Tell us about Mellt. How did it start and how did you guys meet?
"We were all in school together. Glyn and Ellis started the band in secondary school, and originally we were a 4-piece but two of the guys left when we started sixth form, so Jacob, who was already our best bud, was taught the drums and recruited."
How would you describe the music that you typically create?
"Punk Rock is probably the best way to describe our music. We’re influenced by punk and alternative bands like The Clash, The Replacements and Television."
What is your creative process like and has the lockdown impacted that in any manner?
"Up until we moved to Cardiff we would typically rehearse everything to death and try to come up with as much as we could together, bringing in stuff and jamming. The new album we’re currently working on has been a bit different, in that everything was written through demoing at the house and then going in to rehearse as a band before recording. We were lucky enough to get all the drums recorded in the studio before lockdown so we have conveniently been able to record the rest of the instruments at our house in Cardiff."
Have you discovered any new musical inspirations during the quarantine?
"We’ve been trying to find new music but struggling during quarantine. Maybe because we’ve been working on our own stuff but it’s been difficult to find something new and not go back to the classics."
What do you reckon is going to be the state of the music industry and gigs in the post-pandemic era? Do you think as a band you’d be forced discover other means to reach out to your audience?
"We have no idea really, we played at a festival called Tafwyl in Cardiff castle recently which was broadcast on Welsh streaming service AM/AM, we have also done a few live streams from the house, so it's good that there is still a push for some sort of live music however, it isn't the same. In terms of returning to business as usual, we are not very optimistic this will happen anytime soon, so we might have to get used to using the internet as more of a means to perform to an audience."
Most of your songs on the first album are noticeably short and snappy, is that an artistic choice? Do you prefer making songs at that length?
"We really like the old '3-minute-or-less-pop-song’. We learned a lot about songwriting as teenagers from Glyn’s brother and this guy called Roy, who was a bit of a wildcard but knew when something had been going on for too long. But it’s not always about it being short for the sake of it, it’s about what’s best for the song."
If you could take credit for any album ever made, which one would it be and why?
"That's a very difficult one, I guess maybe something like Marquee Moon by Television or There Goes Rhymin’ Simon by Paul Simon. They are both incredibly well written and arranged pieces of music, really well produced with great lyrics."
Is there a chance of expecting an English album any time soon?
"Not sure really, don't think that far ahead; there are two English songs on this release and we have always written in both languages so I imagine it's a possibility. However I'm sure that if we tried it, some Welsh would get in there somewhere."
What are you up to at the minute and what’s next for Mellt?
"At the moment we are finishing off our second album in the house until it's safe to go do vocals in the studio. Apart from that not much, dreaming about the roar of the crowd, the dank smell of sticky, beer soaked floors..."
A big thank you to Sam Stevens for the photographs and to the boys for taking the time out to do this!
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