In conversation with Mereba

Music for the soul, mind, and body

Effortlessly gleaming, Mereba can hit the soul, mind, and body in just a 3-minute ballad. Alternative R&B singer-songwriter Mereba finds delicate power in precisely arranged spaces in between. Her syncopated lines open the door to a tender, sundrenched world. On her latest album, The Breeze Grew a Fire, Mereba’s airy voice prances over intricately struck basslines. Warmly intimate, yet never too simple. After she graced Glamcult TV with a live performance of Hawk, we caught up with Mereba to talk midtour reflections, roots, and her latest project. 

Hi! First, how are you feeling after the performance?
I’m feeling great. We’re getting towards the end of the tour, and we’re at that point where I’m kind of sad that it’s ending. I love Amsterdam. I loved the last show we had here, too. And yeah, it’s been great. 

How has the tour been so far?
It’s been so nice. I feel like there’s an added dimension of gratitude for me when I go very far away from home and connect with my fans. Cause I’m like, you guys are here listening to me. Everywhere. Yeah, just hearing accents, singing the songs in different ways, and stuff is so cute. It’s been really good. It’s definitely been filling up my heart.

I’m sure that’s like super rewarding. You’re from Atlanta, right?
Well, experience is complicated. I was born in Alabama, but I did come from Atlanta. I moved around a good amount, but Atlanta is kind of my home. I would say musically, a lot of my DNA comes from that. 

Could you expand on how that informs your work musically?
Yeah, of course. Before Atlanta, I lived in North Carolina for high school, which really influenced my sound. First, I got into folk and like country style of music and started playing guitar. That’s how I got into songwriting, those two styles. Then, when I went to Atlanta, it kind of took me into a completely different direction of being with the underground hip hop scene. I started rapping and taking my poems and turning them into rap verses, and I think the blend of those two things is still a really foundational part of myself. 

Could you tell me a little bit about The Breeze Grew A Fire?
Yeah, this is my newest project. It was inspired a lot by my family and my friends, more so than romantic relationships. I come from making like protest music, so a lot of my music leans more into commentary about the world and the system. This album kind of takes a different direction for me as an artist, focusing on the relationships I never really made songs about, like my best friend, my son, who I had four years ago and my sister. Just those relationships that I feel we often take for granted in our lives, I just wanted to give them some bops, too. 

Can you talk about the song you just sang for Glamcult TV?
It’s called Hawk. It really fits into the theme of the album. It’s about a friend, a very dear friend of mine, who passed away unexpectedly. We kind of grew up together. We did a lot of first things in life together. So I wanted to make a song for him that celebrated him. But his personality was like life at the party, loved dancing, loved going clubbing, like we just had some of the craziest nights together, so at first I made a song for him that was really like sombre and slow on my guitar. I was like he would never miss a day in his life, so I wanted to make a song that he would dance to and that he would have fun to if he were here, so even though the lyrics are very emotional, the music is very upbeat. Just about the nights we had together and clothing and how I’ll always kind of like carry him with me, you know? It’s one of my favourite songs from the album, but I don’t sing it often because it’s hard for me to sing. After all, it’s emotional, but I thought this was a good time to do it.

Thank you for sharing that with us. Would you say that’s one of your most personal songs that you’ve written?
I don’t know if my songs are personal, but I would say vulnerable. One of my most vulnerable songs, yes. 

You said that you sort of sat down with an idea to write this song. Is that usually how your creation process works?
Usually, I don’t have such a focus, like I want to write a song about this person. Usually, songs come to me when I’m doing something else. An idea just flows into my head, and I just kind of let the idea of the song lead me, versus trying to dictate what it will be about. But this song and another song on this album, Starlight, were both songs that are very similar. I want to write about this particular person and in this particular way. It’s almost like a dedication more than just a song that is dedicated to that person. So like Starlight, it’s dedicated to my son. 

Super beautiful. Is there anything that you’re looking forward to on this tour or in general in your music process?
Yeah, I mean, I’ve been looking forward to being back on the job for quite some time because I took maternity time away, pandemic time away. And I love performing so much. I will say I’m really excited to end the tour in South Africa because we’re going to South Africa for a few shows. And we went last year as well, so I feel really grateful to be going back so soon and reconnecting with them. But they’re a huge part of my fan base in South Africa, so their energy is just like any place I’ve ever been. They’re just so turnt. They go so crazy. And obviously, it’s so beautiful there. So I’m looking forward to that. I’m also looking forward to getting home to my baby. And also, I have a lot of songs that have come to me on tour. So just sitting down and processing everything and writing, hopefully my next song.