It’s been nearly five years since Melody Club exploded with their debut single Palace Station and NME described them as “Abba with balls.” They have definitively worked hard. Since the debut album Music Machine, they have not only made a follow-up but also given more than 300 concerts worldwide – for example as main support on Kylie Minogue’s Greatest Hits Tour last year.
The band began recording Scream, the third album, in January this year, which turned out to be an unexpectedly easy process. Perhaps like the third child in a family – the child that is allowed to play freely in comparison to the middle child who easily becomes the opposite to the first child.
– When we worked on the last album, we sometimes fiddled for hours until we almost went nuts. This time around it was very easy to get it right, says Jon.
The band claim that they have more confidence on this album than they ever have had, and have been exploring new exciting roads to their concrete goal: explosive pop music.
Scream has been mixed in Berlin by Michael Ilbert, who, among others has been working with the Strokes, Supergrass, and the Hives. A large part of the album has been produced by the Swedish pop producer Klas Åhlund, who is the man behind Robyn’s latest hit album.
– We have loved Klas since the early days of the Teddybears. We wanted to work with him to give our music a cool vibe on the dance floor. The tracks that he has produced have a heavy and raw feeling, says Kristofer.
Since the recording of Scream could take more time than the previous albums Music Machine and Face the Music, the band went through many listening phases.
– I had the time to savour different types of music, everything from Bee Gees and Fleetwood Mac to the Beatles and Cheap Trick. So the album ranges from super rock disco and piano ballads to power pop, says Kristofer.
It is not only Kristofer’s music preference that characterizes the sound of the band, if anything; it is the diversity of the members’ tastes. The result is pop, with a twist of unexpected influences.
Unifying the band is their love for timeless pop melodies, which since the beginning has been Melody Club’s core.
– We all agree that the melody is the most important and let the rest just flow through. It is not for a reason that we are the Melody Club, says Kristofer.
The music comes to life in Kristofer’s mind and is at an early stage presented to the other members. This is also how the new single was made. Late one night, Kristofer called Erik and hummed the melody, who instantly could tell that Kristofer had something great going on.
Last year the base player Nicklas Stenemo and the drummer Andy A joined the band and Melody Club’s line-up is united for what is coming. Melody Club’s adventure will not come to a halt with the third album Scream, which is released on the 8th of November. A focus on the US is waiting. The band is going west in the beginning of 2007 to promote At Your Service – a compilation of the best tracks from the first two albums. They are very excited to meet their American fans.
– We’ve already got lots of fan mail from the US. They want us to come and play there now, says Jon.
All indications are that the Americans will join Melody Club’s unusual broad audience. They themselves believe it is the melodies that unite the fans. Rarely does the name of a band reflect their prominent strength in such a way.

Kristofer Östergren - Vocals
Erik Stenemo - Guitar
Jon Axelsson - Keyboard
Niklas Stenemo - Bass
Andy A. - Drums
 
 
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