Live: Melody’s Echo Chamber

4th March 2013

The Deaf Institute

9/10

After a string of bands that achieved only limited success – My Bee’s Garden and Narcoleptic Dancers – it appears to be third time lucky for Melody Prochet. Her latest endeavour, Melody’s Echo Chamber, are on track to becoming an overnight success. After meeting Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker in a backstreet Parisian bar at an after show, Melody called in a favour from him to oversee post-production on her record. Since then, the fortunes of this Parisian psychedelic troupe have changed irrevocably.  The rest, as they say, is history.

Away from the cobbled streets and café verandas of Paris, we find Melody preparing for her debut appearance at Manchester’s Deaf Institute. Despite possessing a repertoire limited to only one record, this alone is enough to encourage Manchester’s alternative element to throng the music hall of the city’s hottest venue.

After being led out by her exclusively French backing quartet, Melody takes centre stage, before enveloping the audience in the psychedelic haze of ‘I Follow You’.  Overhead, projections of crimson paisley figures dance, engulfing Melody in a warm glow, resembling a scene from a French art-house film. The iridescent quality of her singing, coupled with the pulsating groove of guitar for ‘Endless Shore’ and the ambiguous ‘Bisou Magique’ impress the crowd as they begin to clap in unison with Melody. Spellbound, the audience were totally attentive throughout; robed in her float-away blouse and palms outstretched, she transcended her status as a mere singer, instead a benevolent priestess.

Whilst dutifully continuing in her native French, ‘Quand Vas Tu Rentrer’ appears to have stumbled upon a new genre of music, French Psychedelia, as it encompasses a sound that can only be described as electric accordion. Pure delight ensues when Melody launches into fan favourite ‘Crystallised’ as the audience begins to groove to the rhythmic drumming. After an encore comprised of a musical free-for-all jamming session, Melody announces her departure with a flick of a smile and a cheeky wink that leaves the audience feeling rather forlorn.