We were lucky to catch up with MeloDious recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, MeloDious thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

July 14, 2023 is a date we remember well. After over a year of hard-work, we anxiously waitied for the clock to hit 9pm. Our debut album project “Is It The Way: Volume I” was finally ready to be released into the world and we couldn’t be prouder. After months and months of writing lyrics, arranging music, recording take after take, re-arranging and adding new elements, editing, mixing and mastering, the project we had invested our blood, sweat and tears into had arrived.

The title “Is It The Way: Volume I” stems from a collective interpretation of our journey as a sibling-band. Being that a lot of our work has stemmed from entreprenuership, we’ve had many peaks and valleys over these past seven years as a group. From our “mom-ager” solidifying us as a business by starting an LLC, pouring through YouTube videos, transforming our family room into a music room, and learning the industry language, it’s not been easy to navigate and find “the right path.” But through this album, we’ve learned that there is no one way. People are sometimes in your life forever, others just for moments. Amazing opportunities can fall through as quickly as they are offered, and sometimes the best ones remain under your nose until you are ready to realize their potential. We would not alter a thing in our journey, because the process has built character, grown new relationships and proved to us that nothing is too hard for us to overcome if we pull together as a team.

This project is beyond special to us for many reasons. It is not only our first album released, but our first ever recording experience. We did it as a family; our parents cheering us on from behind the studio glass after 10 hour days in an equipment-filled room, smiling and arguing, laughing and crying together. Partnering with David Saenz of LaFauna Music, we pieced together a reflective and collective album, full of variety and soulful sounds. We were blessed to be able to do this all from the Bay Area, where we were born and raised, and include local talented musicians, engineers and artists!

Before releasing, we dealt with anxiety surrounding putting out such a vulnerable project. Our parents reminded us and we encouraged each other not to worry incessantly about what everyone would think. We instead focused on how our music made us feel, and the possibility of it affecting others in the same way. The outpouring of love we have recieved so far is beyond overwhelming and inspiring, and we are excited to see where music guides us next.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Our passion for music was officially uncovered in 2016, when we performed on stage for the first time as the band MeloDious. From that point on, we knew the only way for us to go was up. We were born into a life of music. Our earliest memories involve being sung to by our parents, listening to hymns and gospel music each Sunday at church and singing in the choir. Growing up in a home where each day is filled with dancing, singing and the ability to be creative in our talents has greatly influenced our musical journey.

Each of us possess different abilities, aside from the fact that we all sing. Micaiah (19) playing piano, Matthias (17) playing guitar and bass, and Memphis (15) playing drums, we have opened for a variety of Bay Area artist, including Tony! Toni! Toné! and Fantastic Negrito. Our proudest accomplishment of the summer besides dropping an album was selling out our first headliner show – the prestigious and legendary performance venue Yoshi’s in Oakland, California on Juneteenth. The feeling of gratitude and sheer joy that followed us after the show is forever engrained in our memory. Soon after, we released our first documentary which captured all the events leading up to our big night, compliments of World Is.

One of the greatest inspirations for us to create music comes from the variety of talents we each possess. In an area where one of us is challenged, the other is stronger. We find our drive and determination through the diversity of our different abilities and mix them together to make timeless music. We consider ourselves to be “an ecclectic-soulful sound-experience” and hope that it is reflected through our performances and the songs we release.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

We’ll set the scene – it was the beginning of the pandemic. We were displaced from our home due to unexpected flooding, and over the course of five months we moved through six rentals, and plenty of couches. It was rough, exhausting, and frustrating. The world as we knew it had changed, and the music classes and workshops we were so fond of attending weekly were now virtual. All the while, we lugged around a huge keyboard, a bass and amp, and drum pads with worn sticks. We yearned to play and create, soon to discover the blessing it was for us to exist under the same roof with the ability to build something that would forever change our lives. That is how our freshman project, “Is It The Way: Volume I” materialized..

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being artists and creatives for us has to be the performing aspect. As musicians and singers, we are generally providing all of our own music, self-contained and split between the three of us. Rocking out and being able to glance over at each other and laugh is so special. Sometimes we all experience the same feelings or witness the reactions at the same time, and other times we all see, hear and feel something different. All of this translates over to the impact we are able to make in other people’s lives, programs, events and memories.

When individuals greet us after a performance, they generally all express their feelings about our set differently. Some give us hugs, others shed tears and share feelings of nostalgia. It’s truly a blessing to be able to all share in musical expression together, on stage and off.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://4melodious.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisismelodious/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thisismelodious_
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisismelodious?

Image Credits
Angela Marlaud