Merchant

The release of Beautiful Meltdown caps a string of singles co-produced by <a href="spotify:artist:0lZoBs4Pzo7R89JM9lxwoT" data-name="Duran Duran">Duran Duran</a>’s John Taylor, which have reached #1 on the Hype Machine Chart and received support from Ones To Watch, Buzzbands LA, WFNM, KCRW, Lyndsey Havens of Billboard, Kings of A&amp;R, and Lori Majewski &amp; Simon Le Bon on Sirius XM. The songs have seen adds on Spotify’s “Fresh Finds” as well as support from tastemaker Arjan Timmermans of Apple who included the tune in his weekly newsletter and playlist.

In the Fall of 2020, as Covid’s second wave loomed, the collaboration between Merchant and Taylor began. Sifting through an array of musical ideas presented by Merchant, the pair embarked on weekly sessions in a Westwood studio arranging, recording and polishing the tracks. With Taylor’s guiding hand (and world class bass playing), Merchant’s lushly textured, vulnerable snapshots of self-awareness, love and loss were fully realized in a remarkable collection of distinctive synthpop songs.


After music school Merchant moved from Oregon to Los Angeles where he honed his skills working with Grammy award-winning songwriter <a href="spotify:artist:66AE89GQTx88zLYhXn1wFK" data-name="Sam Martin">Sam Martin</a> (Maroon 5, Jason Derulo, One Direction), ultimately co-producing Martin’s debut album for Atlantic Records. Merchant’s first band <a href="spotify:artist:0JpuGd5LWwUn9fHGj8zCTI" data-name="Papa Ya">Papa Ya</a> quickly cracked the Top 10 on the Spotify Viral Charts with their single, “Sunny.” Papa Ya’s songs garnered over 50 million plays across all platforms leading to two national tours opening for chart-topping pop acts like <a href="spotify:artist:1bqxdqvUtPWZri43cKHac8" data-name="MAX">MAX</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:6jsjhAEteAlY0vCiLvMLBA" data-name="ROZES">ROZES</a>.