Melendi

Singer/songwriter Ramón Melendi Espina entered the world in 1979 in Oviedo, Spain. Early on, his parents concluded that formal studies were not his natural calling and therefore encouraged him to devote his energies to soccer and music. He passed much of his youth on the streets of Oviedo, absorbing “lessons that they don’t teach in school.” In 2001, membership in the band El Bosque de Sherwood inspired him to lay down several solo recordings; he entered the studio with the three tracks “Sin Noticias de Holanda,” “Vuelvo a Traficar,” and “El Informe Forense.” A friend placed the resulting demo in the hands of Javier Valiño at Carlito Records the following year, and the label head promptly offered a contract. February 2003 brought the release of Sin Noticias de Holanda, twelve songs entirely of Melendi’s own making, which was succeeded by a brief national tour; by 2004 the album had reached the Top 100 on the domestic charts and shortly thereafter attained gold status.

His second album, Que el Cielo Espere Sentao, appeared in 2005, the same year his daughter Carlota was born. Continued touring preceded the arrival of his third record, Mientras No Cueste Trabajo, in 2006. Two years later he issued his fourth studio album, Curiosa la Cara de Tu Padre, produced by fellow Spaniard José de Castro and featuring the hit single “Un Violinista en Tu Tejado.” In 2010 Melendi shifted toward a rock-oriented sound with Volvamos a Empezar, deliberately departing from his earlier rhumba-infused pop. That direction carried through the 2012 release Lágrimas Desordenadas and the 2014 album Un Alumno Más, widely praised as one of his most candid, mature, and forthright works. The live album Directo a Septiembre surfaced in 2015 and coincided with his receipt of the Premio de la Música along with additional honors from Cadena Cien and 40 Principales. His eighth studio effort, Quitate las Gafas, turned inward in its lyric writing yet still climbed to the summit of the Spanish album charts. Ninth full-length Yo Me Veo Contigo followed in 2017, with 10:20:40 arriving in 2019.