Well hey there!
If you’ve made it to this page, you probably already know a little about me…
Obviously, I’m a musician—a singer and a songwriter. But more broadly, I’m a person who loves to make and consume artful things.
I’m especially moved by fantasy and mythology; and I particularly love stories that are beautiful and dreamy on the surface…but when you start pulling back the layers, you find a feast of meaning, symbolism, and depth just waiting to be discovered.
So, that’s always what I’m trying to do with my music, too.
And if you’re a person who loves that sort of thing like I do, I’d love to welcome you into this beautiful little world I’ve built to host my music and my stories. I can’t wait to show you where all of the gems are hidden…
Salt Lake Underground Magazine may have summed me up perfectly with this little quip: “If you know anything about Emily Merrell, you know she has a lot to say..”
Of course, I’m guilty as charged. But if you’re who I think you are, it’ll all be right up your alley…
Language is such a generous muse. I commune with her as often as possible—with or without music.
In fact, I often find that writing without musical boundaries lets me prepare and process “out loud.” So, I write to figure out what I most want to say in my songs, and I write to catalog the thoughts and feelings I had while making the music.
I write as creative exercise—to take you behind-the-scenes, to let you into my latest musings and mullings, to document artful explorations, to play.
And speaking of play, where else would I go to weave a perfect nest for my songs? How else would I build out the worlds I’m imagining? If you want to be sure you’re discovering every treasure I’ve tucked within the songs, or to zoom out for a bird’s eye view, there’s no better place than the blog to look for clues.
As a more explicit guide…
You can peruse posts labelled “Behind the Scenes” to read the stories that inspire my songs, to hear about the writing process and the actual making of the music and visuals, to get insight into my methods and systems, and to see what I’m planning to dive into next. If you want to get personal…this is the best place to begin.
By the way, did you know I have a podcast?
Every week, I interview a fellow artist (all mediums) about their creative identity and experience. These conversations are such a gift to me in my own creative process—they inspire me so, and help me tap into new perspectives.
So, I’ve developed a habit of processing these gorgeous conversations with prose, as well.
Each month, I reflect on all of the “Artifice” episodes from the past several weeks, and compose an artful essay about the through lines and themes I’ve discovered.
These essays are my “Deep Dives.” You’ll find many of these in the blog archives. I hope they light up your mind, as well.
And finally…curiosity is woven deeply in my personal and artistic values systems. I have a deep belief that the best way to keep our perspectives fresh is to always be trying something new.
This belief leads me to creative exploration in many non-musical fields. And I love to share my earnest, if inexpert creations here, as well. You’ll find these entries labelled “Explorations.”
And that’s the tour!
Mostly, my goal here is to tease out every possible wisp of meaning, depth, beauty. There’s nothing I love more.
Well…the one thing I may love more would be teasing apart that meaning with YOU. I would love to know what patterns you notice, what small treasures you find, what books and stories you’ve been lost in recently, what art and philosophy moves you.
What’s better than an artful expedition with artful companions? That’s where magic lives…