Mélat - Topic

Mélat tells stories of love in all it’s facets - whether romantic or platonic, beginning or ending - because love is, in her eyes, the only truth. Born and bred in the Live Music Capital of the World, Austin, Texas, this first-generation Ethiopian-American is the eclectic soul of modern r&b.

After her parents fled Ethiopia in the 1980’s to escape the brutal Communist regime, The Derg, Mélat was the first child on either side of the family born outside of Ethiopia. Forever shy, forged by the isolation and anxieties that come with being culturally, visually, and financially separated from your immediate surroundings, Mélat tells a story of a voice longing to be heard.

Penning and recording her own songs as an independent artist, Mélat has played many of the festivals in her hometown including the more notable SXSW and Austin City Limits Festival. Mélat premiered the video to the title track of her latest release After All, with a Q&A on Billboard.com. Mélat can also be found in Fader.com, Austin-American Statesman, The Austin Chronicle, Okayplayer, OkayAfrica, Afropunk and many more. She has opened for The Internet, Thundercat, Aluna George, and most recently completed her first solo tour. She also represented the USA by opening for Aloe Blacc at the British Science Museum for Blacc’s film premiere of “America’s Musical Journey.” 

From love, lust, success, to failure Mélat sings of what it means to be a human being simply longing to "be".