Illustrated Lyrics
Mel & Marcel
Indie / Alternative Pop Duo (UK)
About
Mel & Marcel are a UK-based indie duo crafting sharp, character-driven songs that blend
melodic immediacy with lyrical bite. Their live show is intimate, confident and perfectly
suited to grassroots and independent venues, with a strong emphasis on connection and
atmosphere.
Music
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/54BUzXrtqJWA7Gdyfc2Nh4
Recommended tracks: Big Skies • Selfie Entrepreneur • Invisibly Plain • You Wanna Wear
Black
Featured Video
Live performance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQAjys3mrVY
Vinyl LP
12 tracks and 44 minutes of original music:
https://elasticstage.com/melandmarcel/releases/invisibly-plain-album
Live Highlights
• Firstsite Gallery, Colchester — curated and performed a self-produced video and live
performance event
• The Think Tank, Ipswich — multimedia performance in an intimate arts venue
• The Dublin Castle, Camden Town — performed 8 times at the iconic grassroots venue
Mel and Marcel Unveil Illustrated Lyrics – A Cinematic Performance
Where Painting, Music and Film Become One
Acclaimed visual artist and songwriter Melanie Winning and musician Marcel
McClarnon have brought their creative worlds together in Illustrated Lyrics, an original
live performance that combines music, moving image and contemporary art in a uniquely
immersive experience.
Performing live in front of a series of original short films, Mel and Marcel transform each
song into a cinematic journey. Their projected films—created exclusively for the
performance—blend painted imagery, hand-drawn illustration, animation and illustrated
lyrics to create visual narratives that unfold alongside the music.
For Melanie Winning, whose paintings explore identity, memory, mythology and the
hidden emotional lives we carry beneath the surface, Illustrated Lyrics represents a
natural extension of her artistic practice. The symbolic figures, dreamlike landscapes and
psychological themes found throughout her paintings are reimagined through moving
image, allowing audiences to step inside the worlds that have previously existed only on
canvas.
Rather than functioning as background visuals, each film is an integral part of the
performance. Music, image and lyric were developed together, creating works in which
no single element exists without the others. The result is an experience that feels at once
intimate and cinematic—part live concert, part art exhibition and part independent film
screening.
Drawing audiences into stories that blur the boundaries between dream and reality, the
performance explores themes of identity, belonging, transformation, resilience and the
unseen connections between people. Every song opens a new chapter, inviting viewers
into landscapes filled with symbolism, mystery and emotional honesty.
Rooted in independent creativity, Illustrated Lyrics challenges traditional ideas of what a
live music performance can be. It offers audiences an experience where paintings begin
to move, songs become visual poems, and cinema emerges from the stage itself.
Ideal for theatres, arts centres, galleries, museums, literary festivals, music festivals and
interdisciplinary arts events, Illustrated Lyrics speaks to audiences who seek original,
thought-provoking work that crosses artistic boundaries.
Mel and Marcel are creating more than a concert—they are inviting audiences into a
living gallery of songs, where every image tells a story and every story finds its voice
through music.
Press
“Some of the smartest and most thought-provoking lyrics you will ever hear.” — Colin
Morgan
“Marrying gritty lyrics to tunes you can sway to.” — Doug Carnegie, The One Show
Live Setup
Compact, quick changeover • Ideal for indie venues • Support or headline • Self-contained if
required
Contact
www.melandmarcel.com
melandmarcelband@gmail.com
Mel : 07952 337389 • Marcel : 07879 007818