Los Angeles-based Rock/Pop musicians Merlot Embargo have come together to release an atmospheric single called “Sticking Around,” which falls off their upcoming album set for release in 2023.
Merlot Embargo is a modern-day unconventional family band that incorporates high-spirited catchy vibes into its songs to make listeners feel their passion and ambition for making good music.
“Sticking Around” speaks about the misery of being alone during challenging periods. Here Scarlet uses her stunning vocals to tell us how happy she is to have found a companion in the form of her husband during the pandemic, as she wouldn’t have felt good if she had been left alone.
Here, electronic guitars, drum kits, horns, pianos, and a smooth blend of beautiful vocals display swampy stomp grooves and glowing string harmonies.
Merlot Embargo conversed with us and answered our distinctive 8 Questions. Check it out below.
HYPEFRESH: So tell us, how did it all begin? What encouraged you to start playing and making music?
Merlot Embargo: We (Scarlet and Geoff) have been musicians since we were kids! Scarlet started singing before she could walk and began writing songs in college. Geoff picked up the guitar in high school and never looked back.
We met in 2009 in Los Angeles and worked on other projects together, always impressed with the other’s talent. We started dating and married in 2012, and after a nearly fatal auto accident a few years later, we decided we needed to start a band and create and release our music.
HYPEFRESH: Talk me through your creative process when you write new music.
Merlot Embargo: Usually, Scarlet’s the songwriter, and she likes writing on her own, at least in the beginning. Once she gets a song done enough, Geoff will usually work out an arrangement with her and maybe record some scratch tracks to feel what it could be production-wise.
There’s often a little back and forth at this point, refining melodies, writing a missing bridge, and changing the beat. At some point in this process, we’ll show it to the band to get their input before recording actual takes.
Recently though, we’ve been exploring the opposite paradigm, a more modern production type of model, where Geoff comes up with the skeleton of a track and has Scarlet work out a topline. It’s a different way of thinking for us, but it’s been an excellent mental stretch!
HYPEFRESH: Can you tell us about your new single, “Sticking Around”?
Merlot Embargo: Yeah, Scarlet speaking here: Sticking Around started with a writing prompt, “stuck,” from a weekly writer’s workshop during the pandemic.
Though the prompt reminded me of one of the things, I was always most afraid of: being in a miserable relationship. And living through the pandemic just proved to me how fortunate I felt to have found someone I could live through such an insane time with, seeing as we were stuck in such close quarters together.
It made me one thousand more times aware of how awful it would be to commit yourself to someone who made you feel less than enough daily, and exploring that idea was the inspiration for this song.
HYPEFRESH: What do you like most about being a music artist?
Merlot Embargo: The most meaningful part is connecting with people who enjoy a performance or have a song that connects with them. We did a cover of “Yellow” a couple of years ago, and recently someone mentioned how meaningful our version was to them; they’d lost their son, and our music helped them in their grieving process.
Those moments bring all the feelings and make me love what we do.
HYPEFRESH: What projects do you have coming up? Can you give us any info on them?
Merlot Embargo: Sticking Around is the first single from our upcoming yet-to-be-named album. We’ve got a collection of songs that we wrote during 2020’s heavy quarantine, and we will be releasing a few of the singles in the next few months and into 2023, with the full album coming out sometime in 2023!
We’re thrilled with how they are coming out, and we can’t wait to continue sharing them with people!
HYPEFRESH: Do you have any advice for our readers who may be trying to enter the game of music?
Merlot Embargo: Oh man, we’re the last people that should be giving advice. We need to figure out how to navigate this tricky business ourselves! But since you asked, I guess we can talk about what we know: practice your craft, often write, work with people who make you better, develop a thick skin and don’t be precious about your ideas, record your thoughts on your phone as soon as you have them, exercise, eat right, and get enough sleep. You know, the basics.
HYPEFRESH: How do you solve productivity/scheduling problems and reduce overwhelming situations?
Merlot Embargo: We do what we can and try not to worry about things we can’t control. We usually retreat into a fetal position and call our moms. After that, it’s the same as you eat an elephant: one bite at a time.
HYPEFRESH: Name Three things you can’t live without when recording in the studio.
Merlot Embargo: Oh man, we’d need more than three! But here’s a start: a relaxed vibe, a comfy chair, and good monitoring!
Stream “Sticking Around” on Spotify
