Groove with a new attitude

Groove with a new attitude

There’s a musical cauldron bubbling away with hypnotic notes, multilingual tunes and a fusion of genres and the results are finding their way to our ears.

Libertine is the new album by musician Merenia Gillies. Drawing on her heritage and creative abilities, she has produced an organic sound with an edgy twist.

Being Maori means I was raised with that rich, typical Polynesian music mix that includes old school soul, funk, massive amounts of reggae but also lots of hip hop. This was all tempered with Polynesian music which is focused on soulful vocal harmonies, Gillies told Sydney Star Observer.

I definitely think I can thank my Welsh grandfather for my voice, and the Romany influence has become more apparent in recent times with singing in different languages and with a lot of the harmonic and melodic choices I tend to go for.

I also think the Romany influence is responsible for the spontaneity and emotional honesty that I hope is developing and becoming more apparent in my music.

Gillies sings in five languages and the album proves she’s one of Sydney’s most dynamic songstresses. She made her debut at 16 when she was signed to Pagan Records in New Zealand.
After spending the last few years touring with Love Tattoo, performing with Soulful House Music events and at the Festival of Sydney and Playground Weekender Festival, it was time for her to conjure up this spellbinding album.

Libertine is a journey about coming into my own time and self after a long period of confusion. Lyrically, I have been brutally honest and I hope people dig that. Musically, when producing it we tried to keep it from being contrived or fake as it’s really just soul music, she said.

A libertine is someone who lives with complete freedom, which is what I aspired to while writing the album. I had come out of ten years of following other people’s agendas, and it was time to back myself and not think small anymore. The tracks on the album kind of illustrate that journey.

I hope people like the sentiment and the honesty. I think it’s kind of funky too -¦ If you like stroppy girls with big voices and attitude you will probably like it. It’s big on beats and groove too.
Gillies is on the move and is set to perform at a handful of summer festivals, so keep an ear out.

info: Gillies will perform at Slide’s Desperate House Boy party on 6 December. Doors open at 7pm.
Merenia Gillies … a stroppy girl with a big voice and attitude to match.

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