Mersiv spearheads freeform bass genre with cunning, cutting-edge debut album, ‘Pretty Dark Loud’

October 22, 2021

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Photo courtesy of Mersiv Sound Project.

Arguably Denver’s top trailblazer in a city brimming with leading bass music talent, Mersiv has situated himself as the premiere electronic music visionary in the Mile High. After spending the pandemic cultivating his rabid following, and months-long anticipation since announcing his debut project in summer, Mersiv now pulls back the curtain on his debut album, Pretty Dark Loud.

The Colorado-based producer situates the 20-track LP as a defining moment in the Freeform Electronic genre, which he spearheads with his MorFlo Records. With this record, Mersiv furthers his status as one of the innovators in electronic music and showcases the emotional depth of his Pretty Dark Loud style of production.

Founded on the intention to bring people into the present moment through sound, Mersiv is one of electronic music’s modern trailblazers. The Mersiv Sound Project is the brainchild of Anderson Benoit Gallegos. Derived from personal experiences, his music transmits therapeutic energy to listeners through riveting tempo changes and a full spectrum sonic experience.

Gallegos was introduced to music by his mother, who started him on the piano at age seven. Through grade school he would play instruments like guitar, and cites his favorites as Seether, Chevelle, and Tool before discovering electronic music in 2011. He quickly learned how to DJ, where he could create and convey art/music in his own unique way.

After a personal tragedy, the artist took to expression through electronic music and developed a much deeper obsession: “DJing music and creating a journey in a set really brought me into the present moment. Taking other people along the ride helped me express myself in a healthy way that seemed to make others happy,” says Mersiv in an official press release.

“Once I had my vision locked, I created for years trying to find my own sound that would express my story in an honest way. The two-year journey of creating this record has been a healing process for me. On really tough days when I think about her, I immediately lock myself away in the studio to express myself. PDL is a collection of these moments and efforts in time.”

— Mersiv

Shortly after, he began producing his own original music to create outside of putting together a show experience. Since 2015, the Producer/DJ has been developing a unique “Pretty Dark Loud” style of electronic music; elements intended to bring forth meaning and emotion. Through this, Mersiv conveys an invigorating sense of vitality and sonic therapy. Immersed in sound, his listeners are able to fully dive into an experience and music crafted with a good intention.

“This project means so much to me because it’s been a part of my growth as a human being, it expresses my journey of life, and expresses so many different emotions that I’ve experienced in the recent years. I hope this record speaks to you in some shape or form, and that it makes you feel something. I also hope it helps you continue your journey no matter how hard or challenging it may be.”

— Mersiv

Each song offers a sense of adventure and fun, yet manages to leave the listener feeling full and impervious from anything outside the moment. The energy and impactful emotions that emit are crucial as it showcases the ability of electronic art to connect with listeners everywhere. Pretty Dark Loud, the album, encapsulates the sound Mersiv has been working towards materializing and triumphs in delivering a little bit of each element.

Listeners are immediately immersed in the Pretty style at the album’s intro (“Departure,” “Severing String”), where a racing spectrum of sounds and tempos are unveiled as narrative tools. This environment coalesces styles and sounds on tracks like “Floating Underwater Above the Clouds,” the album’s lead single. Fluttering piano guides you into a sense of calm, before low end fireworks wondrously astonish from all around.

Dark is explored on the album’s second single and only official collaboration on the record, “Forest Creature (feat. “Killa Nova”),” which welcomes listeners into a jungle of sound. Overgrown, fractal bass tunnels accent bouncy percussion to create an imagined distance. This showcases Mersiv’s dynamic ability to create an atmosphere or setting within the soundscape. “Tesseract,” another in the Dark vein, is a homage to the modern bass scene and shows off Mersiv’s ability to push forward “genre” boundaries.

Mersiv rounds out his PDL spectrum of frequencies with Loud tracks like the final single, “The Death Note,” which channels jolts of energy and a grungy vibe. This is further explored on the hip-hop influenced “Fire Dance,” a collaboration with Birmingham-Rapper, Attitude. These three Pretty-Dark-Loud elements are uniquely touched on throughout the album in a culminating affect, but Mersiv surely didn’t hold back in delivering high-energy dubstep for fans of this more raucous vibe.

The storyline concludes with an epic stretch of music dominated by vocalized intent and powerful filtered bass. “Ghosts” is tuned to angelic frequencies at 444 hertz and features former Zed’s Dead collaborator Akylla. The track expunges emotion via reverberating vocal lines over an engulfing bass. “If I Was Raven”—an original rework of LA-based Elephant Revival’s original—delivers arcane, primal energy to conclude this epic tale. The production here offers perhaps one of the most climatic moments on Pretty Dark Loud, and is dedicated to Mersiv’ Mother.