Founded by London based producer and artist Kuma Overdose, Mélon Le Cartel is a virtual music collective. Made up of 10 artists from 8 different countries, Mélon came to fruition in March 2020, just as the pandemic set in.
Due to the culture and style differences each artist brought forward, Mélon quickly formed a new, genre-blurring sound – creating their collaborative project Under Construction. Releasing the full LP in September, the collective’s latest video for “Beijing” is a showcase of the group’s diverse creativity – a vibrant indication of the power of artistic partnership.
“Under Construction represents globalism, retro-futurism, and team effort”, Kuma explains. “This album has 4 different languages on it, and a dozen genre elements within the songs – hip-hop, funk, disco, pop, Afrobeat… the list can go on. I want to make something not only new and unique but collaborative. Think of this project as a sonic melting pot, but with the latest ‘cooking’ technology. The finished dish tastes new but at the same time somewhat nostalgic.”
Wary that up and coming artists were losing motivation and opportunities to showcase their work, Kuma decided to launch an online platform for his friends to collaborate and create. After many online virtual studio sessions and meetings via Facetime, Zoom, and Discord, Mélon Le Cartel were able to curate and perfect their project.
As a solo artist, Kuma has generated support from Highsnobiety, Notion and Dummy for his experimental musical stylings. Growing up in an Asian American household in the L.A suburbs, Kuma experiments with an array of genres – a unique fusion of intercontinental sounds and rhythms.
This virtual collective started less than 6 months ago, and is already gaining momentum among underground artists in major cities such as London, LA, New York, and Tokyo. With the industry changing rapidly, Kuma is planning to take this virtual collective to a global level, where independent artists from anywhere in the world can be a part of it.
The video for “Beijing” is set for release October 29th. Under Construction is out now.
