We sat down with Alright Mela, a French trio whose name- borrowed from a Maltese expression – has become their personal mantra. Rooted in the hypnotic grooves of North African Gnawa music, their sound fuses vintage electronics with a rich palette of traditional instruments. We spoke about their inspirations, their philosophy, and the unforgettable gig they played ten metres up in a tree at a festival for tree surgeons.
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Introduction
What does the name ‘Alright Mela’ mean and how does it reflect you as a band?
“Alright Mela” is a Maltese expression and it means something like “all good” or “it’s okay.” You can say it when someone asks how you’re doing, or even after a good meal. It’s a feel-good phrase and in today’s world, with all its conflict and heaviness, it almost becomes a mantra. A reminder to stay positive. We’re not always super upbeat, like anyone we have highs and lows, but the name helps us focus on joy. It’s more than a name: it’s a mindset.
How would you describe your music to someone who’s never heard you before?
We often call it Mediterranean Trance. It’s a mix of Gnawa music from North and West Africa, sounds from the Middle East like Lebanon and Syria and European electronic music.
What kind of stories do your songs tell?
We sing about the world around us. We have the chance to reach many people through our music, so we talk about injustice and the issues that affect people today: migration, poverty, environmental concerns, and discrimination. But we also like to celebrate life and sing about the joy of it.
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Roots
How has your background shaped your sound?
All our lives are about music, and each of us brings something different. One of us played oud before picking up the guitar. Another has played gimbri since childhood. These aren’t just instruments to us, they’re part of our lives. Over time, we’ve discovered what fits our trio and what doesn’t. As a group we’re strongly influenced by trance music, but we like to philosophically say that we’re influenced by the song that we’ve never heard before.
What kind of instruments and traditions do you incorporate?
We use a wide range of traditional instruments and styles: the guembri, oud, duduk, Arabic maqams with quarter tones, the derbouka, bendir, karkabou, many of which are rarely heard in mainstream Western music. Some of traditional rhythms come from old loop recordings, which we edit with effects. Sometimes you might even hear jazz or soul influences, especially in the vocals. There’s a deep connection between Gnawa music and the African-American music traditions: blues, gospel, jazz, because all come from the legacy of slavery. It’s all part of the same story.
Having so many influences and traditions in your sound, what does fusion mean to you?
Honestly, we’re not fans of the term “fusion.” It reminds us of weird food combinations like a pizza with fruits and other weird ingredients. We prefer to say it’s a mix. Fusion, especially in jazz, can feel dated and old. We love vintage sounds, but not fusion as a genre label. Our music is more about natural combinations and cultures meeting through sound.
Do you see yourselves as bridge-builders between cultures?
Absolutely. The world is full of conflict and division. Music is one of the few universal languages that can still bring people together. Whether it’s Palestine, or the Ukraine war music helps to connect people and blurs borders. Alright Mela is a good example of that. We all have different backgrounds, but with our music we don’t always need words. People can feel it through our vibe and energy.
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Live
What do you want people to feel when they see you live?
Joy. Unity. A sense of being part of something bigger. Live shows are the most important for us. On stage, it feels almost like a ceremony. A collective trance. Sometimes people even join us on stage. We don’t invite them, they just come. It happens naturally. That’s the power of live music. We’ve played over 100 shows in the past two years, and we don’t want to just play and leave to the hotel after the set. We talk and we stay after the show to discuss the political situation with our fans. We’re there before and after the show, exchanging with people.
Is there a live moment that has stayed with you?
We once played a show in a tree. Literally. At a tree surgeon festival. They built platforms in the trees, and each band had to climb up and perform. We were 10 meters up, strapped in, playing to an audience below. It was unforgettable.
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Inspires
What’s next for Alright Mela?
More live shows. That’s our heartbeat. We’re planning gigs across France and Europe, and possibly India in a few months. And we’re working on a second album. That’s a big challenge. It has to be new, but still recognizably us. We don’t want to repeat ourselves, we want to evolve. It’s about keeping our DNA, but also surprising people. We’re still writing, between tours, but the ideas are coming.