Merpire
Melbourne indie-pop artist Merpire (aka Rhiannon Atkinson-Howatt) shares new single Dinosaur, her first to be released on ADA Records.
Photographer Credit: Nick Mckk
Tackling social anxiety and at times, a lack of self-esteem Dinosaur began on ukulele, playing around with Toro Y Moi, and Unknown Mortal Orchestra songs with producer, James Seymour building a darker rearrangement perfectly encapsulating the feeling of how it feels to be uncomfortable in a room and how those feelings can spill out when held onto for too long.
Talking about the track, Merpire comments: “‘Dinosaur’ is inspired by a line in the first Jurassic Park movie when Sam Neil’s character says “If you stay still, they can’t see you.” Whether it’s a fact about the T-Rex or not, I always wished this could be the case with humans - if you don’t feel like seeing anyone or you want to smoke bomb from a social interaction you can just freeze and become invisible. Oh no, it’s just the opposite“.
The track is also paired with an official music video, filmed entirely under the trampoline in Merpire’s front yard, and plays off the decor of her early 2000s, teen bedroom, Merpire conceptualised the idea like a movie script, using imagery and colour to evoke certain emotions. The concept was once again brought to life by long-time collaborator, Nick Mckk, with additional set design by Grace Goodwin.
