Montreal artist Magi Merlin has released a cover of IDLES’ “POP POP POP,” reshaping the track through the lens of UK garage while on tour in Europe. Working with longtime collaborator Funkywhat, she leaned into the rhythmic drive of the original and added stacked vocal harmonies that bring a different texture to the post-punk track.
“IDLES are a great inspiration for me,” Merlin said. “I love their visuals and I think they give one of the best live shows out there right now. I also love the feeling I get when listening to their music, especially ‘POP POP POP.’ It’s brutal, but delivered in such a soft way. The juxtaposition is so clever. I find the simplicity of the lyrics doesn’t take away from the impact they leave on the listener, that’s very inspiring to me.”
For Merlin, reimagining the track meant looking closely at its structure. “The drums on the original song already live in a UKG pocket, you just need to speed them up to get the right groove,” she explained. “Apart from flipping the instrumental, I also loaded up the track with harmonies, especially in the hook. I don’t tend to shy away from vocal harmonies, it was my way of contributing a bit of myself to this version of the song.”
The cover was recently performed as part of a Glamcult TV live session and arrives in the middle of a run of European dates, with shows in Paris, Hamburg, and London. Merlin will also head to San Francisco before returning to Quebec for a series of performances across the province, including Sherbrooke, Gatineau, and Saint-Hyacinthe.
Raised in Saint-Lazare, outside Montreal, Merlin has steadily built a reputation for blending R&B, house, pop, and hip-hop, often describing her sound as “Broken R&B.” Her 2022 EP Gone Girl drew international attention and set the stage for tours with artists such as Noga Erez and Omar Apollo. This year alone, she released A Weird Little Dog, toured the US with Nubya Garcia, and played Canadian festivals including Osheaga, the Montreal International Jazz Festival, and Festival d’été de Québec.
Photos – Vladim Vilain and Steve Gerrard
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