Mele Interview: 'I found my own sound'

Merseyside-raised Krissy Peers aka Mele has developed his own high-octane sound, characterised by tribal and inspired house music which is now synonymous with his DJ sets and productions. Big on bass and always armed with party tunes, he's a welcome addition to any club or festival line up.

His heavily percussive sound has picked up notable support from the likes of Tiga, Patrick Topping, Jackmaster and Annie Mac, the latter who has welcomed him to perform at her AMP presents events and Malta festival. 

With releases on Lobster Boy and Eats Everything's Edible imprint and now a recent EP on Defected Records, Mele is readying himself for another big year, with festival appearances aplenty on the horizon. We caught up with him ahead of Hideout Festival and Defected Croatia to discuss his sound, hometown and much more.

Your productions are characterised by Brazilian and tribal influences, where did that ear for those stylistic elements and ethnic percussion stem from?  

I've always loved music which is driven by strong percussion, especially house music. When I made tracks like 'Scouse Afika', 'Ambience', 'The Latin Track' etc. I just wanted some of my own music to play alongside the old New York tribal sounding stuff I was playing in my sets, but in that I think I found my own sound.

'The Latin Track' EP has just been released on DFTD, what did you want to achieve with the release, and was it always meant for that label? 

It wasn’t initially made for them but I think it's the perfect home for the record. It just seems to have an old school Defected vibe about it. I made 'The Latin Track' about a year and a half ago actually, so I’ve been playing it in its different stages for a while. For it to be a big record this summer would be nice.

You're from the Wirral, near Liverpool, what were you formative clubbing experiences like there? Were you brought up on scouse house? 

I wouldn’t say I was brought up on it but it was definitely big when I was in school. There was bits of scouse house I liked but not all of it. The first set of decks I bought off a family friend came with some scouse house and hard house stuff that Eddie Haliwell was playing - I loved the energy of his sets.

I started going to nights like Circus and Chibuku in Liverpool when I was really young, seeing DJs like Yousef, Raresh, James Lavelle and Chibuku resident Rich Furness. They were a big influence on me as I was starting to DJ.

The city's dance music scene is rivalling the best at the moment. Why do you think so many quality events and venues are located in Liverpool?

I'm not sure why, Liverpool has just got a vibe that I can’t put my finger on. There always seems to be a buzz about the city and the nights that are happening there, and people seem to want to go and listen to new music. Clubbing is just in Liverpool’s DNA I think, and there's so many great promoters in the city bringing amazing DJs in. It's my favourite city in the world.

What was it like hosting your own events in the Shipping Forecast, do you have any plans do that again in the future?

It was amazing, the hold in the Shipping Forecast is such a special place to play music. I'm definitely bringing it back for sure, I really miss doing it! Hopefully after summer.

What track have you risked playing and it not work? Likewise which big risk payed off during a set? 

I'm not sure about tracks that haven’t worked but Mousse T 'Horny' and Spiller 'Groovejet' are risks that I’ve taken and seem to work.

What's the best party you've ever attended? 

There's been so many but I recently played at elrow in Barcelona and that was definitely up there.

What has been the best DJ set you witnessed lately?

I seen Jackmaster play at Circus recently and he was so good. For a night like Circus which is very much straight up house and techno, he played quite across the board but it just worked. He smashed it.

Check out Mele's upcoming gigs