Melanie Dekker
Melanie Dekker (Born 1 June 1971[1] in Calgary, Kanada) is a Canadian Singer-Songwriter with Dutch people roots living in Vancouver. Stylistically she is somewhere between Pop music and Folk but she is also inspired by Country, Rock music and Blues .[2]
Career
Early Years
Born in Calgary, Alberta, Melanie grew up in Vancouver, British Colombia from the age of five, where she still lives today.
According to Dekker, she came to music through an experience when she was thirteen in high school, where she saw a girl about five years her senior playing the guitar and singing. This moment touched Melanie Dekker so much that she wanted to move people with music too, so she started playing the guitar and singing and replaying the songs she loved at home. As a teenager, Dekker often performed the cover songs she had learned in a restaurant in her small home seaside village of Deep Cove, BC, Canada, laying the foundation for her later career.[3][4]
Straight out of high school, Melanie Dekker enrolled in the Jazz program at Capilano University in Vancouver and she completed the two-year course with a Commercial Music Diploma in Jazz & Pop and Music Therapy in 1992..[2]
Chronology
Even whilst studying Melanie Dekker grew into a successful live artist in the 1990s, becoming a name at festivals and other events. From 1992 to 1995, Dekker sang as a frontwoman in rock and Top 40 Country Cover Bands Gold Rush, Palomino and Double-Take, with whom she performed throughout British Columbia and Alberta Western Canada.
In 1996 Dekker lived in the ski resort of Whistler (British Columbia) where she also worked as a Disc jockey/VJ at Buffalo Bills Night Club. There, Melanie Dekker had to take a compulsory break from music as there was a risk of permanent damage to her vocal cords - three years of almost non-stop touring had strained her voice. After three months of rest, Dekker started performing solo and writing her own songs, slowly moving away from Cover songs.
1997 was followed by Dekker's debut album, Impulsive, an acoustic pop/rock CD she co-wrote and Producer (music) with John Roles and recorded with John Ellis. This album was available throughout Western Canada.[5]
Around the turn of the Millennium celebrations, from 1998 to 2001, Melanie Dekker devoted herself to several projects, including working as a Music therapy therapist for the Stroke Recovery Association of BC, where she looked after stroke patients. Dekker also spent two years with the popular group 4 Play, later renamed Cherrybomb, a Vancouver music project, with whom she released two albums and toured Canada, the US and Europe. Dekker also released her second Indie rock album Uh-Huh in a limited edition in 1999 and one of her songs, When I Think of You, made it onto the soundtrack of the Canadian motion picture film Better Than Chocolate.[6][2][7]
In 2003 she started a month long European tour through Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. She got the idea from German fans who had seen the singer live in North American winter sports resorts and had convinced her to perform in Europe. Shortly after that tour, Dekker released her indie album Just Because in February. The song Speechless made it onto the soundtrack of the Canadian film Little Brother Of War and the track I Said I became a hit, spending 13 weeks in the Top 50 on Canada's BDS Airplay Chart and topping the Australian Indie Chart for four straight weeks . Two more tours in Canada/USA and Europe with dozens of concerts followed in Spring and Autumn. Canada's wedding magazine Real Weddings snapped up a demo song by Dekker, I'll Wear Your Ring, in late summer and named it a potential wedding song of the year. In November, Dekker Guest appearance|guest-starred at the Bryan Adams concert in Kamloops|Kamloops, Canada.[8][9][10]
In 2004, Melanie Dekker released the live album live + lekker, which included selected live recordings from her European tours the previous year. A month-long European tour followed in the Spring. Also in 2004, she wrote a song with actor Sean Penn. Her song I Said I became part of the popular American soap opera All My Children. Over the summer, Melanie Dekker attended a major benefit concert in Vancouver, the Motown Meltdown, which featured 30 of Vancouver's most talented artists to raise funds for the Shooting Stars Foundation, which supports HIV/AIDS|AIDS patients. Dekker also opened for country singer Faith Hill's Whistler, British Columbia|Whistler concert. Dekker wrote the love song Fall in/Wounded Soldier for a benefit concert in Hampton, New York|Hamptons, New York, United States|USA in aid of the US Wounded Soldiers Foundation. This song caused a stir years later and Dekker had only made the finishing touches to it before the flight to the concert landed. At this concert, Dekker was seen by Bill Zabit, owner of the then Californian label Zabit Records and Sonoma Mountain Entertainment, who offered her to produce songs with Scott Church, a respected Record producer|producer, under highly professional conditions in his new Recording studio|studio. Dekker was signed by Zabit some time later.[9][11][12][4][13][14][15][16]
In May 2005 her label released an Extended play|EP of her planned album Revealed. After that, Melanie Dekker, who had been on stage every other day for almost eight years, went on a European tour again. At the end of October, Dekker performed at a private benefit concert hosted by jazz singer Diana Krall for the William J. Clinton Foundation, where she met former President of the United States|US President Bill Clinton. It was more of a coincidence that the successful US producer David Kershenbaum came into the studio at the end of the year to work on Revealed, and when he heard Dekker's songs he was so enthusiastic that he offered to co-produce this album.[9][17][11]
In late spring 2007, Melanie Dekker toured Europe with her Revealed album. She took a leading role in an episode of the Canadian television series Making it Big, a talent show in which media talents produced a music video with her. At the end of the year, Dekker toured Germany solo. She had accumulated several new songs over the year which she self-released on the acoustic album Acoustic Ride at the end of the year.[18][19][20][21][22]
In 2008, Dekker teamed up with Kevin Kennedy Music Promotions (USA) as her booking agency and Fortune Records for European distribution. During two European tours that year she promoted her album Revealed. Dekker received two nominations at the 2008 Los Angeles Music Awards (LAMA) for Humanitarianism|Humanitarian Artist of the Year and Music video|Music Video of the Year. The nomination was because of Dekker's social commitment with the now 4yr old song Fall In/Wounded Soldier. Al Bowman, LAMA founder and producer, said about it's video "Fall In/Wounded Soldier is probably one of the most moving love song videos that I've ever seen."[18][9][23]
In 2009, Melanie Dekker toured twice through mainly the Scandinavia|Scandinavian region. In November, she was awarded a Medal of Honor for her exemplary service with the song Fall in/Wounded Soldier. The Chief of Defense Staff Medal of Excellence was presented by the Military commander|Military Commander of the Canadian Armed Forces. At his invitation, Dekker flew to Afghanistan over Christmas. There she performed 11 concerts for Canadian and US soldiers within two days. She documented the experiences of this trip in a private video that she published the following spring under the name Christmas in Afghanistan.[18][9][24]
In the winter of 2009/2010, Melanie Dekker co-produced a small series of videos with Len Rooney documenting her life in her hometown of Vancouver and published them online under the names Season's Greetings, Bye Bye Wisdom Teeth, Vancouver Polar Bear Swim 2010, Melanie Dekker HMCS Vancouver and Melanie Dekker @ the 2010 Winter Olympics|Vancouver Olympics 2010. In March, Dekker helped raise funds at fundraisers for the 2010 Winter Paralympics|2010 Paralympic Winter Games. On her spring tour entitled Here & Now she released the EP of the same name. Dekker used some recordings from this spring tour for a live CD, which she released in September under the name Lekker Dekker Live 2010. Part two of the Here & Now tour followed in Autumn, mainly leading through Northern Europe. Here she co-wrote the love song Until the Wind Stops Blowin in Denmark with Robbin Thompson, an American singer-songwriter.[24][25][26][27]
In early 2011, Melanie Dekker went into the studio to record new tracks for the album Here & Now, which was released in March. In Spring and Autumn she went on the third and fourth Here & Now tour through Europe, which included almost 50 concerts in Autumn. The songs on the record had meanwhile been heard on many popular radio stations in Canada, Germany and Netherlands|The Netherlands.[9][28][18][29][30]
In the Spring of 2012, another European tour followed, which consisted of over 50 concerts in Germany, Netherlands|The Netherlands and Denmark. For a dozen concerts on this tour, Dekker was supported by Canadian folk rock band Spirit of the West member John Mann (musician)|John Mann, and she also played two double concerts in Denmark with US Americana (music)|Americana hit singer-songwriter Edwin McCain.[9][31] The first songs for her new album Distant Star were written in the summer. Melanie Dekker also performed in Estonia for the first time as part of a small Open-air concert|open-air tour. The song Worry Gets You Nowhere, carried by a banjo, was also created at the Viru Folk Festival there..[32]
Melanie Dekker kicked off 2013 with the video for her piano ballad What A Fool I Am[33] before embarking on her five week Sunshine from Vancouver tour of Europe in February.[34] Back in her native Vancouver, Dekker worked on songs for Distant Star in the studio for a few months and prepared the Autumn European tour of the same name.[9] With 55 concerts it was the Canadian's biggest so far.[31] The now finished album was first pre-released during this tour and then officially went on sale in Germany on November 11, 2013 via Membrane Entertainment Group.[9]
In mid-January 2014, Dekker released the self-produced video for her song Worry Gets You Nowhere[35] and officially released her new album Distant Star on February 15 in her hometown of Vancouver on the North American music market.[9] The album had already sold 10,000 copies in Western Europe. The music video for the album's title track, filmed in Mallorca in Sóller, followed in mid April 2014.[36]
Melanie worked with studio engineer Sheldon Zaharko in 2011 during the recording of "Here & Now", and she teamed up with him again in 2018 where he co-produced the "Secret Spot" album project. This was supported by Creative BC and the Government of British Columbia|Government of British Columbia. The song "Front Row" was recorded at Bryan Adam's The Warehouse Studio|Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, and Keith Scott (musician)|Keith Scott, Bryan Adams guitar player, added his guitar chops on the song about Melanie's Father "Te Amo Mucho" and the guitar-Ebo part on the first track "Memories of You".[37][38][39]
Awards
In 2009, Melanie Dekker was awarded the Chief of Defense Staff Medal of Excellence by the Canadian Armed Forces Commanding officer|Military Commander, General Walter Natynczyk, for the services and support provided through her song Fall in/Wounded Soldier..[24]
Albums
Melanie Dekker
| Year | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Impulsive[40] | MMI (Me, Myself and I)[41] |
| 1999 | Uh-huh | |
| 2003 | Just Because | |
| 2004 | live + lekker | |
| 2006 | Revealed | Sonoma Mountain Entertainment |
| 2007[21] | Acoustic Ride | EEE (Elephant Ears Entertainment)[42] |
| 2010 | Lekker Dekker Live 2010 | |
| 2011 | Here & Now | |
| 2013[43] | Distant Star | |
| 2015[9] | lekker, eh; live in europe | |
| 2018[44] | Secret Spot |
Melanie Dekker at 4 Play
| Year | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 2000[45] | 4 Play | Independent |
| In Your Head |
European Live Tours & Tour Members
Melanie Dekker usually has one or more musicians accompanying her at her live concerts. Depending on the venue, she is also supported by guest musician friends. However, the core of the tours in recent years mostly consisted of the following artists[18]:
- Guitar: Jason Nett, Eric Reed, Jim Holland, Stefan Rapp, David Sinclair
- Bass: David Marion, Allan Rodger, Dino Dinicolo, Patrick Meldrum, Jason Nett, Billy Mendoza, Martin Rose, Frank Staudacher[31]
- Keyboard/Piano: Tara Ward-Moran, Eric Reed, Allan Rodger, Mike Bell, David Pickell, Sven Rowoldt, Thomas Fuchs[31]
- Drums: Sam Cartwright, Dino Dinicolo, John Stoltz, Terry Paton, Mani Nassefat
- Background Vocals: Vicky Sjohall
- Violin: Elyse Jacobsen
European Tours (2003 - Present )
| Jahr | Titel | Countries | Tourmitglieder |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Just Because Tour | DE, NL, UK | Dino Dinicolo, Stefan Rapp |
| Just Because Tour 2 | DE, NL | Stefan Rapp | |
| 2004 | Melanie Dekker Tour | DE, NL, CH | Stefan Rapp |
| 2005 | Melanie Dekker Tour | DE, PL | Jason Nett, Sam Cartwright, Patt Meldrum |
| 2007 | European Revealed Tour | DE, CH, AT, CZ | Stefan Rapp, Sam Cartwright, David Marion |
| German Acoustic Christmas Tour | DE | Solo | |
| 2008 | Nordic Spring Tour | DK, SE, DE, CZ | Jason Nett |
| Wishful Thinking Tour I | DE, NL, DK, BE | Stefan Rapp, Mani Nassefat | |
| 2009 | Wishful Thinking Tour II | DE, DK | Jason Nett |
| Wishful Thinking Tour III | DE, DK, NO, SE, CZ, UK | Vicky Sjohall, David Marion, Stefan Rapp | |
| 2010 | Here & Now Tour 1 | DE, AT, NL | Mike Bell, Elyse Jacobsen |
| Here & Now Tour 2 | DE, DK, NO, SE, FI | Mike Bell, Elyse Jacobsen, Sam Cartwright | |
| 2011 | Here & Now Tour 3 | DE, DK, NL | Stefan Rapp, Martin Rose |
| Here & Now Tour 4 | DE, DK, CZ, AT | David Sinclair, Stefan Rapp, Martin Rose | |
| 2012 | Here & Now & Everywhere | DE, A, CH, DK, NL | Allan Rodger, Stefan Rapp, Sven Rowoldt, John Mann |
| 2013[46] | Sunshine From Vancouver | DE, DK | David Sinclair, Sven Rowoldt, Allan Rodger[47] |
| Distant Star[31] | DE, NL, DK, SE, AT, CH | David Sinclair, Thomas Fuchs, Martin Rose, Allan Rodger, Stefan Rapp[31] | |
| 2014 | Euro Tour 2014 | DE, NL, SE, DK, CZ, A | David Sinclair, Thomas Fuchs, Sven Rowoldt, Frank Staudacher[31] |
References
- ↑ Tanja Güfel: “Kreativität ist noch lange nicht erschöpft” In: Vorarlberger Nachrichten, 11. September 2015.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Biography — Melanie Dekker". Retrieved 2022-05-02.
- ↑ "Home". Medienwerkstatt Bonn (in Deutsch). Retrieved 2022-05-02.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Hemifrån". www.hemifran.com. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
- ↑ Impulsive, 1997-10-03, retrieved 2022-05-02
- ↑ "Blog — Melanie Dekker — Canadian Singer, Songwriter, Performer, Musician".
- ↑ Better Than Chocolate - The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 1999-01-04, retrieved 2022-05-02
- ↑ "Home".
- ↑ 9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 9.10 "Blog — Melanie Dekker — Canadian Singer, Songwriter, Performer, Musician". Retrieved 2022-05-02.
- ↑ "Melanie Dekker - Europe May 2007". Melanie Dekker - Europe May 2007. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 World-renowned Record Producer David Kershenbaum Working with New Singer/Songwriter Melanie Dekker. In: prweb.com, 21. November 2005 (englisch).
- ↑ "From My Position... On the way!". tcoverride.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
- ↑ https://www.mixonline.com/
- ↑ "Melanie Dekker: live + lekker CD Track Listing at cyList". www.cylist.com.
- ↑ "Motown Meltdown: reviewvancouver". www.reviewvancouver.org.
- ↑ "HOME". Bea Broda.
- ↑ https://mazacom.blogs.com/wishfulthinking/
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 "Dekker Nordic 2008". Dekker Nordic 2008. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
- ↑ "Melanie Dekker - Europe May 2007". Melanie Dekker - Europe May 2007. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
- ↑ Making It Big (Reality-TV), Force Four Entertainment, 2004-04-24, retrieved 2022-05-02
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 Daniel Daus: Melanie Dekker / Acoustic Ride. In: rocktimes.de, 16. November 2008.
- ↑ management, I. U. "Recording Artist Melanie Dekker, bids adieu to Sonoma Mountain Entertainment and Zabit records". PRLog. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
- ↑ "Dekker Nordic 2008". Dekker Nordic 2008. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 "Canadian Recording Artist Melanie Dekker Raises Funds for Disabled Athletes and Gives Performances for Transportation Minister and Soldiers in Afghanistan". www.newswire.com. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
- ↑ Daniel Daus: Melanie Dekker / Here & Now In: rocktimes.de, 13. April 2010.
- ↑ "Melanie Dekker - Lekker Dekker – Live 2010 - Musik an sich". www.musikansich.de. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
- ↑ "Melanie Dekker Here and Now Tour 2". Melanie Dekker Here and Now Tour 2. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
- ↑ Daniel Daus: Melanie Dekker / Here & Now (CD) In: rocktimes.de, 21. März 2011.
- ↑ http://mazacom.blogs.com/dekker_here_and_now_3
- ↑ "Melanie Dekker - Here & Now Tour 1". Melanie Dekker - Here & Now Tour 1. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
- ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 31.3 31.4 31.5 31.6 https://mazacom.blogs.com/melanie_dekker_distant_to/
- ↑ "Worry gets you nowhere_Pre Mix" – via soundcloud.com.
- ↑ "Melanie Dekker - What A Fool I Am" – via www.youtube.com.
- ↑ http://mazacom.blogs.com/dekker-vancouver-sunshine/
- ↑ "Melanie Dekker - Worry Gets You Nowhere" – via www.youtube.com.
- ↑ "Melanie Dekker - Distant Star" – via www.youtube.com.
- ↑ "Secret Spot — Melanie Dekker". Retrieved 2022-05-02.
- ↑ "CD: Here & Now – Full length — Melanie Dekker". Retrieved 2022-05-02.
- ↑ "Melanie Dekker's a born storyteller". The Georgia Straight. 2018-03-07. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
- ↑ http://student.vfs.com/~fridge/melani/index.html[dead link]
- ↑ http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/dekker
- ↑ http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/dekkerm
- ↑ "Distant Star CD — Melanie Dekker".
- ↑ "Secret Spot — Melanie Dekker".
- ↑ http://idolforums.com/index.php?showtopic=451643&mode=threaded
- ↑ http://backstagepro.regioactive.de/melaniedekker
- ↑ "Verträumt und herzlich: Melanie Dekker im Theaterstübchen". www.hna.de.
External links
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