Melissa Weikart
here, there [2022]
Released May 27th, 2022 on Northern Spy Records.
"There are countless intimate, fret-noise-filled records from singer-guitarists across the history of modern popular music, but solo piano and voice releases remain a comparative rarity. It’s hard to imagine an artist better equipped to contribute to this canon than France-based singer, keyboardist, and composer Melissa Weikart. A conservatory-trained classical pianist and improviser, Weikart’s accompaniment on her debut album, Here, There, swells to catharses of orchestral proportions; it’s usually easy to forget this is the work of just one player. Here, adding additional instruments also might obscure some of this bold and playful record’s most compelling interplay: the way Weikart’s hands frequently seem to move out of correspondence with each other, reaching for conflicting rhythms and key areas."
Engineered and Mixed by Peter Atkinson
Mastered by Matthew Azevedo
Cover photo by Maria Fernandes
Design by Jules Evens
testing all my memories [2019]
“Testing All My Memories (Live)” is a live album of solo piano/voice songs from my Master’s recital at New England Conservatory in April 2018, self-released on January 18th, 2019.
Mixed by Jeremy Sarna.
Mastered by Peter Atkinson.
Album art by Extra Vitamins.
coffee [2017]
“Like a car in a lake or a blackberry bush or an old pot of coffee, Melissa Weikart's debut EP enters stage-right with the unapologetic aire of those things that just are. Eschewing the trappings of modern sonic decadence in favor of the simple ageless pallete of piano and voice, Weikart subtly displays her mastery over pen and canvas, drawing a hyperrealist landscape with words and sound and the scattered, piercing perceptions of a restless mind taking the hypocritical world to task, and leaving us wanting more.” — Matt Pike, HEC tapes
Released HEC Tapes (Worcester, Massachusetts) December 17th, 2017.
Recorded/Mixed/Mastered by Nick Biceglia.
Album art by Extra Vitamins.
waiting on my blood [2021]
Beatrice Melissa is Beatrice Masters and Melissa Weikart, an experimental electronic pop duo from Strasbourg, France. They met in September 2020 and immediately bonded over their bilingual roots – Beatrice the daughter of British parents living in France, and Melissa having just made the move to France from the US, returning to her birth country. Their approach is shaped by two distinct artistic upbringings: Beatrice as a DJ/producer, and Melissa as a songwriter/instrumentalist. After joining Crumb on their spring 2022 European tour, they have also been selected by Espace Django and Platforme Artefact à La Laiterie (Strasbourg) as accompanied artists. Keep an eye out for their debut EP, Surprise, which will be released in March 2023 on Midnight Special Records (Paris).
pet sounds reimagined [2018-2023]
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Wouldn’t It Be Nice: Pet Sounds Reimagined is a recomposition of The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds album performed in its entirety by an all-female vocal choir and rock band. Composer and lead vocalist Melissa Weikart reimagines The Beach Boys’ magnum opus as a feature for the versatility of the female voice, pushing the boundaries of traditional vocal harmony. Her arrangements, inspired by Meredith Monk and the Boswell Sisters, construct an intimate dialogue between lush, unsettling dissonances and playful backup refrains that expose the patriarchal narratives at the root of Brian Wilson's iconic lyrics. The innovative choir hovers over a modern post-punk band to create something fresh out of a timeless classic, reclaiming much-needed space in the male-dominated pop music canon. Phase I of the project was funded by an Entrepreneurial Musicianship Grant from New England Conservatory.
The project will be released on tape in 2023 for MEN EXPLAINED THINGS TO ME, is an art project by artist Sonja Ahlers and writer Godfre Leung about the emotional economy of mixtapes from boys. It’s a facsimile of four mixtapes made for Sonja in the ’90s by a very famous musician/artist who will remain nameless, packaged with a zine by Sonja in an 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.5” box. The music on the tapes will be “taped over” with music by women and nonbinary artists on themes of marginalization, asymmetrical power relations, exploitation, abuse, and safe spaces in art and music scenes.
homebody [cancelled due to covid]
Kickbal directors and ODC School alumni Emma Lanier and Ky Frances present the world premiere of HOMEBODY, an evening-length work featuring five dancers and an original score by Melissa Weikart. HOMEBODY is a series of unexpected episodes, distinct in content, but all inexplicably related to the color yellow.
Kickbal is a new dance company founded by Emma Lanier and Ky Frances who grew up in the Bay Area and trained at ODC School. They met in 2006, as kids dancing in ODC’s holiday classic, The Velveteen Rabbit, went on to perform with ODC’s youth company, started making work together after college, and launched Kickbal in 2019. They have presented their work nationally and locally, and are choreographers in residence at RoundAntennae under the mentorship of KT Nelson.
necessary monsters [2021]
Necessary Monsters, performed at Roulette in New York in October 2021, is a collaboration between composer/musician Carla Kihlstedt and poet Rafael Osés. It is a contemporary song cycle based on Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges’ Book of Imaginary Beings — a collection of fantastical creatures culled from literary and mythological traditions around the world.
With an all-star 10-piece band as your guide, Necessary Monsters takes you on a psychological safari to visit with some of these chimeras living in the fertile landscape of our collective mind, each one a manifestation of our complicated humanness.
This show celebrates the long-awaited release of the Necessary Monsters limited edition book/album.
[piano and voice by Melissa Weikart]
black inscription [2019]
milk fed by body double [2020]
Milk Fed came out in September on Zum Audio. I joined Body Double right before the pandemic during my time in San Francisco, and played keytar and singing on frontwoman Candace’s post punk creations.
Buy the album here !
Featured on NPR's New Music Friday notable releases.
observations for a time zine [2020]
bird sound box by leah netsky [2020]
This is a read along soundtrack for Dingbat Superminx's book of aphorisms "Observations For A Time." It should take the reader about 14 minutes to enjoy 20 pages of original observations on art, diy culture, and digital desolation.
I recorded piano for this. I pulled together a rudimentary recording setup for the old spinet I played, but I was pretty happy with the results (after adding some reverb).
In July 2019, I recorded some improvisations for Leah Netsky's Light Boxes graphic scores.
Featured alongside Mia Friedman, Hankus Netsky, Rachel Panitch, Abigale Reisman, Julian Loida, and Emily Xander. Listen here !
free cell by lina tullgren [2019]
In November 2018, I had the pleasure of recording keys and synths for Lina's most recent solo record, Free Cell, released on Captured Tracks and recorded at Figure 8 Studios in Brooklyn. Catch me on "Free Cell," "Saiddone," "Soft Glove 1," "Glowing x 10000," "Wow, Lucky" and "Soft Again."
And, check out "Soft Glove 1," featured on the Fader's 20 best rock songs out now.