MELON is a Dutch masked DJ and producer whose mission is to build an international brand that not only releases fun and feel-good party music, but also empowers and motivates people. MELON aspires to build a movement that inspires, empowers, and propels the next generation of artists. MELON recently dropped his debut album ‘This Is MELON, Vol. 1 (Dance)’, including over 50 electrifying tracks, which can be identified as the official launch of the artist. We caught up with MELON to learn more about how the album came about, inspiration behind the music and more. 

GDE: MELON, welcome to Global Dance Electronic! Right now, where on the planet can our readers find you located?

MELON: Thank you, excited to have this chat! I am currently based in my home country, the Netherlands. The Netherlands is a country that never fails to inspire me; it’s a country with a rich history and culture and you can really feel that in cities like Amsterdam for example. The architecture in the heart of the city tells so many stories and is truly inspirational. What I find fascinating about Amsterdam is the contrast between old and new; while the city centre is steeped in history, the outer rings are modern and quite futuristic and that’s something that I try to capture in my music as well. My goal is to create a sound that feels both nostalgic and fresh at the same time. I want my music to transport you to another dimension while also being completely new, unique and uplifting. I believe that my time spent in the Netherlands has played a big role in shaping my sound and style.

GDE: Congratulations on the release of This Is MELON, Vol. 1 (Dance), when did initial planning start for this album?

MELON: The idea for MELON, and with that, my debut album started about four years ago. It started off as a vague concept and it wasn’t until about two years ago when everything fell into place, and we knew it was time to start rolling out the plan. The actual preparations for and creation of this album have been ongoing for quite some time now, and I couldn’t be more excited that it’s finally available for the entire world to hear. The process of creating this album has been a journey in and of itself. It took approximately two years to decide what direction we wanted to take, when and how to launch it and all the other details, small and big, that go into creating an album, but I was committed to making sure everything was perfect before releasing it.

Collaboration was a significant part of the process and I’m thrilled to have worked with a team of super talented musicians and producers who were fully invested in creating something special together. For me, it was important to ensure that everyone was happy and excited about the direction we were taking and that we all were and are satisfied with the results. I’m proud of the album and all 51 tracks and I’m confident that listeners are able to hear the care and attention to detail that went into every track.

GDE: Featuring an amount of 51 tracks & covering many classics, how did you go about deciding what records and songs to include?

MELON: During the creation of this album, it was important for me to eventually be able to provide my fans and in general all listeners with plenty of options when it comes to dance sounds and music. Normally, an artist releases a few singles and then drops a ±10 song album, but these days, I feel that the fans should decide what they really want to listen to. With this album, everyone has plenty of songs and dance sounds to choose their favorites from. Personally, I love every single record on the album. I wanted to include a mix of both fresh, popular songs and classic hits that everyone holds dear. It was a challenge to choose which songs to include, but ultimately, I’m very proud of and happy with the final selection.

“Don’t You Worry Child” is a track that holds a special place in my heart. The original song felt like a turning point in dance music, combining euphoric vocals with heartfelt and storytelling lyrics, and an up-tempo energetic dance music production. It was important to me to do the original justice while also bringing something new to the table. I believe we achieved this goal and created something special.

Other classic hits that are included on the album are “Freed From Desire” (with Rezidential), “You’ve Got The Love” (with Sleepwalkrs), “Waiting For Tonight” (with DMNDS), “Dancing Queen” (with Steve Void), “Somebody to Love” and “I Love You Always Forever” (with Robin Tayger). All these songs have left their mark on music history and working on each project felt like an amazing party every single time. The album also features covers of more current popular songs like “Miss You”, “Do It To It” (with RobxDan) and “Bad Habits” as well. Basically, there should be something for everyone to enjoy haha!

GDE: When did MELON begin life exactly?

MELON: The idea of MELON as a masked artist started roughly four years ago. Over time, we worked on the project and around two years ago, everything fell into place. It felt like the right time to launch a brand that spreads positivity and inspires people that everything is possible.

The thing that mattered the most to me was to add value in some way, as I already pictured the critics saying I’m “just another guy with a helmet on his head.” Personal fame is not my goal and also isn’t the message I try and want to spread, so therefore I choose to remain anonymous. With the music we created for this album, the branding, LED helmet and other elements, along with the support of the label Fruits Music and the Dance Fruits artists collective, I’m excited to rollout what we’ve created over the past few years.

The beauty of being masked is that it allows me to combine everything I’ve learned musically over the past decade while still starting from ground zero as if I’m a little baby MELON haha. From a young age, I’ve been obsessed with music creation and entertainment and seeing the rise of EDM in 2012 triggered something in me that turned my passion into my job.

Instead of trying to pursue a more traditional path and hoping to collaborate with only the biggest names in the music industry, I’m happy to have teamed up with the Fruits Music team and share the spotlight with new, upcoming and fresh names and talent on this independently released album. Via this, it allows us all to make an impact together as an artist’s collective called Dance Fruits within the wider dance music industry. This is just the beginning of what we hope to achieve as a team and I’m beyond excited to roll it all out over the upcoming months and years for everyone to enjoy.

GDE: And what’s the meaning behind the unique artist name you have?

MELON: The name MELON originated from an old watermelon artist concept from four years ago. Developing a brand takes time and effort and so did the MELON project. We have had countless meetings to decide and agree on the name, the final design, how we could make a difference and stand out from other incredible music projects that I’m a big fan of. At one point, I was convinced the name had to be “Watermelon”, but ultimately we decided to stick to MELON and I’m happy with that decision, as it sounds like an artist that has been around forever. In all capital letters, MELON looks powerful, catchy and effective and therefore perfectly represents the brand and music I’d say.

GDE: Describing the MELON sound to GDE readers in three words, what would they be? 

MELON: This is a difficult but good question! My slogan is “Move, MELON is here,” which has a dual meaning. Firstly, the team and I are here to make an impact together, and secondly, the music we release is meant to “move” our listeners and make them feel something.

If I had to describe the “MELON sound” in three words, I would say it’s “Energetic” due to the uplifting character of the music, “Unpredictable” because of the unique collaborations and sounds we come up with and release, and “Disruptive” as we aim to innovate and merge nostalgic and fresh sounds together to take the world by storm.

GDE: With the release of This Is MELON, Vol. 1 (Dance) now upon us & available across DSPs, are you already planning another album?

MELON: Yes absolutely. Right now, I’m fully focused and dedicatedly working on the creation of my follow-up album. It’s interesting, exciting and sometimes frightening to go from finishing an entire body of work and revealing it to the world, which leads to all kinds of reactions, reviews and conversations, to starting from scratch again and building up a new project.

I believe that it all starts with the initial feeling; if something feels good, then follow your gut and the rest will follow as well. In recent history, there have been tracks or albums that are being referred to as “ahead of their time”, and thanks to social media, they even can become popular years after their initial release. A recent example is ‘Bloody Mary’ by Lady Gaga (2011), which was never officially released as a single back in the days, it actually wasn’t even included in the Netflix show ‘Wednesday’, but still, it blew up all around the world after being used as a sound under a TikTok video including a dance moment from the show, which simultaneously went viral too.

GDE: And finally, is there any other exclusive MELON news you can share with GDE readers?

MELON: Haha well, let me put it this way, I have a few tricks up my sleeve… I may tap into some other surprising musical genres pretty soon… So make sure to keep an eye out and follow me on the platforms where you are active. This way, you can stay up to date with all the latest news, releases and other updates that I share.

Thank you!

Socials:
Discover MELON: https://lnk.to/dancefruitsmusic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisismelon_/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisismelon_
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC281KfC-9UHuOi2yFBENZhQ
Website: www.fruitsmusic.com

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