Melvo Baptiste

A bridge between rare groove and the global dancefloor

Melvo Baptiste's musical identity has been built around a simple idea: making his selection sound like collective memory and, at the same time, the present. Raised in West London in a family of dancers, collectors, and vinyl lovers, he absorbed soul, funk, disco, and rare groove from a young age. The influence of his father, a former soul boy and great collector of 7-inch singles, and his contact with the Notting Hill soundsystem culture through his uncle Norman Jay MBE, shaped a way of DJing based on storytelling, rhythm, and a direct connection with the people.

The voice that gave body to Glitterbox

His radio career began to consolidate at Mi-Soul, where he hosted a weekly show on Saturday mornings between 2012 and 2018. The turning point came with Glitterbox: after performing at the brand's first London edition at Ministry of Sound in 2016 and connecting with Simon Dunmore, he took over hosting the Glitterbox radio show in 2017. The show went from an online format to being internationally syndicated, making him a recognizable voice for the house and disco community. In parallel, his role within Defected and Glitterbox grew to include the musical direction of the brand, with responsibility for recordings, talent, and event curation.

Production, his own label, and selector criteria

As a producer, he debuted on Glitterbox in 2020 with Bad Company, alongside Phebe Edwards, a piece of modern disco supported by figures like Louie Vega, Dave Lee, and Horse Meat Disco. Later came works like Gonna Be Alright with Jamie 3:26 and Annette Bowen, Sweat with Dames Brown, and Did You Pray Today? with Annette Bowen, cementing a language of organic house, gospel, soul, and contemporary disco. In 2021, he founded The Remedy Project within the Defected environment, a label oriented towards artists with soul sensibility, live instrumentation, and a modern outlook. The platform has featured names such as Hadiya George, Jitwam, Cosmo’s Midnight, T.Williams, Terri Walker, Donae’o, Close Counters, Atjazz, or Kaidi Tatham.

A selection designed to lift the spirits

In the booth, Baptiste moves between classic house, soulful house, nu-disco, funk, disco, and rare groove without losing the club pulse. His reputation as a selector has taken him to stages and clubs such as Printworks, Ministry of Sound, Hï Ibiza, Amnesia Ibiza, The Warehouse Project, House of Yes NYC, Night Tales Loft, KOKO, Parklife, Glastonbury, and Defected Croatia. His current place within the scene is that of a DJ, producer, musical director, and label head who connects Afro-Atlantic heritage, radio, vinyl culture, and new soul scenes with a warm, elegant, and deeply danceable reading of house.