21st Century Music: Mellowdrone
21st Century Music are playlists and profiles focusing on artists that released their music since 2000. These highlight new(er) acts that continue the sound and spirit of the older acts that are highlighted on Ceremony. Click on the streaming service of your choice below to listen to the playlist as you read along. Not all songs are available on each service due to limited availability.
Few acts were as appropriately named as the act, Mellowdrone. The music was a mix of electronics and heavy guitar riffs delivered in power ballads and mid-tempo, evenly paced rockers. I came across the songs “Fall on Your Knees” and “Fashionably Uninvited” through my CMJ subscription in the early 2000s. Both stood out, prompting me to pick up the first album, Box, upon its release in 2006. The LP established itself as one of my most played CDs of the early millennium – and still gets attention in my playlists to this day.
Mellowdrone was centred around Jonathan Bates, who was born in Venezuela, raised in Miami, and went to college at Berklee School of Music in Boston. A guitarist who liked to noodle with the desktop electronics available in the late 1990s and was influenced by the likes of Sparklehorse, he was invited to LA by a friend to record some demos. That trip led to him collecting guitarist and keyboard player Tony Dematteo and drummer Brian Borg along the way as bandmates, and in 1999 Mellowdrone was born.
The band self-released four EPs over the next five years before issuing the first album, Box. They were helped in getting signed to label 3E/Columbia after an opening spot on a Johnny Marr tour. Some of the songs from the early EPs were included on that album. It was an impeccable collection of modern rock songs, with Bates’ vocals resonating deeply with slacker ennui through mesmerizing melodies, power chords, rumbling basslines, and catchy synth lines.
Jonathan Bates, as Big Black Delta
After a label switch and a non-album single, “Maquina,” the band released a second album, Angry Bear, on Coming Home Records in 2009. By then, after constant touring and ten years of slogging it out, Bates decided he’d had enough of the band thing, and decided to strike out solo. The result was the performing name, Big Black Delta, which has released four albums of mostly electronic music. His penchant for mood and melody are carried through in the new act.
Camila Grey (aka Camila Gutierrez) was a schoolmate of Bates’ at Berklee and ended up in LA also. She played with several different artists and spent time as a bassist/keyboardist in Mellowdrone before leaving to form the band, Uh Huh Her, with Leisha Hailey. The pair issued their first EP in 2008 and has had some success over the years as an electro-pop act.
Mellowdrone, despite having songs featured in some movies and TV shows, never caught much attention which was a shame given how listenable and enjoyable the music plays. It was nice, new wave hooks but with a modern rock edge,and fit in with the mini-rock renaissance of the early ought’s. A catchy new single, “I Don’t Believe,” has appeared just this month under the name Mellowdrone, but I don’t know if it’s just Bates or a reunion of the original band. I’ll need to keep an eye and ear out for more, which would be welcome. In the meantime, I highly recommend settling into a good listen of Box and enjoying the mellow, rocker vibe of this 21st Century band.
UPDATE November 2025
“I Don’t Believe It” ended up just being a single (different online sites note it differently as a single, a self-titled EP, or an EP titled, 2018). The track, “Way Out,” also appeared on the release. There was another EP, 3, also released in 2018. It had three tracks, led by the single, “Let It Out.” “Pascal’s Wager” was a more compelling tune that captured the essential vibe of Mellowdrone.
Those 2018 releases were recorded by Jonathan and Tony after collaborating with fellow LA area band, The Neighbourhood. Bates has continued with Big Black Delta, having recorded a total of six albums and a few EPs as of 2025. There has not been any new material under the name, Mellowdrone.
The Playlist (“song \ album (Year))
“Fall On Your Knees” \ Glassblower EP (2001)
“Fashionably Uninvited” \ A Demonstration of Intellectual Property EP (2003)
“Beautiful Day” \ A Demonstration of Intellectual Property EP (2003)
“Bonemarrow” \ Go Get ‘Em Tiger EP (2004)
“Worst Song Ever” \ Go Get ‘Em Tiger EP (2004)
“Oh My” \ Box (2006)
“Fuck It Man” \ Box (2006)
“Madison” \ Box (2006)
“Amazing” \ Box (2006)
“Maquina” \ non-album single (2008)
“Alone = In Your Face” \ Angry Bear (2009)
“Lady In Her Underwear” \ Angry Bear (2009)
“Jumping Off the Pier” \ Angry Bear (2009)
“DMT \ Angry Bear “ (2009)
“Money Rain Down” \ Big Black Delta (2013) - Big Black Delta album
“Love You this Summer” \ Big Black Delta (2013) - Big Black Delta album
“I Don't Believe It” \ non-album single (2018)
“Pascal’s Wager \ 3 (2018)
