Anyone fancies ‘Free Grillz’?

It’s Merlin. Magi Merlin. Pronounced MADGE-eye. Let’s better learn it now before it becomes a bit awkward when she’ll become a big name in the industry. So far, the stars were on her side, letting her reach fans with RnB, neo-soul sour-sweet notes. Obsessed with music from early on, Magi made sure that it show in every track she make. Her newest single, ‘Free Grillz’, produced by long-time collaborator, Funkywhat, plays on the everyday ridicule in a rap manner.

Can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and about the music you make?

My name is Magi Merlin! I’m 25 years old and I’m from Montreal, Qc. I like skateboarding, food, making music, and thinking about things that make me nervous, (ie: existentialism, environmentalism, and running out of toilet paper, amongst other things.) 

 I make something along the lines of alternative RnB/ Neo-soul.

How did it all start?

I’ve been writing songs and poetry since before I actually knew how to write. I would have dreams about poems when I was around 4 or 5 and would recite them to my mom. She’d write them down for me. I developed a fascination/ obsession with music and wanted to recreate the songs that would get stuck in my head. writing has always been around for me but I really started to feel like I was getting somewhere musically when I met FunkyWhat the producer I mainly collaborate with in 2018. 

Can you tell us a bit about your new single?

Free Grillz was initially an experiment as I had never written a rap track before, but now I am addicted to writing rap songs because it made me feel incredibly cool. 

I really liked playing with traditional themes usually spoken about in mainstream rap music but spin it a bit to make it a bit more relatable to my life. for example, A lot of people throughout my life have had a lot of trouble pronouncing my name, I had grown so used to it, and honestly, became uncomfortable whenever I was tasked with correcting people. I would let people call me whatever they wanted to avoid feeling awkward. FunkyWhat started calling me out on it every time he was around to witness my passiveness and it made me realize, as a way to develop my self-confidence and self-assurance I needed to start correcting people. I address this in '‘Free Grillz’ and now I can never let anyone mispronounce my name otherwise I'm a hypocrite, it now keeps me in check. this whole process has been very educational honestly. 

We’re obsessed with your video for ‘Free Grillz’. Can you tell us a bit about the concept for it?

whoa! thanks :)

Walid Jabri,  the director of the Music video is both a very talented cinematographer and editor but is actually also one of my closest friends! he’s at my house all the time! so when I asked him if he was interested in directing a clip for me I knew that my ideas would be taken into account and translated well on screen. We were able to shoot ideas around and since we already have a similar sense of humor amongst other things, the clip was able to truly capture the essence of the song (at least for me). The song itself is written semi-satirically! I have no money to boast about and I wouldn't necessarily classify myself as an overly confrontational person. I wrote the track as if it were written by a more badass version of myself which I think came through in the clip all the while maintaining a sense of humor and ensuring that no one is taking themselves too seriously. (I think that those sentiments are highlighted best in the dating scene! my favourite scene :) )

If you were to describe your sound to someone who’d never heard you before, what would you say?

I would probably say that it's a complex alternative RnB with great importance on lyricism. some elements are easy to place in terms of influence (ex: this has a more contemporary RnB vibes or, this has some rock and roll influences in it) but it's all truly tied together by lyrics and harmony delivery (i think)! I find I stay fairly consistent with my harmonies (mainly that I am obsessed with stacking as many harmonies as humanly possible in most of my songs haha). 

What inspires your music?

Other musicians for sure, from Dangelo to Rosalia to Hiatus Kaiyote to Fela Kuti (+++) 

I do draw, however, a load of inspiration from various topics I get obsessed with. I’ve been learning a lot about political systems, gender relations, astrophysics, spirituality, my own personal developments, and hypocrisies. Varying topics give me really interesting perspectives to write from it makes writing a lot of fun for me!

What advice would you give for anyone trying to achieve a similar sound to your band? 

Ouhhhh, I would say stack the shit out of your harmonies. go crazy with it. also always listen to music from other countries, check how they do what they do, what scales they play with, what movements they make. I find it so inspirational and constantly keeps me on my toes in regards to my own music. 

If your music were a film or TV show which would it be?

Black Dynamite

(hehe)

Name an album you’re still listening to from when you were younger and why it’s important to you?

Not to be cliche and also… not to reference my bio on Spotify but, Frank Ocean’s Nostalgia Ultra and Channel Orange. That man actually changed how I write. I’ve been writing songs all my life but when I was introduced to him I realized I could speak on things in my music that aren’t just about love. Frank talked about different ideologies, and ways of seeing the world and said it all with a sense of humor and self awareness! Varying experiences that I had never heard anyone talk about in their music up until that point. It blew my mind and I carry that realization with me to this day.

What do you hate right now? 

Capitalism, War, Putin, not having a compost bin.

What do you love right now?

The movie Last Holiday, peanut butter and honey on toast, Rosalia 

What comes next in the Magi Merlin’s story?

Hopefully getting my music synced in movies and TV shows I really love that form of media. THAT would be RADICAL! We also have a few shows lined up for this summer (festivals and whatnot) all super exciting :)

What upcoming 2022 music releases are you most excited about?

Kendrick Lamar's final LP oh my GOD! am excited for that.

Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?

Please watch Last Holiday with Queen Latifa its so bad/good and it makes me cry every time I watch it for some reason (it's a good Christmas movie, but my love knows no bounds and I watch it year-round).