Interview: Meryl Streek @ 2000trees
Meryl Streek by Gareth Bull
We caught up with the dynamic and boundary-pushing artist Meryl Streek at the 2000trees Festival, just after his captivating and high-energy set in the Neu tent. Known for his intense stage presence and thought-provoking music, Meryl Streek has been making waves with his unique blend of punk and spoken word.
With a new album, Songs For The Deceased, set to drop on 25 October, we wanted to hear all about his first Trees experience, plus the inspiration behind the album and the collaborations that bring a fresh dimension to his work. He also shares his thoughts on the festival experience, his current listening habits, and what he hopes listeners will take away from his music.
We’re very excited that we finally get to chat with you, and finally get to see you live! We tried to catch you, but we couldn’t barely get into the tent.
Thanks for having me! I feel bad saying this, but I'm happy to hear you couldn’t get in, you know? That was great. These festivals are wild. This project is still so new, and seeing people wearing Meryl Streek T-shirts is a bit surreal. I still live with my Ma in a tiny six-by-six box bedroom. So, seeing 1,000 or 2,000 people in a tent is very surreal.
That's fair. I don't know if it ever gets normal. Does it?
I was doing drumming gigs for 15 years, and it got pretty normal to the point where I thought, I'm not doing this anymore. So, I bought a laptop and started screaming about my problems to see if it would entice people to want to know more.
So, first time at Trees with an absolutely heaving, overflowing tent. You must be stoked.
Yes, I've always wanted to play here, so I'm glad I finally am.
I can't wait to get back to my box bedroom and process the whole thing. It takes me a while to come down and realize, "Wow, that was actually massive." I'm delighted they had me and hope to come back.
Is there anyone you're hoping to see while you're here?
I've been waiting 15 years to see Manchester Orchestra. I can't wait. They are such a good band and such great songwriters.
We've been lucky to send our team to capture a few of your gigs, and you can see in the photography that you have a very intense stage presence. However, when we listen to the music, while the message is indeed intense and pointed, the ambient sound surrounding it makes the overall experience far less intimidating.
That was always kind of part of the plan. I wanted to make really beautiful music to trick the DJs into playing it, without realizing that I was venting about all the problems they could broadcast on the radio. To a certain degree, it's worked. The idea was to create happy, upbeat music with intense, mental-sounding vocals to do something a little different. People like Sleaford Mods are doing similar things, but I wanted to make songs that hit people in the heart.
Maybe I'm ignorant, but I don't feel like a lot of people are doing the spoken word kind of poetry vibe in music right now.
There are a few, but what I'm doing is so dark and personal. I think that's quite unique. It definitely hits people. I grew up watching horror movies, so I want to make it really intense so people will go and tell their friends about it. But I'm not like that when the gig ends. It's meant to open people's eyes, and it does.
You just announced a new album coming out in October?
I did. It's called Songs For The Deceased and it’s out on 25 October on Venn Records. It's 14 songs about cases in Ireland where people have been waiting years for justice but still haven't gotten it. One song is about Terence Wheelock, a kid murdered by the police in Dublin, framed as a suicide. The family is still waiting for justice after 20 years. Another case is about the Stardust nightclub fire in 1981. It's a personal album, but it highlights real issues people need to be aware of.
The first single for that album is very personal isn’t it; about one of your family members?
Yes, it’s about my uncle Paddy. He died five or six years ago, and I felt he deserved a song. I've actually been playing it for about a year. It’s the one song that changes the mood of the venue every time. It hits people, and they realize I’m not just an angry gobshite from Dublin. The most common feedback I get is, "Man, I had an uncle called Paddy who was the same." It seems like Uncle Paddys are known for loving beer and cigarettes and are no longer with us. It’s good to play it now that it’s out as a single.
How is the new album going to be different from the last one?
It's similar in many ways but fresher. This album has a lot of collaborations, which I didn’t do the first time around. I have some of my heroes on it, like Kingsley from Benefits and Oliver Ackermann, who owns the effects pedal company Death By Audio and is also in the band A Place to Bury Strangers. I couldn’t believe I got him. There’s also Cal from The Chisel, Molly from Vulpynes, and a few others. It was really nice to get people involved.
What inspired you to have different voices involved?
I think a lot of people think alike, and I wanted to give them 20 seconds to express themselves on a record. If it doesn't suit their projects, it might suit mine. I want to show people that I’m not the only one talking about these issues.
What is up between now and the release?
I've got Rebellion Festival in August, and then Left of the Dial in October. I've also got some in-store performances in October, and then the main headline tour in November. It's only about 10 days. I've done longer tours, but this time I wanted it to be short and sweet, just hitting the cities that have been good to me—not that others haven't.
Is there anything that you hope people take away from listening to and engaging with your music?
I hope they have a genuine interest in googling the cases I'm talking about and discussing them, keeping them relevant. That's all I ask; I don't really care about accolades. I just hope they are intrigued by it. I love FBI files, I love true crime, and that's what this album is. It's me narrating stories that happened and need to stay relevant.
Last question, what are you listening to right now?
I'm listening to a lot of American hardcore. Bands like Gag, Gouge Away, and Gel. I love a lot of really angry underground stuff that maybe only 20 people in the States know about.
Thanks so much Meryl Streek for taking the time to speak to us. Can’t wait for Songs For The Deceased coming 25 October on Venn Records!
