Amelia Melody Thomas returned to Guyana three years ago to improve her presence in her homeland and is set to drop her next single, produced by the Bambu Station in the Virgin Islands, on November 5.
In an interview with The Scene, she explained that she started her career as a songwriter. However, now she is a songwriter, singer, and producer and joked that she can also engineer songs by herself – a one-woman army.
According to Melody, a reggae and R&B singer, while she was born in Guyana, at the age of three she moved to England where she spent most of her life.
Melody began singing at the age of 12, but knew that her dream was in music long before that. At the age of14, she began working with vocal trainers and artist developers while at Reality Bytes which was a youth performing arts organisation in London founded by Peaches Cadogan.
During this time, she quickly realised that songwriting and the art of lyrics have long been her passion, and she began to write songs for local talented artists. Melody then linked up with Producer and DJ Chronic X where she developed her skills in music production, using programmes such as Cubase and Logic.
She loves creating a variety of genres and experimenting with her music. Melody has written and produced a wealthy catalogue of her material as well as collaborated with and written for local and international artists.
She recalled that it was the feedback after releasing her first single which pushed her to continue as a singer. “When people said that they didn’t know I could sing and described how I sounded, it boosted my confidence,” she said.
She has performed at various venues across the UK, Europe, Canada, and in the Caribbean including the 291 show at Hackney Empire, a variety of songwriters’ competitions, Reality Byte’s showcase, Canadian Reggae Fest, Guyana National Stadium and National Park, and Hootenanny Brixton, just to name a few.
In 2010, she decided to further her knowledge of the industry by enrolling in a bachelor of arts programme in music industry management, where she learned a lot about royalties, artist management, music law, and more. At this time she was also working in management and administration in various labels, production companies, and recording studios gaining further experience.
In 2015, Melody signed to manager Starr Vybz and began working on a project which was a beautiful blend of lovers rock and reggae tracks mostly produced by Starr Vybz Entertainment, Rebel liberation Records, Buzzwak records, Digitech Productions, and Live Vybes Music.
One of her singles, “Love Everlasting” won her the 2016 single of the year in Guyana. Melody also picked up awards for Best R&B Female and Best Lovers Rock Female.
Melody’s music can be described as a harmonic blend of R&B and reggae. Her voice is soulful and sweet with a touch of roughness but yet also melodious as her name suggests.
After returning to Guyana, Melody signed with Kross Kolor Records last year. She said she has so far been part of her label’s projects – one which includes vocal lessons and teaching marketing strategies to young artists.
According to Melody, “there is talent in Guyana”, however, far more needs to be done to build a sound music industry that artists can benefit from.
She advised up-and-coming artists to learn about the music business and how to run as a brand. “As an artist, you need to bring in the different aspects of the creative life to make money,” she said.
Come next year, Melody is looking to do a 12-track reggae album. “We need to realise you can live anywhere in the world and make music. Guyana is my home and I just wanted to extend my creative talents here and in the Caribbean,” she said.
Melody is focused on developing her brand “I just want to continue to keep developing my name and brand, touring, making my music, and collaborating with artists around the world,” she said.
With all of that ongoing in her professional life, Melody unwinds after a long day by spending time with her two children.
