If you haven’t already immersed yourself in The Tragedy Of Love, the latest single from Meers, stop what you’re doing and go listen to it now. The song is a woozy melting pot of western psychedelia and searing alt-rock, and we’ve had it spinning on repeat all day.
So, fresh off the single’s release, we caught up with the artist himself to chat all about it, musical influences, what the future holds, and heaps more.
With an amazing new single, The Tragedy Of Love, hot off the press, we caught up with Sydney-based artist Meers to chat all about it.
HAPPY: Hey, how’s it going? What are you up to at the moment?
MEERS: Hi! It’s going amazing! Apart from being locked in my house, I’ve just finished writing my first book! It’s filled with Leprechauns and Jesters, poems and songs, and circuses and bazaars! I’ve always wanted to write a book ever since I was 16, so six years later and here we are! It’s definitely a vibe I am excited to express in the form of music, which is why right now I’m going to buy a new microphone since my old one has suffered enough screams to stop working. So I’m very excited to see what the future has in store for me in the world of writing!
HAPPY: We’re loving the new single The Tragedy of Love! How does it feel having out there in the world?
MEERS: Thank you so much. I can tell you that I am very critical of my own singing, as well as my own lyricism, so it was no different for this song! It took me one day to get a general idea of what to do, but so, so much longer to actually do it. To see that this song is finally out in the world gives me hope that after three years of aimlessly writing and singing, something has finally paid off! I love this song so much because of the meaning behind it. I think the very nature of this song is expressed in the fact that it was very painful to write.
HAPPY: Could you tell us a bit about the song?
MEERS: I would love to, but it’s not very pretty… I think life is amazing. I really, really do. It is so interesting, no? You wake up and you fall asleep, but between the waking and the sleeping, everything happens. Most of this everything is pretty mundane and uninteresting, some of this everything is very interesting and intriguing and all that’s left of this everything is complete torture and hell. But I love that… it’s the greatest challenge of all. Life, that is, is the greatest challenge of all.
It will do everything to you, it will destroy you, it will bring you to the ground, “begging for mercy”, but I’m still here. That’s the whole point, no matter how hard things will be, here I am! The song has two very simple meanings. The first meaning is portrayed when you listen to the song from the perspective of the entire universe, singing the song to me, telling me that it can and will do anything to me. The second meaning is portrayed when you listen to the song from the perspective of me, singing the song to the entire universe, telling it to keep going, telling it to show me its worst, because here I am and here I will be. Forever!
HAPPY: There are so many different genres incorporated in your music… do you feel like your sound is always evolving? Or do you feel like you’ve settled on something concrete?
MEERS: I think I have finally found my sound, or rather sounds. I love singing how I sing in The Tragedy of Love, which is the same way I sing in Don’t Bring Me Home. However, I really enjoy singing in the style of Billie Eilish just as much. I’m not too sure what my sound will become in the future, but I know that I am very excited to see where it goes. I am especially very open-minded to any “new” thing I may or may not come upon in the progression of my sound, so I am always listening to feedback and criticism! Thanks universe…
HAPPY: How did you approach the writing/recording of these tracks?
MEERS: That is a very funny question because I don’t believe it was me who did the approaching. I felt a need to write them, as if it was the songs that approached me, asking for “itself” to be written. Every song I have ever written holds some meaning, and that specific meaning is expressed throughout whatever sounds I choose or whatever melodies I tend to find.
I think I was at a very pivotal moment in my life when I wrote this song, and that pivotal moment is that I do not want to keep at my normal day job, I want to pursue the art of expression. That’s it. This song is me yelling at the universe, telling it that I am ready to prove myself, and just as well this song is the universe yelling at me, telling me to prepare myself. I have been working as a software engineer for over four years now, and I have yet to experience the joy and freedom of writing and publishing music throughout the happenings of an office.
HAPPY: Are these singles a taste of something bigger to come? An album perhaps?
MEERS: I am working on an album right now! This song will most definitely be part of the album, and so will Don’t Bring Me Home. These two songs have given me more than I could have ever asked for, in that they allowed me to see where I may be going, and I like what I see! I have just finished organising all the equipment and tech that I need on my journey to orchestrating the greatest album in the world, I just hope I find what I am looking for!
HAPPY: Are there any particular artists that you’re really digging at the moment?
MEERS: Absolutely! Though my sound is completely different from this genius, one of the most inspiring artists I have ever discovered is Ricky Montgomery! His songs Mr. Loverman, My Heart Is Buried In Venice, This December and Out Like a Light (which is a song from his band The Honeysticks) have created the Meers that I am today! There is so much meaning in the lyrics of the songs that I would go so far as to say they are boundless. An example is “Only in my darkest moments can I see the light. I think I’m prone to getting blinded when it’s bright”.
Um, are autographs still a thing? Can I have one? I have heard his music so much and I can’t wait to keep listening to it. I’m waiting for anything that might be in the works and hope that one day we can have a conversation about how we approach the writing of a song!
HAPPY: What’s next for Meers? Any other exciting plans in the works?
MEERS: I am going to keep writing music and I am going to keep writing books and I am going to keep writing everything. I just hope that one day, someone finds what I am writing. I hope that in the finding of my work, they can find a reason to search for themself.
That is all I want!
That is why I write!
That is why I sing!
HAPPY: Cheers for the chat!
MEERS: No worries!
The Tragedy Of Love is available now. Listen above.
