Danny Mellin
As he embarks on a nationwide headline tour, Oxfordshire indie musician Danny Mellin talks to us about getting his start on the pub circuit, how his music has such an honest quality and where his largest fanbase is.
When did you know that you wanted to be a musician?
I’ve always had music in my life - even from the age of about three my dad would make me listen to the obscure stuff he was into - but I think when I turned about 13, 14. I’d been playing guitar since six and in secondary school I did a few talent shows which went really well, they got a great response from everyone and I got this real buzz from doing it, so I started busking and playing pubs. It was around 14 I thought “OK, maybe I can make something from this, or if not at least I’m having fun doing it!”.
Where are you based?
I’m originally from Oxfordshire, which makes people think of Oxford and Harry Potter and all that, but Oxford is actually about half an hour away from me - I’m in a tiny village with no street lights! There’s a pub though, which is great. It’s pretty remote! At the moment though I’m in Sheffield - even though Oxfordshire is great you can get a bit stuck by staying in one city, so I moved up north to kind of have a bit of time to actually work as a musician. I moved up here in 2021 and within a year I was headlining The Leadmill! I go back home quite a lot - my heart is definitely still in Oxfordshire - but I do love Sheffield as well.
Have you found being from somewhere so remote to be a hindrance at all?
There’s a good music scene in the centre of Oxford, but for me though when I started out I wasn’t ready to be part of that yet. I kind of just needed to learn how to properly play in front of people, get better at that, so my dad would drive to my nearest town to play in the pubs there. I got some odd looks from the bar staff, this 15 year old trying to set up with his guitar and do some tunes! When I got the boys in who play with me - they’re all mates from school - that changed things for me and opened a lot of doors, helped me really get into Oxford’s music scene. It’s a really thriving music scene, but not too big which I think is a good thing because it means that anyone starting out can get their foot in the door.
How do you write?
It’s not really a set thing for me, like there’s always an element to it which just comes out of nowhere, like falling out of the sky. Sometimes a lyric, sometimes a melody, or sometimes it might be inspired by one of the band members writing a riff… You just get these brainwaves which come really quickly, and often you find that those are the ones that are the easiest to write and connect with the audience the fastest. I often write about observational stuff, like things I’ve seen out and around, but I always write about what I know - I started writing when I was about 14, and I’m 20 now, so I think I’m a bit wiser, I know a bit more. I always try to put a bit of a spin on it, I don’t want to approach things in a way that feels too cliched. But my music’s quite energetic and in your face, so I think the lyrics need to be fun, kind of an escape.
What are you listening to at the moment?
More recently I’ve been trying to listen to a wider range of music, as I think if you just stick with the kind of music you’re making then your creativity can get a bit lost. At the moment though The Lathums and Fontaines DC are my favourite bands going around, and I’m listening to a lot of Nick Drake as well, who I’ve never really listened to before.
You have quite a few live dates coming up - where are you playing?
Our first was Leeds, which was a venue called Royal Park Cellars - the energy in that place was nuts, it was great. We’ve taken a couple of weeks off - the way touring is it can be difficult to book venues back to back, especially when you’re starting out - but then we’ve got London on the 2nd of April, Oxford on the 6th, Manchester on the 14th, Coventry the 15th, Newport over in Wales on the 22nd, Bristol on the 28th which is now sold out, and Sheffield on the 29th. I’m half Welsh, and I actually have quite a lot of Welsh fans, so I’m looking forward to playing there!
Words: Scott Bates