Filip Melo (b. 1986 in Fritsla) is a Swedish composer based in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Melo begun his studies at the Gotland School of Music Composition, where his teachers were Henrik Strindberg, Per Mårtensson and Sven-David Sandström. He holds a Bachelor in composition from the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, and a Masters degree from the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen, where his teachers were Per Lindgren, Bent Sørensen and Hans Abrahamsen, among others.
Melo’s aesthetics are influenced by the polyphonic and modal music of the European Renaissance, as well as visual arts and poetry. His work contains both acoustic and electronic music.
Over the years, he has created his own artistic profile, which he refers to as ‘Relative Music‘– where the music is composed as controlled improvisations. Melo asks musicians to follow their own inner pulse and act on what is written, whilst actively listening and reacting to what the other musicians are playing. From time to time, the piece will always be played in a new way, with moments of recognition. The main elements are breathing, active listening and meditation – being alert to what is happening here and now. This can be compared to installation music or/and sometimes drone music – where a listener’s attention is directed inwards – such as in meditation or to contemplate a painting in silence. Yoga, meditation and Buddhism have been of great influence on the development of Melo’s ‘Relative Music‘ – not so much as a form of spiritual music, but more as an invitation to contemplation and reflection for both the musician and the listener.
During his studies and subsequently, Filip has always been professionally involved in concert and festival production – both as a producer, production manager and curator. Among other things, he founded the experimental electronic music festival SONIC in 2012, together with Gunnar Karel Másson which has received praise from the press.
Melo has over fifteen years of experience as a concert producer and bas been working as a contractor at The Royal Danish Conservatory of Music, producing a performance of Simon Steen Andersen’s ‘Black Box Music‘, and Percussion Pulse Festival.
Since 2021 he is the managing director at Klang Festival in Copenhagen.
