A biography for Melody Gardothasn’t been written yet.
“The moment I got to France, I fell in love with it.”
“With someone like Charlie Mingus, there is a counterweight between melody and raucousness. He is still very melodic even though is tearing apart the seam-work of sound.”
“I didn't like the hustle and bustle of some metropolitan areas in the U.S.”
“I've fallen in love with South American music: Tango, the music of Argentina, the music of Brazil, Stan Getz, Bebel Gilberto.”
“I had short-term memory at zero, so you don't have this problem of worry or anxiety, because you don't remember what you're supposed to be worried about.”
“I had severe anomia. I couldn't formulate words at all.”
“I was bedridden for a long time.”
“I describe my style as 'woo woo chichi' - a little bit bohemian and a lot of chic.”
“I'm a big fan of motionless sound. I love when you're listening to a song and you can hear the harmonies, not because they are there but because they are there in your head.”
“In Lisbon, you encounter fado, which has been spoon-fed to the tourists almost like the tango in Argentina. But the real sounds are harder to find - you have to go to places where you wouldn't be told to go, like up north.”
“Sometimes you have to be broken down to your core to get back to your essence. You have accumulated a crust from the world, and it needs to be destroyed.”
“Jazz is a sideways glance at music. It's like being an architect, knowing the basis of design but understanding that the facade can be whatever you dream.”
“I'm on the road for up to 11 months a year so have this wardrobe on wheels for my clothes. It's like a magic box, where I keep everything from lint rollers to a sewing kit in.”
“Writing is private and personal but after I have the idea and I have some of it in place I'll share it with the band to work on their parts. That's where the communication comes into music, the sharing process.”
“I mostly wear black with occasional contrast and splashes of colour. I love my curves but I like fitted rather than tight clothes.”
“Writing is something I take very seriously.”
“Do a Christmas record!' NO! Call Michael Buble! I'm not saying there's something wrong with that. But that's not me.”
“I value life in the same way as most people do in their twilight years.”
“My requirements and my desires are relatively small - things like having a bed, a shower... A bathtub is usually high on the list - I love bubble baths.”
“If you listen - and I don't, usually - to my first two records, I sound like a baby surrounded by a beautiful orchestra. I sound so tiny and small.”