Episode 43 - Melody Moko
Songversations Podcast
English - August 17, 2021 08:56 - 1 hour - 76.8 MBMusic Interviews Music music songwriting Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Our guest today is Melody Moko.
Melody is one of emergent stars of Australian Country Music and one of those artists whose style is a natural and heartfelt extension of her personality and perspective on life. Her heroes and contemporaries include Brandi Carlile, Tift Merritt, Kathleen Edwards, Fanny Lumsden, and Brooke Fraser.
Growing up with a father who was a passionate and encouraging music enthusiast, Melody knew early on that she “wanted to sing like Linda Ronstadt, and write songs like Bob Dylan.” The allure of international travel took her to the USA where she had the honor of performing at iconic country music venues such as Nashville’s famous Bluebird Cafe, The Continental Club in Austin, Texas and Hank William's favourite hangout, Tootsies.
As a critically acclaimed songwriter, she’s taken her music to the world since the release of her debut album "The Wreckage" in 2017.
The album established her as a songwriter and performer and she undertook a national tour, received a CMC New Artist nomination, played shows with Fanny Lumsden, The McClymonts, and Catherine Britt, and appeared at high profile festivals including Groundwater Country Music Festival (2018), Gympie Music Muster (2019), and Spunk Record's Thirroul Music Festival in 2019.
In 2019 she embarked on another successful USA tour, with Catherine Britt, and traveled to Nashville, TN to record her second album – “Two Kids and A Radio”
Off the back of the album, Melody entered the ARIA Australian Country Albums Chart at #1, #3 ARIA Country Albums, #9 ARIA Australian Albums, #40 ARIA Albums Chart and #1 AIR 100% Independent Albums.
She also earned three nominations at the 2021 Golden Guitar Awards – Alt-Country Album of The Year, Female Artist of The Year, and New Talent of The Year. Melody was awarded the Golden Guitar for New Talent of The Year for the song, “Like Hank Would”. She was also named a nominee for the prestigious Australian Music Prize, named iHeart Country’s Artist of the Week, and a finalist for the Q Music Awards.