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Recent reviews for Melodesiac

From outside of Boston comes Melodesiac, a nine piece hip-hop band that mixes a variety of styles into a wholly original sound. Having opened for such national touring acts as Lupe Fiasco, Blackalicious, Guster, State Radio and The Slip, the band is taking the next step in their career with the release of their new CD, "Hands High."

It was never the intention of founding members Shahan Nercessian (guitar), Ben Bornstein (drums) and Aaron Mehta (bass) to form a band so large that they have trouble fitting on some stages. "We just started talking to people around campus and by the time the first practice rolled around, we had a ton of people just showing up," laughs Nercessian. The band eventually settled on the nine person unit that it is today, adding Arlen Spiro (keys) to round out the rhythm section, and then joined with Yoni Dvorkis (alto), Nehemiah Green (tenor) and James Harris (baritone) to create the sax section. Alone, the seven jazz trained musicians would be a formidable group, but the lyrical coup de grace comes from the duo of Robert Brentley Patterson and Lawrence "eLCee" Charles.

Over the past year and a half, the band has created a solid fanbase in and around the Boston area, fully drawing on the power of their live show. Whether opening up the song to one of Yoni's devastating alto solos or letting Ben rip a beat apart on the drums, the musical talent of the band shows through- as does the energy. It's not uncommon for strings or sticks to break in the middle of a song, as all nine members jump around on stage. "It can get a little troublesome when we're all stuck together on a little stage meant for three people," reminisces Charles, "but we make it work." The band has made it work, having placed third out of over 250 bands in the Emergenza Boston regional competition, where they packed some of Boston's top clubs. The other bands in the finals voted them as the overall favorite among performers.

While all nine met at Tufts University, outside of Boston, the band is made up of individuals from diverse ethnic and geographic backgrounds, with members from California, Massachusetts, New York and Texas. These personal histories bleed into the music. "Live This Way," the band's ode to the mistakes people make, is rife with middle eastern sounds, while the aptly titled "Latin One" revolves around an Afro-Cuban montuno, with Lawrence moving in and out of Spanish over the beat. "What They Say" starts off with a dirty southern crunk beat and then explodes into a chorus designed for headbanging in a mosh pit. Whether it comes from "No Man Test," the band's homage to roots reggae, or from the Tribe Called Quest influenced "Believe," Melodesiac moves from style to style with ease. And while the club ready "Come Thru" has Brent and El getting down, the lyrics are at their best on songs such as "Breakdown," where the pair rhyme about the victims of Katrina, racism and their own pasts.

Now with the 12 song "Hands High," the band is ready to move onto the next step. "The first few years… these were training, essentially," says Mehta. "It's time to see what's out there."

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