Mela in India (playlist)

A true Mela in India!

Mela is a Sanskrit word meaning "festival" or "gathering of people". You might have heard of a big kum mela recently where millions of people flocked to the sacred crossing of two holy rivers, the Ganga and the Yamuna, plus Saraswati, a mythical river, to bathe and worship. Well this Brooklyn-born Mela did visit the Ganga this year, plus brought her own gathering to two concerts in India!

I spent 4 weeks teaching drama and music in a rural girls school in Anupshahr, Uttar Pradesh. You can read about The Other Side, my program, here. After a few impromptu ukulele sessions on the roof of the volunteer dorm where I was staying, I decided to do two performances at the school. One was at International Women's Day on March 8th, and the other was a mini-concert for the volunteers, teachers, and the girls who were training in the Call Center. I also taught a few teachers and students how to play the Ukulele.

On March 23rd, I performed a full set at Kunzum Travel Cafe, Hauz Khas Village, in Delhi. Kunzum Travel Cafe is a very cool spot within a very cool area, a place for travelers to gather and drink coffee, share stories, and connect, a perfect venue for Mela. Many friends from Delhi and Anupshahr showed up for the gig, including new fans and friends from Delhi and around the world.

The interior of Kunzum Travel Cafe

While vacationing with the Lal family in Goa after my time in north India, myself and Angad Singh ended up changing the words to the Mela song "Dancing Water" to make it "Jungu Caca", a made up world in the sky created by Laila-Noor Lal, Angad's 3 1/2 year old cousin :)

Look for a video and recording of that soon!

Besides actually making the promised recording of the non-lyrical piece Sarasvati that I've been planning for a long time, I'm also working on a song I wrote about Anupshahr, and hoping to write another song about some of the people I met in India. India is inspiring on so many levels, and I hope it will infuse my music this spring and summer.

Videos of all the performances in India coming up soon on youtube!

Thank you to everyone who supported me during this trip and made it possible for Mela to be a part of The Other Side: India! Check back soon for the next performances!

updates

Oops! I haven't posted in a while! Well, here's what's been going on:

I played a great show in January with Brett Saxon at Bar 4, which featured a collaboration with Angad Singh on a few tunes. Bar 4 has a REAL piano so my fingers were very, very happy.

I've also released a new bandcamp album you can download of a live recording from Spike Hill in July 2012. You can check it out and download it here.

That will be the last show I'll play before I travel to India for a theatre education project with girls.

In the meantime, I'm working on new songs, an instrumental/non-lyrical piece inspired by Indian Ragas and pentatonic melodies, using some weird (for Mela) time signatures, called Sarasvati. The goal is to make a home recording where I play all the instruments.

I'm also working on a few new songs in collaboration with Angad Singh. We're working out a piece where he taps on Matilda, my Marimachu. I'm still figuring out what lyrics and melody will be :)

There's a possibility I'll play a small set with Angad in New Delhi in March. Stay tuned for details!

I'm also developing a living room tour this summer in New York, Boston, San Francisco, Philly, and anywhere else that I can bring a bunch of people to a living room to hear my tunes! Let me know if you are interested.

Oh and hey! Follow me on twitter: https://twitter.com/MelanieCloss

Free wine! Free make-up! Free Food!

Hi friends and fans

This December we have two special events a- happening.

Friday December 7th-
Mela live at Botta Di Vino 7-9pm, featuring Nidia Medina
SHADES OF WINE- giveaways from Sephora and Mary Kay Cosmetics!
Support this great wine shop in Red Hook (businesses in Red Hook need a lot of love after Sandy)
It's a tasting! That means free wine!
357 Van Brunt St. Brooklyn
http://www.bottadivino.net/

Monday December 10th-
Mela @ LIC Bar- 9-10pm
featuring Cody Rahn, Alex Minier, Nidia Medina, and Becca Schall
FREE FOOD BUFFET AT 9PM.
45-58 Vernon Blvd. Long Island City, NY 11101
http://www.bottadivino.net/

Can't wait to sing and consume free things with you!

Upcoming Fall shows

Earth mothers and sky fathers,

Join Mela at a series of very exciting Brooklyn events this fall!

October 13th- 4-5pm Gowanus Girls @ Gowanus Grove, Brooklyn

(girl-run craft and food market! Enjoy some sangria and hear some Mela tunes)

October 27th- ALL DAY HALLOWEEN ADVENTURE!

2-3pm Mela @The Waterfront Museum, Red Hook- featuring music set to poetry and others lyrics. Lets go back in time and travel across the globe, from Shakespeare's England to Ireland, China, Peru, and India...

Featuring Angad Singh on guitar and a small chior of sirens.

THEN TRAVEL WITH ME FROM RED HOOK TO GOWANUS!

4-5pm Gowanus Girls, @Gowanus Grove, Brooklyn!- enjoy the rest of the evening with drinks and more Mela fun times!

November 16th- Special Event Women of Color Wine Tasting and skin tone pairing-

7-9pm, Botta Di Vino, Red Hook

featuring Nidia Medina

Hope you can make it to dance, sing, meditate, discuss, drink, eat, and be merry with Mela this fall! It's the best season!

love and harmonies,

Mela

End of Summer, start of Autumn

Special thanks to everyone who made it out this summer to Spike Hill on July 24th, and The Waterfront Museum on August 25th. The show at the Waterfront Museum, featuring "Bruja Del Mar", a collection of songs about the water, as well as Angad Singh on guitar and a performance by Laura Dunn, was by far one of the best to date. The boat was rocking us slowly and bringing us together in the cozy comfort of the historic barge in Red Hook. All the friends and new fans who came out that day really brought a special energy in the air, leaving everyone feeling happy and content that Saturday afternoon.

Next up, Mela is working on creating a demo-at-home album of her songs for The Tempest for Green Theatre Collective's summer production. Check back for news of how to purchase, listen, download, and share.

Mela will be playing at the Waterfront Museum again on October 27th, featuring songs set to other's words- such as Shakespeare, Frieda Landau, Mona Canon, and Rilke. And since it's close to Halloween and Samhain, there will be costume wearing and some sort of Dia De Los Muertos inspired performance!

Mela and Angad Singh performing at the Waterfront Museum

View of Fairway, from The Waterfront Museum

The gangway of the barge

View from The Waterfront Museum

Laura Dunn, opening on August 25th

Summer news

"Melanie Closs’s music is so delicate and evocative that when the characters speak of the unearthly beauty of the music on Prospero’s island, one hears it just that way.  It’s part of the magic."
- Yvonne Korshak, Let's Talk Off Broadway, review of The Tempest by Green Theatre Collective on Shelter Island, New York


Green Theatre Collective's production of The Tempest on Shelter Island was indeed beautiful and magical. The sun setting behind us as we faced the ancient windmill at Sylvester Manor painted a lovely setting for this island-magic. Mela's original music was mostly performed by Jessica Giannone, who played the sprite Ariel.
http://greentheatrecollective.org/

Check out some photos of Mela's performance on Montague Street from the Make Music New York festival on June 21st. We had a great turnout and it was so much fun to play with Nidia Medina and Robert Cowie- sometimes knows as "The Cowies."

TONIGHT: Check out Mela perform some new and old tunes, and new arrangements of songs from The Tempest with Cody Rahn on percussion and Concetta Abbate on Violin. Special guest Joyce Lee on cello.

Spike Hill, Williamsburg (Bedford Ave and N 7th street)
10pm
Free!

Mela and The Cowies at Make Music New York

Jessica Giannone, who sings most of Mela's original music in The Tempest