Dutch singer and songwriter Lilith Merlot has been enchanted by harmony and melody from a young age. Her mother was a classical violinist and, as a young girl, Lilith often joined her mother on tour through Europe. At just 5 years old, she had her first stage experience when her mother, running late for her performance at the Royal Albert Hall, was unable to drop Lilith and her brother at the opera box where they were meant to sit during her performance. To make light of the situation, the conductor invited young Lilith to join him on stage while the audience applauded. It remains an important moment for the singer and her development as a musician. During her  Jazz vocals studies at the Rotterdam Conservatory, Lilith performed in front of  American singer Renée Neufville who remarked: “Your voice is just like a Merlot; it’s so warm, deep, and round”. This inspired Lilith to use Merlot as her stage name. Since releasing her debut EP in 2017, Lilith has been experimenting with various genres, from Jazz to Pop and Soul.

Your greatest inspirations or influences.

I have had many inspirations and influences through the years, but my first musical influence is the classical pieces my mother used to play with the orchestra, that I would listen to during their rehearsals or concerts. I loved the massive sound of the orchestra and the drama and romance in pieces by Tchaikovsky or Prokofiev.

Then when I was about 12 years old, I bought my first Erykah Badu album: ‘Live’. That definitely made a huge impact on me: her amazingly soulful voice, the groove, the backing singers, her direct and honest lyrics, I was in awe of it all. During that same time I also started listening to Nina Simone. I loved how deep her voice was, and imperfect and full of force. I was also very inspired by Jeff Buckley and by Amy Winehouse’s first album ‘Frank’.

What these artists have in common is how they are so honest and unapologetic in their storytelling. They are not afraid to be vulnerable, which makes them so fierce at the same time.

Tell us about your creative process? 

I write about my personal experiences, and when I feel inspired, I feel like I have to get something off my chest.

I will sit behind the piano and start playing around with some chords and progressions. I improvise some melodies, until I find one that sticks with me. The words usually come last. First it’s all gibberish, and then there will be a few key words that stand out. I write those down in my green leather notebook, and add some more until I have a lyric that makes sense. When the song is pretty much finished, I take it with me to the studio where my producer Serge Dusualt will play around with the chords and start laying down the base of the song, which is usually acoustic piano and synth bass. After that I will record the vocals, which at first we always say is just the demo version, but usually ends up to be the final version, haha. Because there is something so special about the first 2 or 3 vocal takes, I'd rather have all the feels than all the perfect notes! 

Tell us about your latest EP “ Shades of Blue” 

When I knew that I wanted to record my second EP, I had no idea that it would turn out the way it did. I had a bunch of songs ready to be recorded, songs that I had written 2 years before. Then during the first recording session at the studio with my producer (Serge Dusault), we recorded the song Easier to Fight. I wrote it after I’d had a big fight with my partner at that time, which eventually turned out to be the beginning of the end. Shortly after I went through a very painful break up with this same person, and I knew that none of the songs I initially wanted to record, felt right or relevant anymore. I was going through such heartache, anger and confusion, I had to write about that. It has always been my way of dealing with my emotions,so that’s how the rest of the EP came together: Compromised is about feeling angry and blindsided, and while writing Burn Your Bridges I was stuck in disbelief and shock. Then when I wrote White Lies I knew it was time to come to terms with what had happened. ’I refuse to remember you in this dark shade of blue, you can take it all from me, but I’m keeping the memories’, was a very important message I had to remind myself of a lot of the time: this person had hurt me so much already, I was not going to let him ruin my joyful memories too. The final track Happier Alone is an homage to the version of the man I fell in love with (‘’you have been loved inside and out, head over heels with my heart hanging out’’) and most importantly: to myself. I really wanted to end the EP on a positive note, and I wanted to take the high road and take back control: “It’s true, I might be happier alone”. 

It was hard for me to come up with the title of the EP, but when I looked at the 5 tracks, I saw the gradual shift from dark to light, between Easier to Fight and Happier Alone. And it's almost like the stages of grief. ‘Blue’ represents not only the state I was in when I wrote the first few songs, but it also represents what the color blue symbolizes: depth, sincerity and freedom. I feel like I have never gone this deep and been this sincere and vulnerable in my work before, which gave me a sense of freedom.

What does wellbeing mean to you? 

To me personally it means living my truth, and daring to be vulnerable. So that means taking risks and doing things I might find scary at first, in love and relationships, but also in my career. I am not saying I am great at it yet, I know that it’s something I have to do more often, because I believe that is where the magic happens. 

Photo Rona Lane Photography

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