In 2003, Katie Melua made her breakthrough with the quiet album Call off the Search. In England, Germany and the Netherlands especially, her voice and the songs, most of them written by Mike Batt, the producer who discovered her, were instant hits. She released two more albums since that time that were similar in style. But in May of this year, Melua surprised the music world with her new disc The House, for which she cooperated with dance producer William Orbit, the man who gave pop star Madonna a new sound. Yet he never changed her unique style. And by using certain soundscapes, beats and Eastern harmonies, Orbit was able to enrich Melua's idiom, too. As she indicates: "As of now, I don't want to look back anymore, but look forward with my music. I'm still young and there's so much to explore."
