Magi Merlin (pronounced Mahd-j-eye) grew up in Saint-Lazare, Canada, a suburb of Montreal. The embodiment of normalcy – unless, of course, you replace white with Black, straight with gay. Then, normalcy is challenged. As if one cannot belong unless they play the part. This, amongst other reflections – such as the impact of hyper-capitalism and current world politics – is what drives her to write.
Magi moves easily between forms. Rooted in music but never limited to it, her work, which she coined as Broken R&B, draws from pop, ’90s house, R&B, and hip-hop, alongside a keen eye for design, fashion, and visual storytelling. This fall, she returns with her own take on POP POP POP, her favorite IDLES track – an expression of both her curiosity for club sounds and her instinct to reimagine rather than replicate.
Collaboration has always been central to Merlin’s solo practice, from her ongoing work with Funkywhat and director Walid Jabri to her recent work with Afro-surrealist photographer Vladim Vilain. In 2025, she also stepped into acting with Mile End Kicks, a feature by writer-director Chandler Levack (I Like Movies), contributing both on screen and on the soundtrack. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2025, where she appeared alongside Barbie Ferreira (Euphoria) and Devon Bostick (Oppenheimer).
Her audacious 2022 EP Gone Girl marked an early turning point, earning praise from outlets like Bandcamp Daily, The FADER, The Line of Best Fit, and Nylon, and bringing her to stages with Noga Erez and Omar Apollo. But it was with A Weird Little Dog in 2025 that Merlin truly stepped into her moment. Released just days into her US tour supporting saxophonist Nubya Garcia, the surprise EP helped establish her as a standout at major Canadian festivals including OSHEAGA, Montreal International Jazz Festival, Ottawa Jazz Festival, and FEQ – where she opened for Ty Dolla $ign.
Now, Magi Merlin shows no signs of slowing down. Her reinterpretation of IDLES’ POP POP POP arrives in the midst of a European tour that includes Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg and Radiance Festival in Paris. With each release and performance, she reveals just a fragment of what she’s been building – a tension that hints at a greater body of work ahead.
