Merlot Embargo will at once bring you both whimsy and angst with Don’t Look Back, their debut release. A collection of indie-rock anthems, swampy stomp grooves and glowing string harmonies, it explores both the serious and the silly, from a child’s imagination to being comfortable with one’s own eccentricities.
Don’t Look Back was born of a years-long songwriting project undertaken in 2014. After walking away from an automobile accident that should have been fatal, songwriter/producer (and husband/wife) Scarlet and Geoff felt compelled to create. Don’t Look Back has clear Americana pop sensibilities, brought to life with both traditional pop/rock instrumentation and provocative colors including kalimba, banjo, and toy piano. You’ll find yourself bobbing your head as a rhythm section with a deep pocket supports a sultry and powerful voice singing from the depths of her soul.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
Geoff: We’re a pretty new band from Los Angeles – Scarlet’s the main songwriter/singer and I’m more of the guitarist/arranger/producer. And fortunately we’ve got some pretty talented people in our lives to help us out on the instruments we don’t play, often we find that the collaboration with others takes a song to a new and better place. As far as categories go, I’d say our style is a blend of indie pop, americana and rock music. But more important than genre (to us) is the melody and the groove. Sometimes the feel is more eight note rock, and sometimes it’s more funky acoustic guitar driven, but beyond solos or fancy sounds, I personally think a compelling melody and a good groove are make a song.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to stay the course?
Scarlet: We’ve both been involved with music our whole lives, from other bands and projects to freelancing to church gigs. Geoff has been studying guitar since High School and I’ve been singing since I could talk, and writing songs since college. In December 2014, Geoff and I walked away from a serious car accident – the car was completely totaled and we were lucky to be alive, much less escape without serious injury. We’ve both been involved with many other musical projects over the years, but the accident lit a fire under us to finish creating our own music. (I’ve included a picture of the car with the press photos link to dropbox folder below.)
Who or what are your biggest influences when it comes to your creativity?
Geoff: As a guitarist, John Mayer is probably my biggest single influence, but I’ve come through a lot of different schools of music, lots of years in both jazz and rock groups, taking in the greats like Miles and Wes, alternating with Led Zeppelin, AC/DC and other classic groups.
Scarlet: I grew up listening to Bonnie Raitt, Natalie Cole, and Madonna and have always gotten inspiration from prolific and history making female songwriters such as Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Carly Simon. Vocally I have probably gleaned some of the styles of Brandi Carlile and Sara Bareilles and have also been compared to Jewel and Norah Jones in terms of sound.
How is your new release different than previous ones? Did you set out to accomplish anything specific?
Geoff: This is actually our debut release as Merlot Embargo, and although we have released covers and rearrangements in other groups, and Scarlet has been writing and sharing her music for years, we did seek to make this album as unique as we could. We wanted each song to have it’s own vibe and feel, yet always feel like Merlot Embargo. We hoped that a fan would be able to listen to the whole album at once as well as individual tracks, so we thought about the flow of all the songs as well as making each one as unique and interesting as we could. We hope this is the kind of record that vinyl lovers would enjoy putting on their turntables.
Do you face any challenges as an indie musician in a digital age? On the flip side, how has technology helped you (if it has)?
Geoff: As with most things, the digital age has both positive and negative effects. On the good side, technology is more accessible than ever. With the exception of one of the pianos, we literally recorded this entire album in our home studio over the course a few months. Twenty years ago, that would never have been possible; accessibility of recording is a pretty huge win for indie artists. It’s never been easier to make great sounding, well recorded music, if you have a little knowledge and a bit of gear. On the flip side, it’s probably a little harder to get your music heard these days, since there’s so much of it out there. But even then, there are so, so many outlets. All in all, the technological advance has definitely a net positive for indie artists.
How do you feel about streaming services? Any romantic attachments to the physical formats: vinyl, 8-track, cassettes, CDs?
Geoff: I came along way too late for vinyl, and grew up with cassettes and CDs, but I’m definitely enjoying the vinyl revolution we’re seeing these days. Putting a record on the turntable, dropping the needle and sitting down and just listening is such a good experience, and such a needed break from our busy, drive-through lives. As far as streaming goes, it’s the way things are going, and not just with music. Our DVD collection is gathering dust in favor of Netflix, and we haven’t watched a real broadcast TV show in ages. With music streaming, I think there is a lot of progress to be made with artist compensation, but streaming is here to stay, so we better all get used to it! As a consumer, it’s absolutely fantastic. You’ve pretty much got everything ever recorded at your fingertips.
Scarlet: I grew up with my dad’s love for music and his incredible record collection as well as reel to reel. He’s also since inherited an old victrola. Needless to say I was so excited when we finally got a turntable and have been thrifting, treasure hunting and garage sale-ing to build a pretty substantial collection of our own. I hope we can make my dad proud. I would die happy if we could put out our music on vinyl. One of my first inspirations for being a singer was Jem and the Holograms, and you only ever saw them trying to get their vinyl records out there. What else could there be??
Where can we follow you online and hear more music?
Scarlet: Our website (www.merlotembargo.com) is a good place to navigate to wherever you want to follow us. From there you can find us on facebook, Instagram, or sign up for our email list. But we’re merlotembargo on pretty much whatever your platform of choice is, although we do tend to be most active on facebook and Instagram.
Our music is available on iTunes, Spotify, and Apple Music and our Youtube channel MerlotEmbargo will always have some new and fun music videos from us to you. You can also get a hard copy of our album through CDbaby or Amazon…or you can follow us for upcoming shows to purchase merchandise directly from us!
Anything else before we sign off?
Geoff: Yeah, a thank you if you made it this far! We’ve got lots of plans for the future, and speaking of the home studio revolution, we think it’s pretty sustainable to keep this up, so keep your ears peeled for more!
