When you’re hungover and your mouth is devoid of saliva and your head is basically an empty cavern, there are only two things you’re gonna want to do. Sleep, or do something that’s gonna soothe your sorry little state. Swedish artist Merely is here for the latter, with a video for the track “Sunset Beach”, which sounds not dissimilar from how it might be to dissolve into peaceful water.It’s taken from her recent album Hatching The Egg – a record that’s somewhere between a trance track you might’ve lost your head to one time, Brian Eno, Grimes when she made her best pop album and mermaids. Which is to say it’s really vibey, celestial and also super relaxing. It’s been released through YEAR0001 too, the label behind Yung Lean, Bladee, Viagra Boys and more, so you know it’s good stuff.
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The video itself, which you can watch below, is a bit of a Lynchian lucid dream. Shot and directed by Amnesia Scanner art directors PWR Studio, bright colours and brilliant sets abound. The concept, Merely says, is either “a bored out girl living in a small house dreaming away for something else” or “something that happens in your brain”. There’s also some funny looking clown people.I called Merely up on Tuesday afternoon, while she was kicking back in Gothenburg – where she’s based – in order to find out more about her. What she likes, when she started making music – that kinda stuff – as part of our new series Here’s The Deal With… So here’s the deal with Merely!“I used to live in Stockholm, when I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I was out clubbing a lot, and that’s what I wanted to get away from when I moved to Gothenburg. It was draining. I was in my early twenties, so it made sense, but moving to Gothenburg was a little bit more chill.”“I had a vocal teacher when I was seven. I played the cello for a couple years and piano also. But my passion was vocals. However I thought it was a little bit… I couldn’t really express myself, it was a lot about techniques – which I’m super thankful for but I remember I had a problem with my throat for six months and my teacher was trying to make me go back to my original voice because I was making a lot of air. Those things made me feel that I had to get away from it.”“It’s always nice. As long as you’re not trapped and you can figure out what you want to do then it’s definitely a good thing.”“I got it a long time before I actually started making music because I’ve always been into this kind of atmosphere and sound, the way I pronounce my singing – it’s always been super… deep down there. I think it’s because I think too much. I feel a lot.”“I feel blessed to have experienced deep feelings and fundamental relations to some specific works. That makes me feel a special bond to the artists behind them. It’s always hard to have a favourite, the word itself is somewhat excluding… But I know for sure that some people, like Susumu Hirasawa, Dolores O’Riordan and Max Martin have helped me become the one I am.““I change hobby every second month because I have little patience for everything else other than my determination for music. It’s actually very frustrating for me.”You can find Ryan on Twitter.