Canadian psych-rockers Meltt find their groove with latest album and tour
Fans of Vancouver alt-rock group Meltt love the group’s psych-inspired style. However, according to the group’s singer, Chris Smith, the band’s sound wasn’t a purposeful choice.
“I don’t believe we necessarily made a conscious decision to specifically make psych-rock,” Smith told Daily Hive. “I think any kind of music that came naturally and that we liked to make could have been it.
“Due to our tastes at the time, seeing some mind-blowing live shows in the psych-rock space, and the fact that we had a room where we could be loud, psych-rock felt like our natural form of expression.”
Chris Smith (lead vocals, guitar, bass, keys), Jamie Turner (drums, percussion), James Porter (guitar, keys, bass, vocals), and Ian Winkler (bass, keys, guitar) make up Meltt, and fans old and new can check them out on Portside Live, a new online concert and interview series in partnership with Daily Hive.
Portside Live profiles popular and emerging artists while allowing viewers to get to know the band beyond the stage.
“In this set, they will hear a short sampler of our set, most of which comes off our new album Eternal Embers,” explained Smith.
Smith, Turner and Porter played in a cover band throughout their years together in high school. When the trio went off to university, they wanted to continue making music together.
Meltt (Kassidy Renee Paige/Submitted)
“James went away to Montreal for school, but Jamie and I stayed in Vancouver and would often get together to jam,” shared Smith. “Eventually, James sent over dorm room demos he was making and collectively we felt drawn to get into a collaborative recording project together.
“After his first year of university, James made the move back to Vancouver, and Meltt was formed officially.”
Meltt is musically inspired by a wide variety of music, with the group identifying the contemporary “pillars” to be bands like Foals, Tame Impala, Radiohead, Glass Animals, and Tycho.
Meltt (Kassidy Renee Paige)
“An element of the psych-rock genre that I enjoy is the translation from studio to live. Since some of the music is sonically quite large, it works well in larger-scale venues and begs for more of a visual experience. All of which are amazing aspects of live music that we strive to keep growing.”
The mind-bending group has been flexing their sonic muscles with a recent Eternal Embers fall tour, named after their latest album. Tour stops included cities across Canada, the United States, and Mexico.
“We had an absolute blast on our Eternal Embers tour,” Smith shared. “We went to some places we had never been and met more fans than ever at the shows. It is always so great to connect and speak with fans of the music, it truly grounds us in the project and makes everything we do feel worth it.”
Meltt/Submitted
“The peak show experience on the tour, and in our music careers all together so far, was the show in Mexico City. It was an entirely another level of love and energy than we have ever seen. The hard cut from virtual online communication to real-life human beings in an entirely different country was truly an unbelievable experience.”
Meltt is constantly working on new music, though Smith ensures to make time to enjoy the process as well.
“My favourite aspect of being in this industry is having the opportunity to live and breathe my favourite things in life: listening to music, making music, seeing live shows, playing live shows, and travelling – all while feeling productive.”
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