Melodic is the brainchild of Dublin based Simon Kingston and Shane Mullin, aka Mulljoy. The night was launched in December 2011 at The Lost Society Basement on South William Street, Dublin. The goal was to push the more melody driven genres of dance music that MullJoy are best known for playing. At the heart of Melodic is a desire to create a positive and vibrant atmosphere that encourages people to mingle and to discover new music and genres.
In the 2 years since launching, the brand gone from strength to strength. Carefully selected international acts visit Dublin on a monthly basis and are supported by Melodic’s own residents and the best local talent. As an indicator as to the progression of the night, Melodic+ was launched in March 2013 to cater for bigger acts to town. This development has seen the monthly night’s move into larger and more reputable venues such as The Grand Social, The Twisted Pepper and more recently, The Button factory.
Guests to date at Melodic+ include Aril Brikha, Marc Romboy, Dominik Eulberg, Valentino Kanzyani, Guy J, SubbÂan, Edu Imbernon, Ripperton and Boo Williams along with the confirmed bookings of Ten Walls, Adriatique and Guti to name but a few. It is evident that Melodic is headed in the right direction and set to continue its upward course into 2014 and beyond.
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WATCH: Remembering Space Ibiza 27 years of musicMelodic founders and residents Mulljoy have being playing in clubs across Ireland & Europe for the last 3 years. Their approach to music selection and DJing mimics that of Melodic and has not gone unnoticed. It saw them secure a residency in the POD in the Summer of 2011 before furthering their appeal with international debuts in Berlin (Mo Nacht Cafe) & London (Ginglik) in 2012. That year also saw Mulljoy make their festival debut with a headline slot in the Guilty Boy Association Dome at the Knockanstockan Festival in Blessington.
2013 was a year of continued progress with their residency at Melodic lending opportunities to support Dominik Eulberg, Aril Brikha, Dj Tennis & Guy J among others. Mulljoy also made their debut at Ireland’s premier electronic music gathering, Life Festival, and also played host to two Melodic parties in Ibiza at two famed venues, Sands Beach Bar and Es Vive. The highlight of the year, and their musical career to date, was being given the task of closing Dublin’s biggest NYE party at the Powerscourt Town Centre after an incredible performance from Leftfield – an experience they will never forget.
2014 is set to continue i the same vein with Melodic going from strength to strength and confirmed bookings for Mulljoy in Berlin in February and at the This is Progressive ‘offÂSnowbombing Party’ in Mayrhofen, Austria in May. The duo are set to feature heavily on the local scene as well as on the festival circuit around Ireland. Progress is also well underway for their first ventures into the world of production!
January 10th: Damson Diner, Dublin
February 1st: Melodic+ & Bang The Box at The Twisted Pepper with Ripperton & Boo Williams February 7th: Dice Present Tiga at the Button Factory
March tbc: Melodic present Eelke Kleijn
March 28th: Dice & Melodic present Ten Walls [Life & Death] The Button Factory, Dublin
April 11th: Dice & Melodic+ Present Adriatique [DIYnamic] – The Button Factory, Dublin
April 7th – 12th: Snowbombing, Mayrhofen, Austria
Hi Guys, so 2013 has been a stellar year for you. Topped off no doubt by playing alongside the mighty Leftfield. What have been the other highlights of your year?Â
Shane: Big time, the Leftfield gig was pretty amazing without doubt the biggest show we have done to date, 1200 people in an incredible venue on NYE – more of that please!! Other stand outs included our debut at Life Festival, www.life-festival.com, having a guest mix broadcast on Frisky FM, www.friskyradio.com, as well as each and every Melodic. We’ve been lucky to build a very loyal following over the past couple years who come back repeatedly & support the nights we put on.
Simon: 2013 was far bigger than we had anticipated, but in a good way! A big on me for me was making the move from our humble 200 person capacity home into some of the most respected clubs the country has to offer. It’s allowed us to go after some acts we’ve been fans of for years and up the game in terms of what Melodic has to offer the punters. Another big one for me was hosting a Melodic day party in Sand’s Beach Bar in Ibiza which is owned by Mr. Carl Cox and playing again later that night in Es Vive. Â We had a big group of close friends over with us which was really cool – looking forward to getting back over this summer. Plans are afoot….watch this Space.
And 2014 doesn’t look like its slowing down, whats on the agenda for Mulljoy and your club night Melodic? Â You’re off to Austria this year aren’t you..Â
Shane: Yeah, loads coming up. On Melodic front, things have being steadily growing for us since we started in December 2011 and we obviously want to keep the upward progression going. We definitely think we are achieving that with upcoming bookings such as Ripperton, Eelke Kleijn, Ten Walls, Adriatique & Guti confirmed at the moment and with plenty more being worked on! We are also in the early stages of putting together some really big shows in Dublin which we are really excited about plus sorting our Ibiza night for this Summer so all go! On the DJ front, plenty coming up also, supporting Tiga in February here in Dublin, Berlin in February, Austria  & London in April all of which we can’t wait for! That as well as slots at the Melodic shows so things are busy & going the right direction!
Simon: What he said! …Some really big gigs and collaborations in the pipeline for 2014 so looking forward to working with some of the other crews in Dublin on those.  Something we’re adamant about this year is having a bigger presence on the festival circuit in Ireland. It’s a really great way to get your name out there and a big part of how some Irish crews have grown in recent years. It’s not everyday you have the opportunity to showcase what you do to thousands of like minded people in a field.
Some DJ duos play short lone sets, others play 2 on 2 off and really mix it up. Hows it been as a DJ duo finding your balance?
Shane:Â It is something that we have discussed but to date generally we have just played every 2nd track but there will be many opportunities to tinker with things in the future. Musically my background but be a bit more techy so we have met in the middle in terms of what we play.
Simon: Yes, balance is key. I sway more towards deeper house and techno sounds so a lot of attention has gone towards finding a sound that works for us both but in saying that, there’s a time and a place for every sound. Playing every second track works fine for shorter sets but when there are a few hours to play with there’s more room to try different things and bring the set in different directions. Â We do want to use 2014 to get our DJing name out there, last year we concentrated a lot on the Melodic brand.
Whats been the funniest experience at a gig?
Shane: We were mistaken for Leftfield at the NYE gig because there are 2 of us.
Simon: I can’t say names but an international guest once had to piss into a bucket at the side of stage because it was ‘an emergency’ and there wasn’t time to make the dash to the jax! Preparing that bucket was a very strange experience…as was disposing of it afterwards.
Any plans to get in the studio?
Both: Without doubt, 2014 is the year to start getting some tracks out there, have been talking about it for long enough so tis time to start delivering!! Irish producers are being recognised more & more these days with the likes of Mano LeTough, Matador, Chymera, Sunil Sharpe etc all doing so well so tis an opportune time to be getting stuff out there!
Beatport is taking another hammering for genre classification, the old club house/EDM classed as prog house argument. Rightly or wrongly online retail has taken over sales of dance music for the last 5 years at least. Whats your take on genre classifications and do you see a better way? Beatport is one of many stores, where else would you shop for tunes?Â
Shane: I get all my music from Beatport and some of their classification of tracks is shocking, you’d wonder sometimes if they have even listened to the track – surely they should take instruction from the artist??
Simon: Genrefication is quickly becoming a futile exercise if you ask me – Beatport is notorious for throwing new ones out there. Wob, Hipster House and Moonbahcore are some of my favourite recent ones. I see it as a way for the likes of Beatport to generate more cash. If something is classed as EDM there’s a chance it might sell better seeing as that side of the electronic music scene is exploding, unfortunately. At the end of the day, there are good tunes and there are bad tunes. I like to think that we play the good ones!
With big business buying up all the stocks of EDM companies and festivals in America, commentators have made claims that it will destroy the scene and cause creativity to cease. Indeed due to the conglomeration, events may actually have a core group of artists attending all large festivals owned by certain brands. So is this the end of EDM in America? Will it alter anything the underground does?Â
Shane: EDM is so far removed from the Underground scene that I don’t think it will have too much of an effect on it – to be honest, I’m not hugely familiar with the whole scene but a lot of the stuff being churned out all sounds the exact same, creativity in the scene appears to be minimal at best.
Simon: It’s a fad and like all fads it’ll burn out and the sheep will follow something else. The underground scene is thriving and those involved in it work hard to make sure it’s not diluted with what’s not wanted. We’ve seen commercial nights here in Dublin try to dabble in both and it hasn’t worked – I find it very reassuring.
Lastly, if money and time were no object, and you could have one last party to end all parties, who would you choose, where would it be and why?Â
Shane: It was Sasha’s San Francisco Global Underground that cemented my love of electronic music and everything changed since. All the Northern Exposure’s with John Digweed also blew my mind so for one night only would love to see Sasha & Digweed back together – 6 hour set in Panorama Bar with Mulljoy warming up for them, obviously. :)
Simon: Jaysis, that’s a tough one to follow! I’m a big Sasha fan too. Torn ligaments, a 4hr bus journey and crutches failed to stop me from seeing him play in Dublin the last time he was here in 2011. I’d reckon I’d have him play too, but in my gaff, with a group of close mates…and Funktion 1 sound system installed for good measure. My neighbour is deaf so we wouldn’t have to worry about the noise.
Tracks
01// Hunter/Game &Â Baika – The Island
02// Tales of Us – Obscure Promises
03// Isolee – Dennis (Ripperton 8 Wheels Dub)
04// Mount Kimbie – Made to Stray (Dj Koze Remix)
05// Tensnake Ft. Fiora – 58 BPM (Mano Le Tough Remix)
06// Home Video – Every Love That Ever Was (Sasha Remix)
07// Jimpster – Porchlight And Rocking Chairs (KiNK Remix)
08// Hot Since 82 & Joe T Vannelli – The End
09// My Favourite Robot – The Waiting Rain (Mind Against Remix)
10// Ultrasone – The Factory
11// Steve Bug –Â You Make Me Feel
12// Fabio Giannelli – Â Grenouille
13// Egbert – Magic Night
14// Aphex Twin –Â Polynomial C (Maceo Plex Edit)
15// Baikal – Why Don’t Ya (Ripperton Remix)
16// La Fleur –Â Nightflow (Kenny Larkin Drama Mix)
17// Mano Le Tough – Everything You’ve Ever Done (Dixon Remix)
18// Mattias Mayer (ft Christopher Groove) – Phoenix
19// George Fitzgerald –Â Every Inch (Deetron Remix)
20// Jimpster –Â These Times (Dixon Retouch)
21// Adriatique –Â Mr Creasy
22// Jamie Stevens –Â The Wonder of You
