Meet Mereki; Your New Favorite Artist
Photo by Lizzy Born
Interview by Eli Nava & Tallulah Totten
It’s about time you’ve heard of Mereki—the Australian native, UK-based artist creating wistful, fairy-like music. With gentle, Lana Del Rey-esque vocals and soft chimes, her music will leave you feeling light and airy. Kindness and magic “are at the backbone of everything Mereki aims to be and be around in her music and in her life.” Mereki’s goal is to “[create] pop with a purpose–vibrant musical worlds that share messages of transcendence and healing without sacrificing the fun.” Her debut album, Death of a Cloud, came out in March and is further insight into her individual sound and overall ethereal aesthetic. We were able to talk with Mereki about her debut album, influences, and inspiration.
1127: Can you tell us a little bit about what inspired your album Death Of A Cloud?
Mereki: The album was inspired by self-realization, grief, presence, existentialism and hope. I needed to work through so many things about being me and being alive and this record helped me do that.
1127: Is there anything that you hope listeners will take from the new album?
Mereki: My greatest hope would be that this album could help even one person be brave enough to explore their own existence with depth and curiosity. Or, help one person feel less alone in their feelings or experiences.
1127: Can you tell us how your single “Twin Flame” came about?
Mereki: Falling in love, of course :) There’s so much beauty in love, and heartache, but mostly this song is about fate, I guess. It’s about meeting your True Love & feeling the Universal inevitability of it all.
1127: What was the inspiration behind the music video for “The Garden”? Were there any specific visuals or films that inspired you?
Mereki: This video was as much about meeting up as friends and having fun as it was making something that we both loved. Director Lizzy Born and I met up in the South of France without a plan really but with Lizzy, her brain is amazing and constantly pulling from incredible visual references. When I make something with her I can let go of the details as I always know that whatever she makes, it’s going to be beautiful.
1127: What song off the album has the best memories attached to it?
Mereki: This is such a good question! Probably “The Garden” actually… I wrote this song when I was having a hard time and I had a visitation from a ladybird who told my heart that everything would be okay. It’s hard to explain the experience as it was quite mystical but I felt it so deeply and she was right…everything’s always okay in the end, if it’s not okay then it must not be the end yet. “Can’t you feel it coming..the great embrace, can’t you feel us moving towards Grace.”
1127: What does your songwriting process look like?
Mereki: I write every morning, mostly just to get the clutter out of my brain and then on a good day I’ll follow that up by writing a poem or lyrics and playing. Those then sometimes find their way to melody and songs and other times lay dormant in my notebooks forever. Every other day I walk through a magical forest by my house and often I'll come home with a melody or an idea - mostly about the godliness of nature and existence. Often about death, but not in a dark way, just in like a ‘we’re all just shooting stars trying to shine brightly for a moment’ type of bittersweet way. Then I'll either take that melody and try and find the chords on guitar or keys that fit or I'll work with someone else to get there.
1127: What headspace or emotions do you find yourself writing from the most?
Mereki: As I touched on above, it's usually an awe of existence and acknowledgement of the fleeting-ness of it all, I'd say. Although I do also write when I’m upset as it’s the greatest catharsis. Anything from anger to sorrow to relationship stuff.
1127: How has your music style changed over the years since your first EP Beach? Is there a particular direction that you see yourself heading?
Mereki: I think I've refined who I am as a person and that’s helped me refine my music. I’m less apologetic about who I am and who I want to be and I think you can hear that in the vulnerability of a lot of my songs. I also trust myself, musically and otherwise, a lot more- back then I relied more on the opinions of others.
1127: Who are some of your biggest musical inspirations?
Mereki: Kate Bush, Blur, Lana Del Rey, The Spice Girls, Phoenix, Cat Stevens.
1127: You’ve just played Glastonbury in June, congratulations! How has the overall experience of performing live been for you?
Mereki: Thank you so much! I feel very honored to have been given such a special opportunity. I also played on the weekend for a wonderful organization called ‘The Power She Has’ which supports various womens charities and just had the most heartwarming experience singing my songs acoustically to such an open hearted crowd, was really special.
1127: What direction do you see your music going in the next few years?
Mereki: I definitely see an even more stripped back version of ‘me’ coming out and through and also hopefully some fun collaborations with like-hearted artists :)
1127: Are there any upcoming plans that you’re excited about that you can share with us?
Mereki: I actually just got asked to support one of my favorite artists in London in September so I’m super excited about that! And lots more writing & recording on the horizon…
