CHASING HOPE

By Sabine Cassar-Alpert

Music is like a magical potion: it has miraculous mind-changing qualities. While it has the ability to change your mood it can just as well nourish it. It is a powerful tool to help you to remember, but also to forget. And music can give hope.

It was solely hope which the goddess Pandora had left in her box – that according to Greek mythology was given to her by Zeus – after all the evil it had contained was unleashed upon the world. And it is precisely for that hope that Melissa Portelli and Keith Anthony are Chasing Pandora.

Keith Anthony (25) has been involved in the local music scene for quite some time, most notably as a member of the Band PL4Y. On her part, Melissa Portelli (23) has been writing poetry since she was a teenager, but would have never dreamt that one day she would have a sound recording of her lyrics! “It’s surreal!” she exclaims.

Music has always occupied a special place in both their lives. It “is my drug, it possesses me,” says Keith, “Playing transports me to a place where hours become minutes – it affects me in ways that I just can’t explain.” For Melissa, it was music that helped her to finally come to terms with her brother’s brutal murder, which turned her world upside down just at a time when she thought her normal teenage angst was a thing of the past. “Music was my redeemer,” she recalls, “it helped me return to my true love poetry.”

It is hard to believe that the two have known each other since their teens, but never even gave a thought to seriously making music together. It was rather by coincidence that they were brought together on that level. Chasing Pandora’s producer Steve Brown is the owner of Tickety Boo, an artist management company, and has been Melissa’s employer for these last 2 years. After overhearing his secretary sing to herself in the office, and having sampled some of Keith’s work during a recording session, he recognised the great potential that lay in combining Keith’s and Melissa’s talents, and he led them onto the right track.

As I am writing this, I have Feel the Rain playing - it has started doing its magic on me already! Perhaps it is the knowledge that music and poetry were instrumental to getting Melissa through her ordeal; maybe it is the fact that I used to know Keith in the world of tourism without having a clue what he was up to musically. And maybe there is no real other reason why Chasing Pandora work a charm on me - because it is quite simply great music!

Keith’s compositions are a perfect match for Melissa’s thoughtful lyrics, and his melodies are inimitably Chasing Pandora: just when you are tempted to think that you have heard it before, it takes an unexpected turn and leaves its mark on you! The fact that "less is more" is particularly true and characteristic for the young duo. Melissa’s exceptional voice is beautifully complemented by Keith’s guitar play - but never overpowered.

There is certainly no doubt about an extraordinary chemistry between the two of them. Within the space of a few weeks they created no less than twelve demo songs, and a couple of months later four songs were recorded, which can be heard on their first single Feel the Rain (now available at all music stores in Malta and Gozo). They also readily and effortlessly share this chemistry with their audiences at live performances, whose intimate style will be reflected in their full album including acoustic guitar, voice and synthesizer. The album’s recording is planned to take place in their newly set up professional home studio through the months of January and February.

The only way is up! The month of December is the logical conclusion to the exciting year that 2006 has been for Melissa and Keith. Chasing Pandora have been nominated in the Best Newcomers category for the Bay Music Awards on the 12th of December! The voting remains open until 6th December; so if you read this in time, give your support to the two aspiring Gozitans by sending a text message containing "Chasing Pandora" to 5061 6890. The duo will also be performing at the event.

Up-to-date information about Chasing Pandora’s activities can be found on their official website, www.chasingpandora.com, as well as their MySpace page: www.myspace.com/chasingpandora.