Unlike the sweet, moth-eaten confines of pop music, the beauty of electronic music lies in its transformative nature. And as he evolves, Mersiv wants to evolve with him.
Mersiv has made it a relentless mission to harness the weird and wonderful world of free form, an electronic subgenre, and anchor it in the mind of EDM. Operating as part of his patented Mersiv Sound Project, the burgeoning bass music producer, whose real name is Anderson Benoit Gallegos, invented his sound “Pretty Dark Loud”.
It’s one of those distinctions that seems ineffable, until you listen to it.
Under the aegis of the Mersiv Sound Project and MorFlo Records – an imprint where he is chief curator – Gallegos has worked tirelessly to push free form and reinvent the genre as we know it. The juggernaut “Pretty Dark Loud” took to the skies at Electric Forest 2018 in a memorable performance that served as a launch pad en route to a 50-plus date tour titled “Beautiful & Filthy”.
The tour, which featured appearances at coveted music festivals like Shambhala, Bonnaroo and Okeechobee, resulted in an eponymous single that sums up the genre-defying philosophy of its brand. It is also one of his most popular releases.
After a dizzying string of releases on revered record companies like Zeds Dead’s Deadbeats, Flux Pavilion and Doctor P’s Circus Records, and groundbreaking brand Wakaan, Mersiv is now set to release their debut album. To be released this fall, the aptly titled Quite dark strong record will mark a watershed moment for the Mersiv Sound Project and, Mersiv hopes, will categorically kick in the door to free music.
“Once my vision was locked in, I created for years trying to find my own sound that would express my story in an honest way,” said Gallegos. “The two-year journey to make this record has been a healing process for me. Quite dark strong is a collection of those moments and efforts in time. “
Mersiv.
Etienne Chevalier
“The purpose of this record is to help people heal and grow across frequencies,” he added. “I hope Quite dark strong can help bring a sense of healing and peace to the listener. “
Free-form electronic music has exploded in popularity in recent years, but its niche style has capped its potential and stabilized its footprint. In order to reach a wider audience, freeform artists often have to abandon the genre’s minimal and spatial foundation for a sound more suited to dubstep, which translates better in large electronic music festivals. Artists such as PEEKABOO and Chee have masterfully distinguished between the two.
Gallegos, on the other hand, has different plans. Its unique sound mixes the ferocity of a dubstep banger with the melodic tendencies of a ballad, offering a hypnotic but overwhelming touch to free music. The example is his latest single “Forest Creature”, a wobbly slow burner with a dreamy and chimerical sound design underpinning its punchy arrangement.
Experimentation is at the heart of freeform. Those who push their own limits and try new approaches to sound design are the ones who are rewarded with the spirit of the bass hive. When asked what drives him to increasingly think outside the box with his style, Mersiv cited exposure to sounds outside of the EDM realm.
“Constantly listening to other genres of music outside of the world of electronic music,” said Gallegos EDM.com. “I test my own limits by constantly learning and incorporating new techniques that I learn through others.”
Quite dark strong will be released on streaming platforms on October 22, 2021. You can pre-record the album here.
FOLLOW MERSIV:
Facebook: facebook.com/mersivsoundproject
Instagram: instagram.com/mersivsoundproject
Twitter: twitter.com/mersivsound
Spotify: spoti.fi/3g72tXg
