Melanie Woods (born 5 May 1969) is an English musician and carpenter. She was the drummer and a vocalist for the rock band

Sidi Bou Said Sidi Bou Said ( ') is a town in northern Tunisia located about 20 km northeast from the capital, Tunis. Named after a religious figure who lived there, Abu Said al-Baji, it was previously called Jbel el-Menar. The town itself is a tourist ...

in the 1990s. After their dissolution, she performed vocals on the first two albums of the

North Sea Radio Orchestra The North Sea Radio Orchestra (NSRO) is an English contemporary music ensemble and cross-disciplinary chamber music, chamber orchestra (plus choir, chorus). Formed in 2002, the NSRO was set up mainly as a vehicle for the compositions of its mus ...

and joined the cult rock band

Cardiacs Cardiacs are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Kingston upon Thames by Tim Smith (Cardiacs), Tim Smith (guitar and lead vocals) and his brother Jim Smith (bassist), Jim (bass, backing vocals) in 1977 under the name Cardiac Arrest. One ...

in 2004, performing on the single " Ditzy Scene" and playing on the subsequent 2007 tour before the band ceased their activities in 2008. Woods subsequently joined

Kavus Torabi Kavus Torabi (born 5 December 1971) is a British-Iranian musician, composer, record label owner and radio broadcaster. A multi-instrumentalist, he is known for his work in the psychedelic, avant-garde rock field (primarily as a guitarist). Tora ...

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

band

Knifeworld Knifeworld was a British-based psychedelic rock band led by Kavus Torabi. Originally a Torabi solo project, it became a full band in summer 2009. Knifeworld had connections with various English musical projects both inside and outside the rock ...

on vocals, percussion and glockenspiel, and the

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. After several early changes, the band's line-up settled ...

tribute act Joanne Joanne as their drummer. She appeared on the 2010 Tim Smith tribute album '' Leader of the Starry Skies'' with Knifeworld and Sidi Bou Said, and the Cardiacs single " Vermin Mangle", released in 2020. Woods has also performed on solo albums by Claire Lemmon and

Tim Bowness Tim Bowness (born 29 November 1963) is an English singer and songwriter primarily known for his work as part of the band No-Man, a long-term project formed in 1987 with Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson. Music career In addition to recording albu ...

Early life

Woods was born on 5 May 1969 in London, England.

Musician career

1990–2001: Sidi Bou Said and Umbrella Heaven

Woods formed the rock band

in 1990 on drums and vocals alongside guitarist and vocalist Claire Lemmon and bassist Gayl Harrison. They released their debut album ''Broooch'' in 1993. The following year, Woods appeared as a member of the band Umbrella Heaven with Lemmon on "Perverted Pleasure", the

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

of the 1995 album ''Do You Hate Me?''. Sidi Bou Said's two succeeding studio albums—''Bodies'' (1995) and ''Obsessive'' (1997)—and Umbrella Heaven's second CD ''Chosen to be Frozen'' (1997) also featured Woods. Reflecting on a recording experience of Sidi Bou Said in 1995, Woods said "Looking back on it now, we would have done it differently but then we wouldn't have known that." After Sidi Bou Said disbanded in 1998, Woods performed drumming and percussion on Lemmon's solo album ''Cleaner'' (1999). In 2000, Woods was featured in the lineup of the band Ponce alongside Jim Smith of

. She did not perform on Umbrella Heaven's final album ''Light Sleeper'' (2000) before the group split up in 2001.

2002–2008: North Sea Radio Orchestra and Cardiacs

Woods performed vocals in the

, a

contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from about 1945 to the present. In the social sciences, contemporary history is also continuous with, and related t ...

chamber group formed in October 2002 by composer

Craig Fortnam Craig Edward Fortnam (born September 1967) is an English composer, conductor and musician. As a boy he lived in Blewbury Oxfordshire, moving to Kingston-Upon-Thames in 1977. Fortnam is a skilled guitarist and bass guitarist, specialising in ny ...

and his wife Sharron. She was part of the North Sea Chorus on the band's first two albums—''

'' (2006) and ''

Birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

'' (2008)—which drew plaudits from classical publications and

indie music Independent music (also commonly known as indie music, or simply indie) is a broad style of music characterized by creative freedoms, low-budgets, and a do-it-yourself approach to music creation, which originated from the liberties afforded by in ...

magazines. In 2004, Woods joined the lineup of the cult rock band

as a vocalist alongside Lemmon and Sharron Fortnam, as well as percussionists Cathy Harabaras (who previously played on ''Cleaner'' and with Umbrella Heaven) and Dawn Staple. The band started work on new compositions and recordings for an album provisionally titled ''

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD (from German ; often referred to as acid or lucy), is a semisynthetic, hallucinogenic compound derived from ergot, known for its powerful psychological effects and serotonergic activity. I ...

'', releasing the single " Ditzy Scene" in 2007 and touring until winter of that year. Cardiacs frontman Tim Smith, who produced Sidi Bou Said, had a cardiac arrest in 2008 which left him with the condition

dystonia Dystonia is a neurology, neurological Hyperkinesia, hyperkinetic Movement disorders, movement disorder in which sustained or repetitive muscle contractions occur involuntarily, resulting in twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal fixed po ...

; Cardiacs ceased their activities whilst Woods was in the band's formation.

2009–present: Knifeworld and Joanne Joanne

of Cardiacs and the North Sea Radio Orchestra enlisted Woods in his

band

, initially as a special guest on their debut album '' Buried Alone: Tales of Crushing Defeat'' (2009). Knifeworld covered the Cardiacs song "The Stench of Honey" on the album '' Leader of the Starry Skies: A Tribute to Tim Smith, Songbook 1'' (2010), which also features a Sidi Bou Said cover of "Victory Egg" where Woods and Lemmon "cascade across barrages of machine-gun drums with a graceful elegance". The sextet released the four-track EP '' Clairvoyant Fortnight'' in 2012. According to Rob Hughes of '' Prog'', the title track finds Torabi and Woods "trading vocals over deliciously knotty rhythms". She continued to provide vocals for their albums '' The Unravelling'' (2014) and '' Bottled Out of Eden'' (2016), sharing vocal duties with Torabi and brass player Chloe Herington, as well as playing percussion and glockenspiel. ''Bottled Out of Edens closer "Feel the Sorcery" features vocals from the former Cardiacs percussionist, which leads to a "sax and harmony- heavy climax." In an interview with ''Echoes and Dust'', Torabi mentioned potentially making Woods the second drummer of the band with Ben Woollacott. Woods is also the drummer of the all-female

tribute act Joanne Joanne. She featured on

's solo album ''Late Night Laments'' (2020) with Torabi. The same year, the Cardacs song " Vermin Mangle" was released exclusively on

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

as a single from ''LSD'' after Smith's death. In the song, Woods plays around the rhythm of drummer Bob Leith.

Carpentry career

Woods has been a qualified

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenter ...

and

joiner Joinery is a part of woodworking that involves joining pieces of wood, engineered lumber, or synthetic substitutes (such as laminate), to produce more complex items. Some woodworking joints employ mechanical fasteners, bindings, or adhesives, ...

NVQ National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) are practical work-based awards in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland that are achieved through training and assessment. The regulatory framework supporting NVQs was withdrawn in 2015 and replaced by th ...

level 3 since 1999 and makes fitted furniture. Before finding her passion in carpentry, she worked in a high street

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

and as a musician. She is also a part-time carpentry tutor.

Discography

With Sidi Bou Said

With Umbrella Heaven

* ''Do You Hate Me?'' (1995) * ''Chosen to be Frozen'' (1997) * ''New Friend'' (EP, 1997) * ''The Golden Greats of Umbrella Heaven'' (compilation, 2020)

With Claire Lemmon

* ''Cleaner'' (1999)

With North Sea Radio Orchestra

* ''

'' (2006) * ''

'' (2008)

With Cardiacs

* "Hurricane" (1996,

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

of " Odd Even") * " Ditzy Scene" (single, 2007) * " Vermin Mangle" (single, 2020)

With Knifeworld

With Joanne Joanne

* "New Religion" (2014) * " The Chauffeur" (2014)

With MX Tyrants

* ''Masters'' (EP, 2016)

With Tim Bowness

* ''Late Night Laments'' (2020)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Woods, Melanie 1969 births Living people English rock musicians English drummers English rock drummers English punk rock drummers English women drummers Women percussionists British percussionists Women in classical music 20th-century English women musicians 21st-century English women musicians 20th-century English women singers 21st-century English women singers English rock singers British women rock singers British women punk rock singers North Sea Radio Orchestra members Cardiacs members Knifeworld members English carpenters Women carpenters British furniture makers