Melee Beats
Melee Beats is the alias for multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and producer Nic Bertino (born October 3rd, 1985). With over 10 years of production experience, Melee Beats crafts diverse, concise, and innovative tracks that combine elements of funk, 80s synthpop, R&B, and modern dance music. His talent has been recognized by national and international press, often drawing comparisons to Daft Punk, The Neptunes, and Junior Boys. Melee’s classic vocal house song “Distraction” has been rotated on BBC Radio 1 and reviewed by Pitchfork Media, alongside praise from partygoers and bloggers alike. Listeners enjoy Melee’s unique texture, strong percussion, infectious vocals, and unique live performance. With his fourth studio album “Triumph” and its lead single “Gotta Know,” Melee has solidified himself in dance music’s elite. 2009 brings “Hot! Damage” and “I Am Lost,” two highly anticipated albums that are expected to continue the success of the Melee Beats sound.
Have you performed live in front of an audience? Any special memories?
Yes - I absolutely love playing live. I had my CD release party at Ruby Skye in San Francisco, and it was the best night of my entire life. All of the attention, the buzz in the air, and the mood was perfect. I just love to entertain.
Your musical influences
Take Prince and The Revolution, mix it with the sound of disco in the late 70s, a touch of modern dance music, and pop vocals and you've got the Melee Beats sound!
What equipment do you use?
AKAI APC 40; Blue Dragonfly; M-Audio Fast Track 8r; Novation XIO 25
Anything else?
Two albums forthcoming, be on the lookout for those. I'm producing other artists on a case by case basis, and also have some tracks for lease. Just message me if you have something in mind.
