing high along with the rest of us.