Melissa Laveaux's lyrics are the work of a well-studied wordsmith. Musically her guitar-play fluidly syncopates percussive jazz notes and bass lines, combining cultural influences from kreyol-calypso folkloric ballads, early 90's trip hop, and Brazilian samba-rock. More common references lie somewhere between Macy Gray and Rickie Lee Jones. Melissa Laveaux is usually accompanied by long-time collaborator and percussionist Rob Reid (tabla, cajon), bassist Neil Gerster, and Ottawa's newest double-threat, songwriter Kyrie Kristmanson playing trumpet. Since releasing Camphor & Copper in 2006 Melissa has been featured at the Halifax Pop Explosion, Canadian Music Week, 2007 Montreal International Jazz Festival as well as on live recordings for CBC Radio's Go!, Bandwidth and Canada Live, and won an Ontario Council of Folk Festivals Songs From the Heart World music award for the song'Koudlo'. This summer, Laveaux has joined Parisian label "N0Format!" as the youngest talent on their roster, at the sides of fellow Canadian Gonzales (Feist, Broken Social Scene). Laveaux has been recording a new version of Camphor & Copper produced by Majiker (Matthew Kerr, Camille), with the label and is being booked for a 2008 European promotional tour. Her first foray into the Parisian market this summer saw her play residencies at small venues, notably the Senegalese art gem "Jokko" at the heart of the Marais neighbourhood.

Born in Montreal to a proud Haitian family, Laveaux grew up conscious of the context of her cultural roots while moving around South-eastern Ontario before settling in Ottawa. She also grew up to the sounds of Martha Jean-Claudes kreyol calypso ballads, Morcheeba's down-tempo electronic soul, and whatever samba and bossa nova (Adriana Calcanhotto) she could afford to get her hands on.

In 2006 Melissa self-produced and released her first full-length album Camphor & Copper, and was the recipient of the Ontario Council of Folk Festival's Songs From the Heart Award in the World Music category for the kreyol song "Koudlo".

Accompanist Rob Reid has given Melissa invaluable insight that has extended her musical vision to other continents. Speaking with the dead skins of the tabla and the wooden voice of the Latin cajon, Rob provides the steady subtle balance to her intricate fingerpicking as well as a critical voice to her ideas. Rob's work and continued study of Classical Indian tabla, his playing of the cajon (the box), and other improvised percussions provides an animated musical dialogue with Laveaux's throaty vocals and percussive guitar-play in live performance.

This music is drawn from a deep and intimate knowledge of the global musical milieu, a bilingual raw mix of acoustic soul/jazz and percussive kreyol folklore. A fresh offering to the folk music scene, it is folk that has bedded and bled with other genres.