Melpo Mene

Erik Mattiason, the man behind Melpo Mene, might have never reached an audience outside of his native Sweden if "I Adore You," the lead single from his second studio album, hadn't been featured in a popular Volvo advertisement in 2008. Naming his project for the Greek muse of tragedy, Mattiason began recording his folky, electronica-tinged songs in the early 2000s. He was signed to Imperial Recordings, the home of like-minded singer/songwriter Jose Gonzalez, in 2003, and his debut EP on that label, Don't Save Me, was released the following spring. Another EP, Hello Benjamin, came out in the autumn, and his debut full-length, Holes, hit stores in Scandinavia before the year was out. His third EP, 2005's Jedi, signaled the end (for the time being, at any rate) of Mattiason's relentless release schedule. After three years of relative quiet, the erstwhile unknown Melpo Mene found himself launched into the mainstream when Volvo snapped up "I Adore You," a track from his upcoming album, for a commercial that aired around the globe, notably in the United States. His sophomore album, Bring the Lions Out, came out on Imperial in the summer of that year.