Record Of The Week: The Limited

July 11th, 2008

The album opens up with an introduction*. The song is more or less a sound check for the mood, vibe and atmosphere of the songs to follow on The Limited - Melee Beats album of compiled work from the past few years’ releases. The songs mainly fall within the upbeat spectrums of French House, New Disco and Electro with a few slower paced exceptions like Never See. The nice thing about all of the tracks is the production quality that leaves you feeling like these tunes could have been culled from an era when similar producers were at their peak and you are just late in discovering them.

A good portion of the material is sprinkled with vocals. The songs’ lyrics range from being more raw and honest as in Coming Out Tonight to filtered and set more within the upbeat melodies.

But all of this musical evidence begs a question. Is Nic Bertino’s Parisian citizenship the only thing missing in this picture? It would seem that with his Melee Beats productions he is well on his way to being on par with all the great French House names.

My favorite tune is Wondering. Sure you could freak out to other songs like Girlhype or Distraction, but for me Wondering takes the cake. Just listen to it. Go to his site and download it, don’t bother with any ‘previewing’ process.

Melee Beats was also kind enough to spare some time for an interview.

What was your very very first favorite song?
Good question - I’m going to go with White Town - Your Woman

 Do you remember how old you were when you heard it first?
I think I was about 11 - I would wake up with the muted trumpet line in my head, and I think I even bought the cassette single and played it forward and back until the reels gave out

Do you remember the moment when you decided to venture into music creatively?
When my half-brother first showed me Fruity Loops back in 98, I knew I wanted to start creating rhythms and loops. I just kept toying with it and keeping up with the evolution of the program (and digital production), and 10 years later here I am.

Did you have a present network of musically inclined people around you?
Absolutely not - but luckily I was pretty resourceful and asked a lot of questions to other amateur producers. Through them I learned some of the basics, but it wasn’t until about 2003 that people started realizing that I had some production talent - after that, I started networking a lot more.

 Speaking of realizing production talent, have you noticed a progression of interest over the years?
Yes, the real influx of new fans started when “Distraction” started making the rounds. It was my first crossover hit and continues to reel in more fans.

Your fans are probably from all over, but has there ever been more interest within a specific area or scene?
A lot of the DJs and listeners that are getting down to the new French electro sound are playing my music as well, which is flattering because I’ve seen a lot of parallels with artists like Daft Punk and Justice, two groups that I admire

Are you conscious of this more as you produce more material? This more substantial interest in electro and rediscovery of french house / disco?
I think that the current trend resides more with the new electro sounds, but I tend to produce music that I like, and that is why listeners will hear a lot of different types of sounds out of me. I’d hate to be constrained to one sound or one genre, because that wouldn’t let me do what I wanted creatively. It is like painting with only one color.

Your work does showcase a nice range while still maintaining a signature. What is your process for writing lyrics?
It is all real life experience, and the best part about it is that if you listen carefully, you’re listening to my autobiography. This music is my life told in lyrics for everything that has happened in the last three years. Even the more upbeat songs like “Girlhype” have a subtle connection with events that have actually taken place in my life.

I also noticed that you tend to go between having filtered vocals and non filtered vocals. Is there any method to that?
Again, I like to incorporate as many different sounds and techniques as I can. If it sounds good, why not use it? I love to experiment with different sounds, not only on my voice, but on other things such as loops and live instruments.

Yes that makes sense. The output of your music seems to be very DIY and independent. Do you have a specific stance when it comes to the music industry?
I had an epiphany and realized that no label is going to want to invest in a product that hasn’t already proved itself in the market. So I’ve kicked up my distribution and made myself available more - my stance is that I will survive in the music industry with or without a label, but the label will definitely help the process.

Are there any labels or artists whose methods you admire in this day and age?
Private out of Denmark is probably the most impressive dance music production I’ve heard in a long, long time. I’ve always been a fan of Mr. Oizo too, and I think he knows exactly what to do to stay relevant in this industry.

That’s funny, I’ve never thought of Oizo in those terms before but it’s true. He has a strong discography that extends back further than most people realize and ‘hits’ all along the way.
He is a genius. He was doing glitch before it really caught on, and I think he’s had just as much influence on the New French movement as Daft Punk.

Yeah, with all that considered it is surprising that he is not the most dominant figure of the current Ed Banger pack. Speaking of the New French movement was that a stepping stone to your discovery of disco at a younger age?
I’d say Crydamoure, Daft Punk, Cassius, all of the trendsetters of French House really propelled me into the disco/funk sound. It was to a point where it was like a competition between the popular producers, who had the most obscure samples, who could flip the popular samples, all sorts of stuff. I miss it. I miss that sound a lot, and it seems like everyone gave up on it - back in 02, every day there’d be a new vinyl release of some crazy artist like Sebastien Leger or Drexxel. Or Nicholas Valee. The list is endless.

What do you think caused that to die out? Is your more recent rework, Ayo Insecurity, your statement on bringing that back?
Producers were getting lazy, they’d make what we’d call “Tracky” house that was just a loop over a 4/4 beat - no vocals, nothing interesting to keep it going. It was great for awhile, but anytime you’ve got a similar sound in large quantities people are going to progress to another sound. The continued success of tracks like “Distraction” prove to me that there’s still a market for disco, it just has to mature a bit to still be acceptable. Ayo was a song I did moreover for fun, and it has been surprisingly well received.

So has its reception inspired you to do more reworked songs?
I think that was a one-off type of situation, but I’m always trying to stay ahead of the curve.

Do you think the curve will curve more towards disco once electro reaches a point of over-saturation? It seems like people are already taking a slight interest given that a number of newer artists are more disco tinged.
You know, artists like LCD Soundsystem and other bands have been creating noveau disco for a little while now, and it has major crossover appeal that I think will stick around for awhile. You can already see their influence in bands like Cut Copy, and I think electro already has hit the point of oversaturation and that these new dance bands are really going to come to the forefront.

Yeah it’s an interesting situation. I hope for it to come more to the forefront, but then I am definitely worried all the same. Do you have an ideal position you would like to ultimately be in with your work and exposure?
In all honestly, I would just like to produce music professionally, have it pay the bills. Would it be nice to get a new car or something like that? Sure, but I just want to be able to work in the studio during the day, put food on the table, and be able to have fun.

That would certainly be ideal. Now that we are back on the topic of working in the studio, how will your new album, Triumph, be different from your previous work?
Triumph captures a lot of different sounds. Basically, it takes a lot of the concepts from my previous album Bel Esteem, and refined/expanded on them. It is a very exciting piece, and I’m happy to say that the response that I’ve gotten from my close circle of friends has been that it is, by far, my best work.

When did you know that the album was done?
When it had 18 tracks. I had to stop, if I kept putting more tracks on there I would have never completed it. I ended up leaving two on the floor and settling at 16.

16 is still a generous amount for an album, not that it’s anything for listeners to complain about. How long was the album in the works for?
I started the first song right after Bel Esteem was completed in January of 07, and wrapped production work on it in June of 08.

So what happens with it next? When can your fans expect to hear it?
There’s a few of the tracks floating around, some are featured on “The Limited,” and the song “Gotta Know” has a promotional video on YouTube, so the samples are definitely out there. I’m not sure when I will commercially release it, as it was actually completed about 3 months ahead of schedule.

Well, soon I hope. I can’t be the only one eager to hear it. Are there other people that you work with to distribute and promote your music?
Nope. Just me and my computer, working hard to get heard.

By the way, what does Melee Beats have in common with combat? Where did the name come from?
Absolutely nothing. Back when I was about 14, I put together my first DJ mix. I showed it to a popular Sacramento-area DJ, who checked it out and said it was horrible. He said, “I’m going to call you DJ Melee, because this sounds like a melee” - and it stuck. I tried to claim “Melee,” but unfortunately there’s a commercial rock band using that name. And I make beats. So Melee Beats was born!

You definitely know how to take criticism! Did you keep up with the deejaying since then?
Not really, I literally spend about 6 hours a day in the studio, and with the business aspect of music, I’ve got a pretty full schedule. I gave it a shot not too long ago, and its like riding a bicycle. I definitely enjoyed it.

And considering that I should probably let you get back to the busy schedule. Any last words?
I’m never good at this - support independent musicians! If you find yourself listening to us on your iPod, your CD player, in your car, during your workout, purchase a song or an album or a shirt. It always helps.

 

Written by Celery Moon |