Macon has been a favored place for many musicians across the years to find their voice and their own unique style. Whether it be Otis “The King of Soul” Redding or the Allman Brothers Band, known for their revolutionary southern rock classics, musicians have been able to make a name for themselves here. However, recently there have been some new contenders entering the ring.
On Oct. 1, Mercer’s Music and Lyric Club released an album all about Mercer University. The Mercer Album featured 13 different Mercer students as artists and producers. The current president of the Music and Lyric Club Corbin Jones ‘23, AKA "Skinny Giant," mentioned that the album had been in the works since March.
“The original idea behind the album is that we've got so many artists on the campus,” Jones said. “Instead of having each of us do little things on our own, let's all try to come together and make a real album.”
Jada Moss ‘23, the former president and co-founder of the Music and Lyric club, said: This album is a way for us to showcase our talents as a collective group for the entire Mercer campus just to let them know that we have a voice and we're here.”
The Mercer Album includes 10 new and original songs. Each song on the album had at least three different people collaborating on the tracks. According to Moss, the group would meet up in Willet and set up a temporary studio. Here the artists and producers would get together and have fun while creating the album.
“This album feels like a family and how we made it was like a family,” said Moss.
The Music and Lyric Club was first created to give non-music majors the opportunity to create their own music without having to major in music. Moss said that when she was a freshman she was disheartened by the fact that there were few, if any, programs for her music.
“Coming to Mercer freshman year, I realized there weren't any music clubs geared towards like actual production or just singers who want to sing,” Moss said. “There was Mercer Singers and I guess you can join the band and stuff like that, but nothing for just those of us who are artistic and don’t want to be music majors.”
Jones, the current president, mentioned how the club hopes to be able to perform this album. A few of the artists performed sections of the album at Cubstock on Oct. 7. Jones also said that they are hoping to be able to perform at either the Homecoming football game or Bearstock. Alongside live performances, the Mercer Album will have a music video coming out sometime this month.
The Mercer Album has received both positive and negative feedback. However, the negative reviews have not dissuaded the artists in the slightest.
“I'm just glad that people enjoyed the album,” Jones stated. “Even if people don't enjoy the album, I'm just glad that it got out there and people listened to it.”
“I mean, for us, we're just happy that the people are talking about it is important to us,” Moss said. “Whatever they want to say something, good or bad, that just shows they listen to it and as an artist, I mean, everything counts.”
Jones hopes to continue the growth of the Music and Lyric Club. He hopes that the club will continue to release either a new album or a single release. He is also hoping to provide the club with the chance to record in a real studio, such as the Capricorn Studio.
