Leave it to just the right hook in a song to settle a hectic day, or a dynamic groove to thwart your mind from running amuck. Shifts and turns are what life is about. We can’t always find the words to describe the ups and downs of the roller coaster of life we unwittingly strapped into, but alas, that is why musicians were born. Singer-songwriter Meredith Meyer is one of those melodic poets, who create an ebb-n-flow voice to the seemingly indescribable challenges in life. Her crisp vocals and eclectic sound will bring you a voice of reason to make sense of your day. With her onyx long hair and hint of mod style, Meredith has a mystique to her that only her music can capture with each emerging album. She is a musician who is focused, headstrong, and steering clear of being chained to any one genre, as her music will prove. In her first album, "Items You Won’t Find Elsewhere", you will find her vocals beautifully reminiscent of Chrissie Hynde, yet all her own. In her second album, "It’s Spooky To Be Young",, you will find Meredith’s transitioned into a deeper aura and intensity likening to that of Kate Bush. So one can only guess that with Meyer’s third album, "Young Unknowns", she's pushed the envelope once again, exploring, discovering and transforming her music. Her new sound embraces not only her innate singer/songwriter-rock vibe, but also that of indie-electronica, creating a striking new dance album.
As with any artist, Meredith is in constant quest of deeper insight into her creativity. She has taken many leaps of faith in her life in order to find herself and her art. The first of which was leaving her hometown of Oklahoma City and making her way to Los Angeles. It was there she stumbled into singing backup for a couple of bands and decided to fully embrace the musician she was and the merry-go-round music scene LA is notorious for. Being she was classically trained on the piano and self-taught on the guitar, Meredith harnessed her musical inclinations and carved out a niche for herself over several years until at one point she began to realize something wasn’t quite right. “There’s a lot of singer-songwriters in LA and I never quite felt comfortable calling myself a singer-songwriter. I didn’t quite fit into the folk scene, and I didn’t quite fit into the rock scene.” She continues, “I think there is so much music today that crosses genres, that it is weird people still try to make it 'Vanilla' and explainable.” With that realization, Meyer knew she needed to take another leap of faith in order evolve and get to a new level. “I wanted to start a new chapter in my life and music--uproot myself and take myself out of an environment where I had become very comfortable--shake things up in my personal life. I wanted to experience different environmental influences and musical influences.” So in order to avoid the LA tailspin of commercial, homogenized music, she sold everything she had and moved to New York in hopes of taking herself and her art to a new level. Meredith is very aware of the precarious nature of being an artist, speaking in a sweet but deliberate manner. As she mentions the many jobs she’s had in order to do her music, from rave superhero, "Galaxy Feline Yum-Yum" to part-time nanny, Meyer has no regrets in following her art wherever it takes her. She is so grateful to have had mentors along the way that have encouraged her to "go out and find out for yourself, do it, [and] see what happens.” She jokes that without her group of mentors cheering her on she might’ve just given up and resorted to her “fantasy life” of being a manicurist reading People Magazine everyday with a home filled with a washer and dryer and dishwasher. But she has no plans on turning her back on her music any time soon. And even though she has not been a part of a major label, she feels lucky she has had the freedom, to “delve into experimentation without having outside influences trying to control it, [and] without someone breathing down my neck about it.” Especially over this past year of living in such a driving city as New York, she remarks on how her experimentation in electronica, and what would soon develop into her latest music, seemed like a natural progression. “When I’m walking in the city, trudging from point A to B in crappy weather, I want to be motivated. I want a reason to get out of bed in the morning. The quiet side to me is still there, but I’m not wanting to play it lately. I now have this feeling of wanting a driving beat behind the song, [and] found myself craving something that makes me want to move.” All of this venturing into newfound territory, along with her working with other bands, like the one she is currently touring with, Backwords, has given her a new perspective on her musical direction and a greater depth to her art. And although her intriguing sound of records past have had their own successes, such as her "It’s Spooky to Be Young" album being featured on Virgin Atlantic’s in-flight music listings, Meredith is not one to rest on her laurels, and is excited to see where her music leads her. With the coming of her latest album, "Young Unknowns", you can sense Meredith Meyer’s fervor to transform her music by whatever means necessary. She organically merges the driving beats of electronica and other worldly sounds, whilst still preserving the integrity of her sweet and deliberate voice. Her devotion to the art of music is ever clear, and one should keep a vigilant watch on Meredith Meyer, and what this beguiling creature will think up next! Originally published in DStripped Magazine
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