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Sleuth

Sleuth is Melissa Francis, enigmatic Victorian singer-songwriter of minimal funk electro + alt-pop. Lyrically dark, melodically bitter, Sleuth writes for synth + loops, exploring auto-biographical themes of feminism identity + emancipation, spanning genres from jazz to EDM.
Debut album Umbra Anima was described as 'incredible, cinematic… vocal work that would make Beth Gibbons proud… 5-stars’. (Forte) Track Empty Room was Feb ’19 RadioEasternFM's New Music comp winner. She was 2019 Roar Award winner for Best New Creative Artist, again a finalist in 2020, + was an AIR award nomination for electronica EP ‘alter ego’ which just won Clouzine Best Indie EP (Fall 2020).
 Releases in 2019 include collab funk album Fly By Design + singles with Eskatology + Nos Rider, and features on Nyctophiliac’s (Macedonia) noirish trip-hop album Everyday Existence with impeccable vocals on Sweet Oblivion +The Still. Album LUX is due late 2020, with tracks 'Finish Line' and 'Umbilicus' still to be released.

1 13 Jul, 2020

2021, here I come

Sleuth’s new album LUX is finished and due for release in January 2021, with 4 big tracks still to be released as singles. 


Nov 23, ‘Finish Line’ drops; this track is the singular exception to Sleuth’s typical moody vibe, being a soulful love-song tapestry of promises, dedicated to Mel’s husband Aaron. 

December 18, the epic ‘Umbilicus’ is released - dark, brooding and primal, this song has an urgent, throbbing undercurrent of grief that is both powerful and haunted.

Jan 1, jazz-pop track Vinyl Scratch graces the airwaves. Written mid-lockdown, this song is all about losing track of the time, and getting lost in the romance of music.

Jan 15, ‘Underground’ is released - the final track on Lux. Hip-hop beats, jazz piano, and a lo-fi chorus all blend together to give a nostalgic vibe to reflections on lockdown 2020.

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