MERLY B: Beatcamp USA, Hospital Records UK, Beta Recordings UK, The Lab Booking Agency
Merly B is quickly establishing herself as one of the top up & coming DJ's in the Drum & Bass industry.
This South American female moved to Miami, Florida with her family at the tender age of 12, while her native country Colombia fought against the narco- terrorism. Merly quickly learned to speak English, made new friends and began adapting to the new life in the United States.
Toward the end of the 90’s, she discovered electronic music. A young Merly was seeing partying regularly at the local raves and nightclubs without even being of legal age! It only took her one night to fall in love with Drum & Bass at Beatcamp, which was the longest running Drum & Bass weekly at that time and the most successful until this day.
Fast forward some years into her crazy life and Merly had already been fully captivated by the music and the scene. She began working at a record shop in the heart of South Beach called Grooveman Music where she also started learning to mix records for fun. A few months later, she was asked by a local DJ and promoter to take a slot at an all female DJ drum & bass showcase during the Winter Music Conference of 2001. It was a very exciting day for Merly, she didn't get any sleep the night before but it came easy. She impressed her peers with her outstanding performance so much that night that she was asked to become a resident at the now defunct Kriptonite weekly and bookings from all over the state started to rush in.
While promoting her skills by making different mixed demo CD’s, Merly also hosted a weekly radio show on www.thewomb.com for almost 2 years where she would bring in various guest DJ's. With her passion and enthusiasm shining though, Merly was now on her way to become one of the toughest and most sought after Drum & Bass DJ's in Florida. Merly wasn’t short of inspiration or motivation as she kept a hard work and practice routine. She has always enjoyed staying busy and focused on her career. She would not only spend her time researching the music and refining her skills as a DJ but also helping various DJ’s and promoters put on successful events.
She has helped to organize some of South Florida's most memorable events during Winter Music Conference and also put together the weekly party madness Reload presented by Beatcamp ( www.beatcamp.com) along with InDat of Influx Datum and some others, where she was a resident DJ. At that time, she held 3 different residencies in the city and was regularly playing one-off events all throughout.
Merly has taken awesome opportunities to share stages and DJ booths with the crème de la crème of Drum & Bass artists. The list includes the likes of Total Science, Cause 4 Concern, High Contrast, John B, DJ Dara, Ak1200, Juju, DJ Sage, Dylan, Twisted Individual, Goldie, Reid Speed, Stakka, DJ Craze, Kenny Ken, Cyantific, Usual Suspects, London Electricity, Mathematics, Dillinja, Lemon D, Friction, DJ SS, Grooverider & Marky among many others.
Merly doesn't just limit herself to DJ'ing in front of crowds. She has appeared numerous times as a guest DJ on the only cable TV alternative for young U.S Latinos called MUN2 on a music TV show called THE ROOF which airs to almost 6 million households. She has also interviewed Dieselboy and DJ Fresh of Bad Company fame for a special airing of the show because the producers of the show simply fell in love with the flawless nature in her, her strong confidence in front of the camera and her stylish good looks. Merly has also appeared on various publications. She's been featured on local STREET Magazine on the ASK THE DJ column, on the Miami New Times for a feature on DJ Craze's TrueSchool Tuesdays night article, on URB magazine as a guest reviewer for the 12" Drum & Bass singles page along Cyantific, and has had raving reviews for her production collaborations in Knowledge Magazine, ATM and Rinse.
Ms. Merly's hard work, professional attitude & enthusiasm are her fuel to keep doing what she loves to do. Her skills as a DJ are incomparable. For every gig, she packs up her record bag with a fresh and varied selection of music that will later blow up roofs wherever she’s playing. Merly uses all her skills to make the dance floor move, she uses her heart, body and soul to let the rhythm take control, while blending pounding rough beats with beautiful melodies and unique samples into a universal harmony. Never forgetting she was once too, a dancer.
Merly is not only the girl you'll find DJ'ing, dancing or having a good time, but she's also an innovator in many ways. In Miami, she has played an example role to other DJ's whether they are male or females and she is also known to have started trends even in fashion. Her friendly and exceptional social skills have led her to meet very interesting people from all around the electronic music scene. As she tries to stay in touch with the heavily rapid growing culture, she has met a lot of promoters and established relationships with them. A very refreshing approach to DJ'ing has seen her break out of the Florida and play across America in different states where she has headlined one-off events and weeklies.
Also a budding producer, she has layed vocals with John B on a fun and crazy Latin slammer called ("Una Cerveza"), for Chihuahua Recordings DOG003) and 80's/ Electro Soul fuelled original material with dynamic duo Cyantific for ("Heart Beating") and on the romantic yet melancholic lyrical content she wrote for ("Be True") for Hospital Recordings (NHS65W).
In December 2003, Merly B picked up her record boxes and clothes from her Miami ocean view apartment and took off for a new adventure. After visiting London, UK earlier that year, she fell in love with the city and the scene that she decided to relocate there, even if it meant to live in the cold weather! She felt that the Drum & Bass scene in Florida was a bit monotonous and she needed a change of environment.
Merly B has also recently married Jonathan Stanley of Cyantific. While loving each other as lot, they both share similar aspects and taste in music as well as having beer drinking competitions every night.
2004 looks bright for this rising star, at the young age of 22; Merly looks forward to learning more about production, keeping her DJ'ing schedule busy and maybe taking up some acting classes and modelling. She will be travelling back and forth quite often from the US to the UK as she sees both Miami and London her new hometowns.
Merly B has been added to the roster of WWW.THE-LAB.CO.UK, a booking agency in London which also represents artists like Artificial Intelligence, HoldTight, DJ Lee, Cyantific and many others. Her new website WWW.MERLYB.COM will see the light on line very soon as its almost fully designed.
Catch the sexy and talented mixtress Merly B on THE DRUM DIARIES tour alongside Cyantific in the summer of 2004 across central/ east coast U.S.
For Bookings Contact: info@the-lab.co.uk
To Contact Merly: merlybmiami@yahoo.com
Discography:
2003 | Dog 003 John B & Merly B - Una Cerveza [Chiuhaha] Vinyl 12
2004 | NHS65W Cyantific & Merly B - Heart Beating [Hospital] Vinyl 12
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