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Melanie Woods (musician)

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Melanie Woods
Woods with Knifeworld at Tramlines 2015
Born (1969-05-05) 5 May 1969 (age 55)
London, England
Other namesMel Woods
Occupations
  • Musician
  • singer
  • carpenter
  • joiner
  • carpentry tutor
Musical career
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • drums
  • percussion
Years active1990–present
Member of
Formerly of
Websitemelaniewoods.co.uk

Melanie Woods (born 5 May 1969) is an English musician and carpenter. She was the drummer and a vocalist for the rock band Sidi Bou Said in the 1990s. After their dissolution, she performed vocals on the first two albums of the North Sea Radio Orchestra and joined the cult rock band Cardiacs in 2004, performing on the single "Ditzy Scene" and playing on the subsequent 2007 tour before the band went on an indefinite hiatus.

Woods subsequently joined Kavus Torabi's psychedelic rock band Knifeworld on vocals, percussion and glockenspiel, and the Duran Duran tribute act Joanne Joanne as their drummer. She appeared on the 2010 Tim Smith tribute album Leader of the Starry Skies with Knifeworld and Sidi Bou Said, and the Cardiacs single "Vermin Mangle", released in 2020. Woods has also performed on solo albums by Claire Lemmon and Tim Bowness.

Early life

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Woods was born on 5 May 1969 in London, England.[1][2]

Musician career

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1990–2001: Sidi Bou Said and Umbrella Heaven

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Woods formed the rock band Sidi Bou Said in 1990[3] on drums and vocals alongside guitarist and vocalist Claire Lemmon and bassist Gayl Harrison.[4] They released their debut album Broooch in 1993.[5] The following year, Woods appeared as a member of the band Umbrella Heaven with Lemmon on "Perverted Pleasure",[6] the lead single of the 1995 album Do You Hate Me?.[7] Sidi Bou Said's two succeeding studio albums—Bodies (1995) and Obsessive (1997)—and Umbrella Heaven's second CD Chosen to be Frozen (1997) also featured Woods.[8][9][10] Reflecting on a recording experience of Sidi Bou Said in 1995, Woods said "Looking back on it now, we would have done it differently but then we wouldn't have known that."[11] After Sidi Bou Said disbanded in 1998, Woods performed drumming and percussion on Lemmon's solo album Cleaner (1999).[12] In 2000, Woods was featured in the lineup of the band Ponce alongside Jim Smith of Cardiacs.[13] She did not perform on Umbrella Heaven's final album Light Sleeper (2000) before the group split up in 2001.[14]

2002–2008: North Sea Radio Orchestra and Cardiacs

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Woods live with Cardiacs at the London Astoria in 2005

Woods performed vocals in the North Sea Radio Orchestra, a contemporary chamber group formed in October 2002 by composer Craig Fortnam and his wife Sharron.[2] She was part of the North Sea Chorus on the band's first two albums—North Sea Radio Orchestra (2006) and Birds (2008)—which drew plaudits from classical publications and indie music magazines.[15][16][2] In 2004, Woods joined the lineup of the cult rock band Cardiacs as a vocalist alongside Lemmon and Sharron Fortnam, as well as percussionists Cathy Harabaras (who previously played on Cleaner and with Umbrella Heaven) and Dawn Staple. The band started work on new compositions and recordings for an album provisionally titled LSD, releasing the single "Ditzy Scene" in 2007 and touring until winter of that year.[17][18] Cardiacs frontman Tim Smith, who produced Sidi Bou Said, had a cardiac arrest in 2008 which left him with the condition dystonia and put the group on indefinite hiatus.[17][19] Woods was in the band's formation when they stopped their activities that year.[20][21]

2009–present: Knifeworld and Joanne Joanne

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Woods with Knifeworld, 2015

Kavus Torabi of Cardiacs and the North Sea Radio Orchestra enlisted Woods in his psychedelic rock band Knifeworld,[22] initially as a special guest on their debut album Buried Alone: Tales of Crushing Defeat (2009).[23] Knifeworld covered the Cardiacs song "The Stench of Honey" on the album Leader of the Starry Skies: A Tribute to Tim Smith, Songbook 1 (2010), which also features a Sidi Bou Said cover of "Victory Egg" where Woods and Lemmon "cascade across barrages of machine-gun drums with a graceful elegance".[24] The sextet released the four-track EP Clairvoyant Fortnight in 2012. According to Rob Hughes of Prog, the title track finds Torabi and Woods "trading vocals over deliciously knotty rhythms".[25] She continued to provide vocals for their albums The Unravelling (2014) and Bottled Out of Eden (2016),[26][27] sharing vocal duties with Torabi and brass player Chloe Herington,[28] as well as playing percussion and glockenspiel.[29] Bottled Out of Eden's closer "Feel the Sorcery" features vocals from the former Cardiacs percussionist, which leads to a "sax and harmony- heavy climax."[30] In an interview with Echoes and Dust, Torabi mentioned potentially making Woods the second drummer of the band with Ben Woollacott.[31] Woods is also the drummer of the all-female Duran Duran tribute act Joanne Joanne.[32] She featured on Tim Bowness's solo album Late Night Laments (2020) with Torabi.[33] The same year, the Cardacs song "Vermin Mangle" was released exclusively on Bandcamp as a single from LSD after Smith's death. In the song, Woods plays around the rhythm of drummer Bob Leith.[34]

Carpentry career

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Woods has been a qualified carpenter and joiner to NVQ level 3 since 1999[35] and makes fitted furniture. Before finding her passion in carpentry, she worked in a high street bank and as a musician.[36] She is also a part-time carpentry tutor.[35]

Discography

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With Sidi Bou Said

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Main article: Sidi Bou Said (band) § Discography

With Umbrella Heaven

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  • Do You Hate Me? (1995)
  • Chosen to be Frozen (1997)
  • New Friend (EP, 1997)[37]
  • The Golden Greats of Umbrella Heaven (compilation, 2020)[38]

With Claire Lemmon

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  • Cleaner (1999)

With North Sea Radio Orchestra

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With Cardiacs

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With Knifeworld

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Main article: Knifeworld § Discography

With Joanne Joanne

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With MX Tyrants

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  • Masters (EP, 2016)[40]

With Tim Bowness

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  • Late Night Laments (2020)

References

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  1. ^ Joanne Joanne [@JoanneJoanneUK] (5 May 2022). "Happy Birthday to our amazing drummer, Melanie Woods. Seen here taking a break from behind the kit to celebrate herself" (Tweet). Retrieved 1 May 2023 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ a b c "North Sea Radio Orchestra Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  3. ^ Larkin, Collin (2016) [Print publication 2006; published online 2009]. "Sidi Bou Said". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4 ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195313734 – via Oxford Reference.
  4. ^ Bush, John. "Sidi Bou Said Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  5. ^ "Sidi Bou Said – Broooch Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  6. ^ "Perverted Pleasure" (vinyl single liner notes). Umbrella Heaven. UK: Boogle Wonderland Records. 1994. BWL014 – via Discogs.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. ^ Umbrella Heaven (17 July 2020). "Do You Hate Me?". Bandcamp. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  8. ^ Bush, John. "Sidi Bou Said – Bodies Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  9. ^ Obsessive (CD album liner notes). Sidi Bou Said. UK: Ultimate. 1997. TOPPCD053 – via Discogs.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. ^ Umbrella Heaven (18 July 2020). "Chosen To Be Frozen". Bandcamp. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  11. ^ Leonard, Marion (2007). Gender in the Music Industry: Rock, Discourse and Girl Power (2017 ed.). Taylor & Francis. Search "Melanie Woods". ISBN 9781351218245. At time of interview drummer and vocalist in the all-female three-piece band Sidi Bou Said, based in London. Interview conducted at Warwick University, Coventry, 13 May 1995.
  12. ^ Lemmon, Claire (30 March 2021). "Cleaner". Bandcamp. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  13. ^ Palmer, Mac (22 March 2000). "For those not on the cardiacs-news mailing list". Retrieved 15 November 2024 – via Google Groups.
  14. ^ Umbrella Heaven (20 July 2020). "Light Sleeper". Bandcamp. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  15. ^ North Sea Radio Orchestra (5 November 2021). "North Sea Radio Orchestra". Bandcamp. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  16. ^ North Sea Radio Orchestra (18 November 2021). "Birds". Bandcamp. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  17. ^ a b Sgrignoli, Marco (20 July 2022). "Cardiacs – biografia, recensioni, streaming, discografia, foto". Ondarock [it] (in Italian). Retrieved 23 July 2022. [it]&rft.atitle=Cardiacs – biografia, recensioni, streaming, discografia, foto&rft.date=2022-07-20&rft.aulast=Sgrignoli&rft.aufirst=Marco&rft_id=https://www.ondarock.it/rockedintorni/cardiacs.htm&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Melanie Woods (musician)" class="Z3988">
  18. ^ Lawson, Dom (2 March 2021). "Cardiacs' best albums – a buyers guide". Classic Rock. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  19. ^ "Tim Smith, the lead singer of Cardiacs, has died aged 59". Far Out Magazine. 22 July 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  20. ^ Gallato, Fabio (22 July 2020). "È morto Tim Smith, frontman dei Cardiacs". ImpattoSonoro (in Italian). Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  21. ^ Bell, Adrian (2011). Aylesbury Bolton Wolverhampton Hove: A Little Man and 101 Cardiacs Gigs. Sullivan County, New York: Iron Bell Publishing. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-95-687950-9.
  22. ^ Evans, Matt (3 August 2011). "On A Knife Edge: An Interview With Kavus Torabi". The Quietus. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  23. ^ "Knifeworld". UK Festival Guides. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  24. ^ Shepherd, Sam (26 November 2010). "Various Artists – Leader Of The Starry Skies: A Tribute To Tim Smith. Songbook 1". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  25. ^ Hughes, Rob (20 June 2012). "Knifeworld: Clairvoyant Fortnight". Prog. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  26. ^ Kitching, Sean (30 September 2014). "Reviews | Knifeworld". The Quietus. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  27. ^ Roberts, Chris (21 April 2016). "The Lead Review: Chris Roberts On Knifeworld's Bottled Out Of Eden". The Quietus. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  28. ^ Dalton, Stephen (22 June 2015). "Knifeworld Live in Bristol". Prog. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  29. ^ Johnston, Emma (2 July 2014). "Life At The Sharp End". Prog. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  30. ^ Hamnett, Alun (18 May 2016). "Bottled Out Of Eden". Record Collector. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  31. ^ Piko, Cameron. "Interview: Kavus Torabi from Knifeworld, Guapo and Gong". Echoes and Dust. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  32. ^ Cole, Paul (30 June 2014) [originally published 29 June 2014]. "Duran Duran: Watch Joanne Joanne – the Duran Duran tribute act with a difference". Birmingham Live. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  33. ^ Munro, Scott (3 July 2020). "Tim Bowness shares abstract video for new single I'm Better Now". Prog. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  34. ^ Benac, Eric (27 August 2021). The Cardiacs: Every Album, Every Song. On Track. Sonicbond Publishing. p. 171. ISBN 9781789521313.
  35. ^ a b Woods, Melanie. "About me". Melanie Woods. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  36. ^ "5 Little Known Facts About A Career in Carpentry". Wealthy Student. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  37. ^ New Friend (CD EP liner notes). Umbrella Heaven. UK: Boogle Wonderland Records. 1997. BWL021 – via Discogs.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  38. ^ "The Golden Greats of Umbrella Heaven". Bandcamp. 5 June 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  39. ^ a b "Stream Joanne Joanne music". Retrieved 15 November 2024 – via SoundCloud.
  40. ^ "Masters". MX Tyrants. 21 October 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2024 – via Bandcamp.
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