22 June 2022
Within a skateboard accessory-adorned room of the Five Points skateshop, the particular up-and-coming shoegazy indie rockband Melon In played a romantic show — perhaps the final in the city that they were only available in. Led by frontwoman plus guitarist Ony Ratsimbaharison, the particular band played at Bluetile Skateshop in the type of display that locals in Columbia often play — varied venues with a snug, thorough fanbase on hand supporting all of them. But with this one being their own last, it marked the final of Ratsimbaharison’s musical task in the city. She relocated in early June with the girl partner and local professional photographer Daniel Hare to the Western Coast to pursue their particular careers. The final show in Bluetile Skateshop followed several headlining shows at various other local venues like Colatown Bike Collective and nearby rock bar New Brookland Tavern as well as shows within Asheville and Charleston. The particular band also opened on the homecoming show for indie star Chaz Bear’s Toro y Moi project. Whilst Ratsimbaharison said she programs to keep the project with your life in some form, as the lady continues to view it as the girl songwriting vehicle, its existence in Columbia is all yet finished for the foreseeable future. “I started Melon In within 2016 and it was simply a solo kind of project… there has been a few different Columbia music artists who have played in it, inch said Ratsimbaharison. “A lots of my experiences are Columbia experiences. “Melon In began with house shows prior to venturing on to become a complete four-piece band and actively playing local venues. Their first EP “are you sad” released in 2020 and it is available on streaming services. Their own subsequent single “takes me” — a song that will hinges on the songwriters find it difficult to feel free in a space associated with expression — came out within 2021. The band continues to be actively playing in Columbia as well as the surrounding region over the last couple of years. Even before that, Ratsimbaharison was obviously a presence in the local music picture, playing in the rock clothing Chemical Peel, where the lady met friend and many other musician Chris Gardner. “She’s been a staple within the music scene for a while, inch Gardner said. “With Melons In… it’s really great to find out her front and middle in the writing chair once again. “Rasimbaharison’s songwriting is motivated by her everyday life, the lady said, and hoped that the move could bring much more inspiration for her writing. Like a Columbia native, Ratsimbaharison’s tunes, past and current, are usually distinct to her life with this scene and the social scenery of Columbia. She views her move to Los Angeles like a transition that Melon Within takes rather than an end towards the project as a whole — from the full band to a go back to a solo act. “I would like to be like Dolly Parton or someone who writes music about anybody, but for today it’s about anything that occurs me, ” she stated of her songwriting procedure. Melon In’s departure is just not uncommon in the city’s nearby music scene (and other people in the region) can be reduce short by practical living developments — like concentrating on one’s career — or even other simple complications. Certainly, while not due to transience within the last year or so Columbia has observed its music scene change. Promising groups like Saul Seibert’s fire and brimstone rock outfit Boo Hag ended for unclear factors and folk singer Master McDonald’s left to join the particular Peace Corps in early 2022 after releasing his 2021 album ‘Inside Out. ‘On one hand, this is effectively standard for local music moments in city’s the size of Columbia and it’s a type of transience that will local musicians embrace, Gardner, who is a bassist within local bands, said. The particular Columbia music scene permits these kinds of transitions to take place since it fosters an environment welcoming associated with start-ups as well as long-standing organizations, Gardner said. He remarked that as a college town, Columbia has an especially come-and-go environment that can be both a disadvantage and a boon to advance within the scene — normally welcoming new ideas plus new projects, but dropping them at a similar price. “Columbia punches above the weight, ” Gardner mentioned, as far as providing a space intended for bands to be conceived plus blossom. Ratsimbaharison said that the particular scene for her has become a host to home within a home. The lady hopes that this next step is going to be not only a successful move on her, but an encouragement in order to future bands to see exactly where their projects can take all of them.