Before Melanie Chisholm became a global pop icon with the Spice Girls, she was a 16-year-old student on holiday in Spain, letting go on the dancefloor to the era’s rave-fueled club music. Mesmerized by the new sounds, she returned to the U.K. and further immersed herself in its ubiquitous warehouse culture, dancing to the early sounds of The KLF, The Prodigy and more.
Of course, that entire world of electronic escapism was put on pause when the Spice Girls blew up into global stardom – when “Wannabe” dropped in 1996 everything changed. Now, Chisholm, 52, is closing the loop, seamlessly marrying her massive pop legacy with her underground bona fides for her most euphoric era yet.
Her ninth solo studio album, Sweat, is a full-throttle celebration of movement, community, and resilience. Released via Virgin Music Group, the record serves as a high-energy love letter to her early rave roots and a creative transition sparked heavily by her more recent trajectory as a DJ behind the decks. For example, the album’s title track/lead single, “Sweat,” beautifully invokes retro-workout energy, driving forward as a heavy electro-house banger that loops Diana Ross’ aerobics-era hit, “Work That Body.”
This year’s a busy one for Melanie C, as she’s embarking on a world tour this September. The global trek will hit seven North American cities, then 14 more stops in Europe and Australia. Fans can expect a highly energized, hybrid show that heavily highlights the club-centric tone of her new record. Mel C is approaching the show production with a completely fresh perspective, treating the performances less like a traditional concert and more like a fluid, continuous DJ set, designed to leave attendees feeling elated. We recently connected with Melanie C to discuss her new artistic moves.
DJ LIFE: You’ve been no stranger to dance music at all, with tracks like “I Turn to You.” When did you become a fan of dance music?
Melanie C: It was towards the end of leaving school in the late ’80s. That was when it was starting to filter through into the mainstream. There was so much music in the charts – I’m thinking of bands like KLF and S’Express – and we didn’t even know what this music was. But it was just these new sounds, and it was exciting, though I didn’t really understand that world yet.
DJ LIFE: How did it develop?
Melanie C: I went on a holiday in 1990 to the Costa Brava in Spain. It was the first time I’d been away without parents. I was with three college friends at the time, and we were dance students. When we started going out to all the bars and clubs and they were playing this music, and everyone was dancing with wild abandon, we were like, “What the fuck is this?” We just absolutely fell in love with it.
DJ LIFE: Which artists inspired you on that front?
Melanie C: It was bands like The Prodigy who crossed over beautifully. It never will stop blowing my mind that they headline festivals now, because I remember seeing them just as a little rave act in a club. I was into hardcore rave, so it was acts like Bizarre Inc and Altern-8. It was this real British version of all the things they’d been hearing from the U.S. and the Balearics.
DJ LIFE: Do you have any favorite DJs now?
Melanie C: My number one is Carl Cox. I had the best experience in Ibiza last summer; he was playing every week at Hï Ibiza. I’ve obviously been clubbing before, but it was the first year of Hï. I like going out clubbing now, but I don’t want to be staying up too late hearing the birds sing – those days have gone! But I was adamant that there was no way I was going to leave until Carl played his last song [laughs].
DJ LIFE: And did you?
Melanie C: I did an all-nighter and it was just the most joyful experience! What I love about Carl, and something that inspires me as a DJ as well, is when someone is loving what they’re playing so much. It was funny looking out over a sea of people at this new superclub, and all you could see were phones and a little bit of moving. Carl was going crazy, and I was with some friends up on the stage next to the DJ booth going crazy, too. We were like, “We’ve just got to teach these kids how to do it. They need to learn how to let loose and let go.”
DJ LIFE: When did you begin to DJ, and what gear did you learn on?
Melanie C: It was Pioneer CDJ-2000s. When I was a raver going back to afterparties at people’s flats, they had vinyl decks. It was so intimidating because I always wanted to have a go, but never had the courage. Then I was actually performing at a club night in East London called Sink the Pink, which is a queer collective over there. One of the founders, Glyn Fussell, and I were talking about how I’ve always wanted to DJ. He said to me: “Just do it. Just give it a go. Just have a lesson. I know this DJ who’s really good at teaching people the basics.” I figured, what have I got to lose? Even if it’s just something for my own pleasure in my living room, I want to do it. I had one lesson and I was hooked. He brought his decks and his mixer over, and I have not looked back. It’s been eight years, and I still feel very new to this.
DJ LIFE: How has that progressed?
Melanie C: You never stop learning. I’ve got a long way to go as a DJ. For me, every set has hopefully only one mistake, maybe a couple. But every time something happens on the deck that you’ve not seen before, you have to get yourself out of that. I think my experience as an artist has made me really good under pressure. Even though I’m less technically able as a DJ because I’ve not done it as long, when the shit hits the fan, I can get myself out of trouble. I welcome the fuck-ups – it’s definitely helping me learn the craft.
DJ LIFE: What gear are you playing on now?
Melanie C: I’ve upgraded to the CDJ-3000s and an Allen & Heath mixer. A friend of mine has a little bar in Ibiza called Aluna Funky House. He’s a bit of an Ibiza legend who was dancing at Pacha way back in the late ’80s. Whenever I’m in town, I’ll get up and play on the decks there.
DJ LIFE: Let’s talk about the new single, “Sweat.”
Melanie C: I’ve been working on the record for a couple of years, and it was really shaping into this fun piece of work. I’d already been leaning into fitness and sports and having a little bit of fun with that lyrically, but I felt like I was missing a fitness anthem. That’s what I wanted to create. I had been working on a fitness playlist, and the hook from Diana Ross’s “Work That Body” – “Reach, two, three, four, five, six, seven…” – was going round and round in my head. I thought, “That would be sick in a song.” I was in the studio with Kingdoms, a great writing and production duo that I work with a lot, and Theo Hutchcraft from Hurts, who’s another great songwriter. We were just talking about the whole aesthetic of how the album was shaping up and having so much fun with it.
DJ LIFE: How did this album-making process compare to your past records?
Melanie C: The biggest difference was the perspective I was coming from. DJing has informed this record more than anything I’ve done before. Listening to a lot more dance music and seeing how other people’s music affects a live dancefloor really made me want to incorporate that into my own work.
There were similarities because a studio session is a session. I came to L.A. and did a really strong set of sessions, working with lots of different people for a couple of days here and there to build the sound I wanted. I did some work in London as well, holding a little writing camp towards the end to find the pieces I felt were missing, and I took a couple of trips over to Stockholm to work with the legendary Klas Åhlund.
DJ LIFE: The Spice Girls’ message was about empowerment and inclusivity. Do you notice a connection between that message and the dance-music community?
Melanie C: Yes, 100-percent – it’s only recently I’ve realized that. When the Spice Girls got together, we were so adamant that we wanted to celebrate our individuality and scream about Girl Power. That inclusivity is exactly what dance culture did. It brought people together who had never socialized before and broke down barriers. I always feel quite emotional when I talk about this because it is such a beautiful thing.
Dance music and rave culture in history can often get a bad name from people focusing on things like the drug-taking, rather than being celebrated for the incredible things it’s actually achieved. It broke down barriers between communities and cultures that would never have peacefully been in a room together before.
DJ LIFE: What’s your DJ set like?
Melanie C: What’s really fun is having all of the original Spice Girls stems, because I can take the vocals and build custom mash-ups. A few edits I have in my arsenal include the Faithless’ “Insomnia” with “Wannabe” mash-up, and another that always goes down well which pairs [Spice Girls’] “Who Do You Think You Are” with Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” which is pretty sick. I’ve got a Beyoncé one that I do as well, and I’m always looking for new things to mix. Outside of my own edits, the A-Trak remix of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Heads Will Roll” is a classic that always, always goes off.
DJ LIFE: The industry has shifted massively since you first started. What defines success for you now?
Melanie C: The wildest thing about starting out in the Spice Girls is that, because we entered the world with so much massive success so quickly, you inadvertently think that’s normal. Millions of albums, selling out arenas, selling out stadiums becomes your baseline. Then life changes, your status changes, and it takes a long time as an artist to re-adjust to that reality.
For me now, success absolutely has to be personal happiness. I’ve finally got myself to a place where I love what I do and I’ve accepted that my work and my life are interwoven rather than two separate things. Me being busy, playing live shows, DJing, making great music, and just still being here doing it – that is success to me.
Don’t get me wrong, I want to get my streaming figures up and achieve what we would deem a hit record. I want to have big hits in the set and not be entirely relying on hits from decades ago for a festival crowd that isn’t necessarily a core Melanie C fan. Achieving more recognition for this new music would be a great thing to achieve with this record, for sure.
