We chat to the Sleuth, the band behind the mesmerising and sleek, jazz-driven vocals, layered over dark funk, soaring soul, and quirky pop vibes.
Hi legends, thanks for chatting to Forte! First up, can you tell us a bit about your musical project Sleuth?
Mel: Live, we play as a three piece (Me, Az and J) from Portland. Our sound is a blend of dark funk, blues and jazz, but there’s a massive range of styles on our album, ranging from quirky pop songs and electronica, to really dark and moody and almost operatic pieces, to full orchestral symphonies similar to The Greatest Showman.
J: Our name ‘Sleuth’ is a subtle reference to the nature of curiosity, being opposed to fear, acknowledging that there’s always more to learn.
Your release Umbra/Anima really put the spotlight on your incredibly cinematic sound. Tell us a bit about the release, how did it all come together?
Mel: I’d been working on Umbra Anima for about three years, with about four songs done and the concept of the rest of the album just in my head, waiting for the opportunity to record it properly. I met J in October last year, and he took a few of my songs and turned them into some really different, bigger things, with orchestras, and electronica. ‘Make A Meal’ was initially an acapella recording on my phone at that point, and he wrote Rhodes, bass and percussion for it – gave the song its ‘teeth’! We also wrote four new tracks on top of that in two months. And then we suddenly had a 10-track album!
What are some of your influences? That release gives us some Alt J, Chelsea Wolfe vibes, while some songs are very minimal with some jazz influence perhaps?
J: We each contribute an exhausting list of contrasting and diverse overlapping musical influences.
Mel: Big textured soul vocals are a really big feature for me, so Jeff Buckley, Aretha Franklin, Amy Winehouse, those artists are all a huge influence in how I sing. I’m a massive Portishead fan, so vocally Beth Gibbons is a massive influence. Forte’s review of our album had me in tears when I read it – comparing my voice to hers is pretty much the highest compliment anyone could give me!
Az: My influences are more rock-based, and I write with live performance in mind, which is different to Mel and J. So yeah, we all have really different tastes.
Tell us about your newest track ‘High Stakes’. Is this part of an EP or upcoming release?
Mel: It’s a prelude to the next album… working title of Lux. I’m not sure yet what the finished feel of this next album will be – definitely less vulnerable than Umbra Anima, more… I don’t know, ‘ballsy’ I guess. Umbra Anima was a cathartic album, and now it’s ‘out’ it seems I’m writing less subjectively- maybe with less ego involved. Umbra Anima feels heavy and personal by contrast. The songs so far for Lux have more of Az’s influence for this album, which is great because traditionally he’s always written high energy rock songs and having him more involved in writing makes for great live material.
Are you working on anything more right now?
Mel: J and I are about to drop our side project’s debut album – Sleuth & The Guru, ‘Fly By Design’, on Sept 15, which I’m super excited and impatient about. It’s some of the best jazz/funk stuff I’ve ever written vocally, and is really fun and uplifting. While a lot of the songs on there, like ‘Headspace’ and ‘Got The Funk’ and ‘Golden’ are still quite personal, creatively the music is a lot more deliberately philosophical rather than emotional.
J: We actually also have a number of other projects planned; there’s an ‘urban chill’ EP in progress, which includes one of our tracks ‘We Could Be Art’, and some heavier electronica sets as well. ‘High Stakes’ is a glimpse into future albums, on the cusp of us releasing a completely different funk album “Fly By Design.”
You’re halfway through your Umbra Anima tour which is exciting. What do you love about taking your music on the road?
Mel: I love performing, whether to a small party or a big pub or festival. Any chance I get to play is awesome! It’s hard to schedule with three small kids, but weekends away playing three or four gigs in a row is fun too – we’ve learnt a lot, really quickly, about our sound, and what works best live for us.
You’ve done your Victorian tours, and you’ll be hitting up South Australia over the next few months. Why did you choose to take your music to SA?
Mel: We’re quite close to Mt Gambier – people over there seem to be more appreciative of jazz and funk than in semi-rural Victoria… We’re definitely open to playing more in Victoria; it’s a matter of finding the right venue to suit our sound. We’ll be looking at more Victorian places to play in January.
Are you more at home with music on the stage or at home creating?
Mel: Both really – creating is a lot freer for me, something I do by myself, playing and recording and listening and composing via internet… on stage with Az and J is a different beastie – about performance rather than being creative. I’ve worked from home on 4 tracks this year with other interstate and even international artists via Instagram and Facebook, which has kept me buzzing creatively in between my own albums and gigs, it’s definitely easier to manage collabs that way than trying to schedule rehearsals!
We loved your cover of Tool’s ‘Stinkfist’ and how you genuinely made it your own. Is this one you like to play live? Do you have any other tracks that you LOVE to perform live?
Mel: It’s one of my favs to play live. I have to really pick the moment to play it on stage because it blends with our original Poison Skin, but the more dark intimate feel of the song means I get to slow the show down and really talk to an audience by way of introduction, and engage them… it tends to be one of the songs that gets the biggest response from people. Other favourites would be Meal, Knife Edge, and In The Dark, probably because they are so personal for me. Live, I love the latest track we’ve written for ‘Lux’ called ‘Cookie Tin’ – it’s a blues-rock groove with huge Aretha-style vocals.
Thanks so much for chatting to us! Any last words?
Mel: Come see us play, check us out via online platforms, say hi online! And thanks Forte, for the opportunity to chat about our music!