Emily Merrell shared with us her catchy song “Villain,” off her new album “Masks.” Upon hearing this song for the first time we immediately got hooked on her charming and pure voice. The energy of this song is amazing and Emily’s vocal performance is very professional. Her lyrics are original and the melodies are so beautiful and definitely enjoyable. Emily Merrell is a talented artist and we are very excited to see where her career will go in the next few months.
WHAT THE ARIST SAYS ABOUT THIS SONG:
” “Masks” is more than an album. It’s a mixed media exploration of disguise and disclosure, featuring work from over 35 professional artists. It’s been two years in the making. For every song on the album, I’ve written on a specific masks-related theme. For “Villain,” the theme is “The Scapegoat Paradox.” As a theme, this is simple. Scapegoats (individuals or group identities) are marked as the authors of pain, problems, suffering, or negative change for a dominant individual or group. The reality is the opposite. The accuser is the author of the malaise, the scapegoat is the recipient of trauma. This is for anyone who is painted as a source of problems, but is ultimately being victimized. The scapegoat has a false identity forced upon him, and the aggressor disguises himself as the victim.”
“Masks” Album:
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Emily Merrell’s “thesaurus pop” anchors somewhere between alternative/art pop and cinematic jazz fusion (Kate Bush meets Janelle Monae), weaving playful and evocative lyrics through colorful harmonies and energetic grooves. Inspired by her fascination with our human tendency to pose, posture, and conceal, Emily’s most recent compositions explore themes of disguise and disclosure: “Masks can be calculated or unconscious; liberating or constricting; subversive, strategic, coquettish, coercive, and everything is layered.”
Having completed a Master of Music in Jazz Performance from the world-renown University of North Texas, Emily puts her skills to use as a full time performer, composer, band leader/producer, and music educator. Emily also finds a labor of love in her original podcast, “Artifice,” wherein she interviews professional artists about the origins and development of their creativity, the logistics of life as an “artpreneur,” and their strategies for blending vulnerability with veneer as they cultivate creative resilience.
