In Cedarburg, Wisconsin - a suburb of Milwaukee - it isn't normal for kids to seek a career in music. While he had taken piano and drum lessons sporadically throughout his childhood, Jeffrey Melvin had thought that his musical pursuits would only be a hobby. It wasn't until his sister showed him a Daft Punk concert DVD that music became more than leisure.

After watching that Alive 2007 video, Melvin dove into production. As a high schooler, he began to combine ideas from jazz piano lessons with electronic music. Melvin had no connections in the industry, so he released his early songs on the streaming website SoundCloud; his moniker online was MELVV. His music's reception and global reach on the site came as a complete surprise.

Upon finishing his first year at the University of Wisconsin in 2016, Melvin dropped out to pursue music full time. Before completing his second semester, however, he went on his first tour with Big Gigantic and Louis The Child, culminating with a solo performance at the famed DoLab stage at Coachella. MELVV kept quietly working on his music in the meantime, developing his sound and curating collaborations as he continued to grow artistically.

Following the release of singles "Not Me" and "Lifeline" under indie label Majestic Casual, MELVV caught the attention of Atlantic Records, with whom he signed in 2017. Several songs were released under Atlantic, including "Heatwave" with More Giraffes and "Nectarines" with Royal & The Serpent. A few tours accompanied the tracks, with MELVV opening for Petit Biscuit as well as headlining his own North American tour "Stress Relief." He also performed at several festivals; among these were Lollapalooza, Electric Forest, Bonnaroo, Firefly, and Coachella a second time.

When touring halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Melvin turned to artist production work. He landed his first executive production role on Jordana’s second album “Something to Say to You,” recorded predominately at Studio G in Brooklyn.

In 2021, MELVV became independent again. Upon the return of live shows during the COVID-19 pandemic, he made occasional DJ appearances with follow SoundCloud-era artists Jai Wolf and Pluko. Soon after, he joined forces with independent distributor Stem, releasing his debut EP, “Shift in Momentum.”

With the following year came another EP, “Polychrome,” defined by distorted saw waves, crunchy machine drums, and vivid melodies. The first single, “Crossing Fingers,” featured vocals from Cayenne, lead singer of the Singapore-based band Sobs. The rest of the project remained instrumental, aside from his own vocoded vocals on the final track, “I’ll Be There for You.”

Nowadays, most of his work is behind the scenes. But at the same time, MELVV has been popping up in the New York DJ scene much more in the past year, including performances at Public Records, Purgatory, and Night Club 101. New artist work is on the horizon as well for 2026.