Merk (musician)

Recognising his talent, in 2016 Red Bull sent Merk to represent New Zealand at the Red Bull Music Academy in Montreal. After which he graduated as an alumni.[2] On 18 November, Merk released his debut album Swordfish written, recorded, produced and mixed by himself with additional help from Alexander Wildwood and Ben Jeffares. Djeisan Suskov was credited with mastering the album. The album took around six to eight months to record according to Perkins, he recorded five versions of each song.[2] Within a short amount of time after release, the album gained over 70,000 streams across Spotify and Soundcloud.[5]

In January 2017, Merk won the Independent Music NZ's inaugural Auckland Live Best Independent Debut award.[3] On 30 March, a music video was released for his single "I'm Easy".[6]

On 2 May 2018, the single "Lucky Dilemma" was released and added to subsequent reissues of Swordfish.[7] On 5 May, Merk performed as support for local New Zealand musician Estère.[8]

In February and March 2018 Merk supported Australian pop group Cub Sport on their 'Bats' Australian tour.[9] On 29 August, he released his new single "Hang", a so-called "anthem for hanging out in solitude" aimed at introverts.[10] A music video for "Hang" was released on 26 September.[11]

In January 2019 he announced that he was going on a four-date tour with Julia Jacklin starting 27 February, performing in Christchurch, Dunedin, Auckland, and Wellington.[12]

On 21 February 2020, Merk released the single "H.N.Y.B." and announced his signing to new Australian record label Humblebrag Records, alongside announcing Australian and New Zealand tour dates and his official showcases at SXSW (which was later cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic).[13] The music video for "H.N.Y.B" was co-directed by Martin Sagadin and Merk.[14]

On 28 January 2021, Merk released the single "GOD", which debuted in SPIN Magazine's "A Day in the Life" and was described as "strapped with a disco-indebted synth line, skittering percussion, bouncing bass and repetitive mantra-esque lyrics."[15] The music video was released the same day, co-directed by Martin Sagadin and Merk.[16] Merk announced his forthcoming album Infinite Youth on 25 February along with the release of his song "Laps Around The Sun", which premiered on Clash Magazine and was described as "a deft, sincere piece of songwriting, with Merk's heart-on-sleeve approach resulting in an incredibly endearing track."[17] The accompanying music video for the song was created by Martin Sagadin, Abigail Egden and Merk.[18] Merk's single "Deep Dive" was released on 18 March along with the announcement of his first ever national headline tour.[19] "Deep Dive" was described as "syrupy sweet pop" and Merk praised as "a master at creating tracks that feel minimal and sparse, imbibed with hidden gems, giving head spinning depth." The music video for "Deep Dive" was released on 17 March and was written and directed by the New Zealand band Sports Team.[20]