When it comes to picking a festival, it's hard to know where to start. Yet Melt, in Dessau, 90 minutes south of Berlin, is consistently one of the best. The 21-year-old event hands down offers the finest big act to up-and-comer ratio. Oh, and it takes place in Ferropolis, which is essentially a playground filled with massive, old cranes surrounded by a beautiful lake.
This year you had everything from hype-y French electronic duo The Blaze taking over the main stage at three in the morning (trust a German festival to get the timings spot on) to non-stop techno acts at the Sleepless Floor (a large, colourful stage that sits outside the main grounds and is basically an open-air party for roughly 2,000 people).
Melt seriously knows how to party like no other. But what about the lesser known bands/acts you've never heard of before? The musicians you'll see, fall in love with and then spend the next year telling all your mates exactly who they are and why you should listen to them? No fear, ELLE have got you covered.
Junglepussy
26-year-old Shayna McHale, better known as Junglepussy, is beloved by everyone. From Erykah Badu (who fell head over heels with the rapper's song on YouTube) to shutting down the haters with Joey Badass by way of an outlandish (but incredible) style - it's hard to miss her.
The Brooklyn native garnered her first serious bout of online buzz back in June 2014 when she released her first complete mixtape, Satisfaction Guaranteed. Four years, and two albums later, Junglepussy remains true to herself with rib-poking punchlines and a young Missy Elliot-esque flow.
Fever Ray
Melt is a delightfully LGBTQ-friendly festival. If there was a theme running through the four days, it's generally not giving a f*ck.
So when Fever Ray's Karin Dreijer demands the crowd to 'get those fanny-flaps moving' they obviously did as they were told.
The Swedish singer was one half of The Knife, contributed vocals to Röyksopp’s hit What Else Is There; and Fever Ray is her solo project. The band wore foam muscle suits, bashed out synchronised dance routines and generally omitted an air of surreal delirium. With songs like To The Moon And Back (lyrics include 'Your lips, warm and fuzzy, I want to run my fingers up your pussy ') the vibe is fun, sexy and totally over the top (in a good way). Besides, a 42-year-old woman singing about queer sex? Count us in.
Princess Nokia
Princess Nokia introduced a whole other side of her when she dropped her fourth mixtape, A Girl Cried Red. Described as 'emo', lyrics like 'smash my heart in pieces it looks so good on the floor' certainly cements it in that category. So it was fitting, then, that she performed a rendition of Blink 182’s I Miss You to a massive crowd on the Meltselektor stage.
From there, she pummelled through the favs: ‘Tomboy’ from last year’s ‘1992 Deluxe ' to ‘Brujas’ before thanking the crowd for 'letting me pour my heart out.' Hailing from New York, Destiny Frasqueri is the radical intersectional feminist taking on the male-dominated world of rap. Oh, and slapping Cambridge university students who mouth 'Show me your tits' at the same time.
IAMDDB
Stephan Flad
'Everything I do is for my ladies,' says Diana Debrito – aka IAMDDB – a couple of songs into her set. 'I love the mandem but without us you motherfuckers wouldn't be here.' Really though, could your stage chat get any better? The fast rising, Manchester-born rapper immediately won over the audience, namely through her heady blend of soulful hip-hop, pounding trap and swirling jazz. Also because she asked for the lights to be different colours – either red and pink – aka the colour of her 'pussy'.
There's a lot of buzz swirling around this 21-year-old; beats 1 host Julie Adenuga has described her as 'the most exciting artist to watch' this year, and she came third in the BBC’s Sound of 2018 list. After the set we watched, we can most certainly see why.
Honey Dijon
If you're ever at the same festival as Honey Dijon, literally never miss her set. For an example of the spectacle you'll witness, watch this (from 10 minutes in). Sure, she's not exactly unknown (the Chicago-born star started DJing in the nineties) but she's so damn good we couldn't not include her.
Honey Dijon is a trans woman who splits her time between Berlin and New York. She's also one of the very few underground DJs who sits easily between the world of music and fashion (credits include collaborations with Louis Vuitton and spinning at after-parties for designers like Riccardo Tisci). She slides smoothly between disco, house, and techno, and is as comfortable playing Berlin's Berghain as she is at a Rick Owens afterparty. In other words, there's absolutely something for everyone. Like we said: never miss Honey Dijon.
Alma
After teaming up with French Montana (the man responsible for 2017's song of the year) on Phases and singing alongside the likes of Zara Larson and Charli XCX in Dua Lipa's IDGAF Live (which subsequently went viral - check it out here) - it's safe to say Alma is smashing it.
The Finnish singer seemingly came out of nowhere last year with the club anthem Chasing Highs - which clocked up more than 100 million streams, and earned her a place on the BBC's Sound of 2018.
Now? Well, if you like great pop music, and delightful fluorescent hair, Alma is your girl.
Gurr
Gurr are the Berlin female duo putting garage-pop back on the map. Andreya Casablanca and Laura Lee met at university and describe themselves as a band 'that sounds like a trashy 60s girl group meshed with poppy vocals in two voices and a flavour of eeriness.' So far, so good.
Following their acclaimed 2016 debut album In My Head, Gurr returned in May with new single Hot Summer - an impressive jam that’s equal parts angsty and fun. People talk about their 'melodic drunkenness '- what that really means is don't think too hard, sit back, relax and enjoy.
