Watch the video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jl8gcVqTA9s
Produced by @theSXMPLELIFE. Filmed at The Livingston Center Preschool in Providence, Rhode Island (part of The Groden Center, Inc. "Your Autism Experts"). Stay up to date with more releases at www.MertzMusic.com. For more information about The Livingston Center Preschool or The Groden Center please visit www.GrodenCenter.org.

Madame Butterfly [prod. SXMPLELIFE]

Stay up to date with more releases at www.MertzMusic.com

A Vermont Hip-Hop battle in 2009 placed music producer/lyricist Mertz & veteran producer/audio engineer Nastee in each other’s path.  At that time, Mertz had just put out "The Rise Above It EP", his first independent release, & Nastee, after becoming fed up with the NYC music business, had moved up to Vermont & made a name for himself in Burlington as an M.C./DJ/Producer & the leader of the VT Union (See Nastee’s full bio at www.datpiff.com).

The two built a working relationship in the local Vermont music scene throwing live shows with national Hip-Hop acts.  Since then, Nastee has moved back to New York & Mertz moved to Providence, Rhode Island, each in pursuit of furthering their careers.  Recently, Mertz & Nastee crossed paths again, in Brooklyn this time, to mix "The Good in The Bad", Mertz’s first full-length solo LP, as well as collaborate on the album’s first single Life & Love.

Over the span of his career, Nastee, who has seen the music industry from all angles, eagerly lent his time & talents to Mertz’s latest project.  With Life & Love, Mertz, who’s also a producer, took a step back from the mixing board and put his trust in one of the north-east's finest.  Not only did Nastee lend his slick ear for arrangements to the LP, Mertz also credits Nastee with giving both his single & his album it’s energetic “Boom-Bap” sound.

On "The Good in The Bad" Mertz enlists the help of like-minded music producers for the first time, allowing him to further focus on his lyricism. In Life & Love, Mertz speeds up his flow & gives some insight on his views of Rap vs. Hip-Hop music.

"Mainstream Rap, with it's glorification of violence & blatant hate towards so many different groups of people, is largely based on the ideas of Death & Hate. Hip-Hop, on the other hand, is a celebration of Life & is based on Love. What's interesting is that Rap & Hip-Hop are very similar in the way they are delivered, but as far as the message they send, they're basically polar opposites." -Mertz

Life & Love is from the forthcoming album "The Good in The Bad" set for release on March 4th, 2014.

"Music made for your ears not for the market." -Life & Love

Stay up to date with Mertz & Nastee

Mertz | www.MertzMusic.com | @MertzMusic

Nastee | www.4WordProductions.org | @the4wordmovementshow


Life & Love [prod. Nastee]

New England producer/lyricist Mertz released his long-awaited full-length solo debut on March 4th, 2014 through his own Mertz & Sun Productions, LLC. Hip-Hop fans can purchase a hard copy or download the album for free at MertzMusic.com.

Far from a freshman effort, The Good in The Bad is a matured sound compared to his last effort as a part of the group Present Rhymes on their 2011 debut album, Livin’ The Mission. Mertz calls his latest project “a step up for me in all aspects,” from production & lyrics all the way through the recording & mixing processes.

After spending years focusing on Vermont-bred Hip-Hop group Present Rhymes, Mertz decided to break from the constraints associated with group work & step out on his own as a solo artist. He also decided to take a vastly more professional approach to making music.

The LP represents a number of firsts in Mertz’s music career; along with this being his full-length solo debut, Mertz says this was the first time he featured guest producers, recorded in a professional studio, & handed over a good portion of the final mixing duties to another engineer. It’s safe to say that the The Good in The Bad is a sound we have not yet heard from the up-&-coming musician.

As a lyricist, Mertz worked with like-minded producers that he met in his hometown of Burlington, Vermont. Producer SXMPLELIFE met Mertz at The Lab, a workshop & school for DJ’s & Producers in downtown Burlington, & produced two songs on The Good in The Bad including “Madame Butterfly”, which doubles as the first music video from the album.

Zach Crawford of SkySplitterInk first connected with Mertz in 2009 while the two were finding their voices at open mic performances. Zach is a man of many talents; as a multi-instrumentalist producer & lyricist, he makes up one-half of the Hip-Hop duo Somewhere In The Solution. As an audio engineer, he has been mixing & mastering projects from around the world; from Bluegrass to Hip-Hop & everything between. Crawford produced two songs on Mertz’s album, including the single “Move On” & also mastered the LP.

Last, but certainly not least, seasoned-producer, audio engineer & mentor Nastee has helped Mertz land opening gigs for independent Hip-Hop heavyweights like Gift of Gab, Rapper Big Pooh, Akrobatik & more. Nastee not only produced Mertz’s debut single “Life & Love”, but the veteran engineer took Mertz under his wing in his Brooklyn studio while the two mixed the entire project in late 2013.

“Nastee had been a mentor to me for a long time. He’s actually played a big role in me realizing that it was time to approach a professional studio to record,” said Mertz.

Mertz brought his album to The Beatbox Studio in Pawtucket, Rhode Island in the summer of 2013 after recording demos of all the tracks in his home studio. The experience was truly eye-opening for the young lyricist. Finally, he could fully focus on his vocal performance while recording engineer Vertygo took care of all the technical aspects. The result is just that; Mertz’s most focused delivery to date.

“This was a great learning experience for me,” Mertz said, no doubt referring to all of the new opportunities his first full-length LP has afforded. “It’s already reflected in the new music I’m working on.”

Crossing off another first in 2013, Mertz hit the road this past fall in support of the Vermont Hip-Hop crew the Lynguistic Civilians. After such a positive ﬁrst experience touring, Mertz is currently working on putting together his own album release tour in the spring of 2014.

Dan Bolles, 7 Days album reviewer, once offered the insight that Mertz is at his best when he “shows” rather than “tells” when critiquing his 2009 effort, The Rise Above It EP. As a lyricist on The Good in The Bad, Mertz explores new ground in storytelling. His ability to paint vivid lyrical pictures blossomed into the idea of a music video, & Mertz sought out an esteemed group of filmmakers to make that vision a reality.

His first music video, “Madame Butterﬂy”, was filmed at The Livingston Center Preschool (part of The Groden Center, Inc.) in Providence, Rhode Island, where Mertz has been a Teacher’s Assistant for the past three years. Inspired by the dynamic he has witnessed between children at the preschool, the lyricist wrote a compelling love story from the perspective of a 4-year-old. When he shared the song with his co-workers, it didn’t take long for them to suggest making a music video to accompany the song. Working with former film student & co-worker Carolyn Hubbard, the video for “Madame Butterfly” quickly became a reality.

Teaming up with The Groden Center, Mertz is using his music video to promote the wonderful program at The Livingston Center Preschool, which offers services to students with autism spectrum disorder, behavioral challenges & typically developing peers ages 3-6 years-old. For more information on The Livingston Center Preschool, please visit grodennetwork.org/children/preschool.asp.

Mertz is also looking forward to working with local Rhode Island visual-collective Greene Films on a video to his self-produced song “What Comes Down Must Go Up”. Greene Films had a very busy past year working with both national & local artists, & their work can be found at at youtube.com/greeneﬁlms.

The release of The Good In The Bad is the product of Mertz stepping out– & stepping up – on his own. Once again, music fans can find his new album online at MertzMusic.com for free download or hardcopy purchase. Sign up for his email list to get the first look at newest singles, videos, plus upcoming tour dates & information, at http://mertzmusic.com/

Beautiful Something [prod. SkySplitterInk]

Growth

What Comes Down Must Go Up

I Know It Well [prod. SXMPLELIFE]

Spiral

So Fast

Moon Rise

This is an oldie but goodie from my debut release.  Produced by me, this song features cuts by Rico & live violin played by Tim Swanson.

Take It or Fight Back Feat. Tim Swanson On Violin

Contact: info@mertzmusic.com
Mertz is a 29-year-old lyricist and music producer living in Boston, Massachusetts. Originally a member of the Vermont Hip-Hop trio Present Rhymes, Mertz has been independently producing & recording music for over a decade.
 
A lyricist originally, Mertz & his longtime friend, DJ and business partner Rico purchased their first drum machine in 2001 and began teaching themselves how to create their own beats. They continued experimenting with songwriting & production through High School as the group Present Rhymes, along with fellow lyricist B. Rouille. 
 
Throughout college, though physically separated, the group continued to hone their skills. In 2008, Mertz upgraded his entire studio setup and soon enough, his college apartment become a makeshift studio that attracted some of the most talented artists in Burlington, Vermont’s growing Hip-Hop scene.
 
The bedroom sessions became so fruitful that they inspired Mertz to step out on his own for the first time in his musical career. His first effort, The Rise Above it EP was released in May of 2009, and received moderate critical praise from the local alternative media in Burlington. 7 Days music reviewer Dan Bolles said Mertz’s debut “bodes well for the future of Vermont’s latest entrants into the hip-hop fold”.
 
After the EP’s release, Mertz celebrated the end of his college career by setting his sights on his career in music. While performing in Vermont with Present Rhymes and opening up for Hip-Hop heavyweights like Akrobatik, Rapper Big Pooh, and Gift of Gab to name a few, Mertz worked as executive producer on Aleck Woog’s debut album, The Woogmatic LP. 
 
In 2010, Mertz packed his studio up and moved to Providence to join Rico and B Rouille, where the three worked on and eventually released their debut group album, Livin’ The Mission in May of 2011. Since then, Mertz has been hard at work producing new music and lyrics. However, after experiencing the constraints of working within a group, Mertz realized that it was finally time to seriously focus on building a career as a solo artist.
 
In 2013 he took major steps towards accomplishing that goal. As a lyricist, he was fortunate enough to work with some of the Northeast’s most talented producers, including Nastee, Zach Crawford of SpySplitterInk & SXMPLELIFE. On the production side, he become engulfed in the world of breakbeats & finger-drumming on his MPC. At the same time, he backed away from melodic samples & has been crafting his best original compositions yet.
 
After writing his first full-length solo LP and recording it at his home studio, Mertz decided that it was time to take his operation to the next level. He brought his new material to The Beatbox Studio in Pawtucket, RI in the summer of 2013 to record in a professional studio for the first time. He then traveled to NYC to link up with Nastee, one of the Northeast’s most accomplished engineers, to mix his new record. The result is a drastically more mature sound that Mertz is excited to share with the world.
 
In the fall of 2013, Mertz hit the road for the first time on a Northeast tour opening for fellow Vermont musicians the Lynguistic Civilians. As a performer, Mertz sets himself apart from overzealous rappers and lackadaisical DJ’s by incorporating production into his live performance. With his MPC 1000 & his computer, Mertz is able to build beats on stage, much to the intrigue and curiosity of the audience.
 
2014 is set to be a big year for the up-and-coming musician. His first full-length solo LP, The Good in The Bad, was released on March 4th & Mertz has been making his way from stage to stage delivering high-energy performances throughout the Northeast. He will be releasing singles and music videos throughout the year, and music fans can stay up to date with his releases and performance dates at MertzMusic.com.

MertzMusic

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