Raw, aggressive, and original acoustic house party blues by the founder of the seminal indie rock band Dirt Merchants.

13 MP3 Songs
BLUES: Acoustic Blues, FOLK: Folk Blues



Details:
Orb Mellon is the alter ego and roots music moniker of Mike Malone, founder and guitarist of the seminal 90s indie rock band Dirt Merchants.

Between 1992 and 1997, Dirt Merchants released a handful of critically acclaimed singles on their own label, V-Hold. Their first full length album âScarifiedâ was released on then fledgling label Zero Hour in 1994 and re-released on Sony/Epic in 1995. Dirt Merchantsâ DIY concept EP âSwiss Bankâ was released in spring 1997 shortly before the band decided to call it quits. Their second full length album âThe Speed At Which You Speakâ produced in 1996-1997 remains unreleased.

After Dirt Merchants broke up, Mike joined the short lived Chicago based indie supergroup Ultraswiss which included members of Veruca Salt, The Joy Poppers, and Nectarine. More recently, Mike contributed slide and electric guitar to 27âs album, âHolding On For Brighter Daysâ (EU release: Undergroove, 2005; US release: Relapse, 2007).

As Orb Mellon, Mike mines the raw energy of pre-electric American roots music, particularly whiskey fueled house party delta blues. Influenced by the likes of Son House, Bukka White, Furry Lewis, and Charlie Patton, Orb performs pure, righteous, and sonically aggressive acoustic blues, free from any quaintness or historicism, prompting one reviewer to identify Orb Mellon's work simply as "blues in all its primeval glory" (Tangled In The Roots, July 2006).

Recorded in the late autumn of 2006, Orb Mellonâs debut "Love Above" was produced with a commitment to preserving the directness, spontaneity, and emotional urgency inherent in the best early blues recordings. To that end, all but one of the albumâs thirteen original tracks were recorded in a single day with the majority executed in only one take. The result is a raw, diverse, and exciting collection of original country blues. Enjoy!