Shared Wisdom is a series of conversations to inspire and guide our AMLY community; we invite you to listen to conversations with some of our friends and ambassadors, their personal beauty experience alongside wellness and lifestyle advice.

These discussions aim to encourage and help us to discover ways to help improve our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing.

Mereki is an Australian English Artist who makes pop leaning, spiritualised music. After spending 10 years working in LA & writing for many artists including Kylie Minogue & Phantogram, touring as vocalist for electronic acts Flight Facilities & Goldroom & signing with Grammy award-winning producer Ariel Reichtshaid (Vampire Weekend, Haim, Usher)- she has settled down in the U.K. with a magical album all of her own.

She’s the igniting spirit behind ‘Be Kind’. a seasonal pop-up fundraiser that gathers the talent and generosity of the music community and hosts wild and wonderful concerts to raise vital funds for charity.

Wearing her art, heart and spirit firmly on her sleeve, she’s a true force for compassion and action in the world. Her effortlessly ephemeral voice reaches straight to the heart with a gentle power that inspires others to recognise kindness and act to create change.

With her love for life and generous spirit, Mereki sat down with our AMLY co-founders Lisa and Kerry, to speak about her journey with music and why she thinks kindness can change the world.

AMLY: We’ve had the chance to listen to some of your soon-to-be-released music, and the philosophies woven into it feel like ‘medicine-through-music’ given these extraordinary times. What’s your creative journey been like writing and producing something with such depth as we navigate through the world right now?

Mereki: Long! And with lots of twists, turns and surprises but mostly it’s just been hugely cathartic. I would be a different person If I hadn’t made this record. I think creating, as always, has helped me work through so much and to become closer with myself. I’m so grateful for that. 

AMLY: Your music strikes such a unique balance between deep wisdom and accessible pop. What’s it like communicating consciousness through the medium of pop and who has inspired you along the road?.

Mereki: It’s actually been kind of challenging! Sometimes saying something with depth and meaning in pop music has the tendency to sound quite trite – it’s much easier to sing about heartbreak or dancing the night away. However, I love (good) pop music and I love that it has the potential to reach a much broader audience, so when I really want something to be heard, it feels like the most natural medium. I’m endlessly inspired by friendships and nature, Kate Bush, Eckhart Tolle and Thich Nhat Hanh.

AMLY: Your work with ‘Be Kind’ and your collaborations in the music industry have such an incredible way of gathering community and using the voice and power of the collective to create change. Has your way of being in and for community always been part of you?

Mereki: I was actually a bit of a loner in primary school and it wasn’t really until high school that I was blessed with an incredible community of friends who I keep close in my heart to this day. I experienced first hand what love, support and understanding could do for my life and I really want to share that feeling wherever I can.

AMLY: Can kindness change the world?

Mereki: Of course! Every time we choose kindness over judgment, or love over fear, we’re showing ourselves, others and the universe that there is another way. It’s been heartbreaking watching this challenging time in our world as fear turns against us and we witness as shame, blame and judgment become commonplace. Whenever it feels too much, I try to remember that I’m not in charge and that I can hand it over. Ultimately, I have faith in the human spirit and the universe. 

AMLY: What practices and rituals keep your mind, body and spirit in balance?

Mereki: Daily meditation, regular body movement, time alone and time in nature help me to rejuvenate. Conversations and time with family and dear friends keep me grounded and remind me of who I am when I occasionally forget. I’m terribly forgetful actually, so I write everything down and also take a lot of photographs. I write every morning, mostly banal nothingness that occasionally creates space for something more profound to sneak through. Self-care is so individual and I would encourage every person to dedicate time to their own self discovery, as they figure out what they need to be the best version of themselves. Oh and dogs…they make everything better.