A new music artist has stepped on the scene, and her name is Mezttly Garcia, but on stage, we simply call her — Mezttly.
The 20-year-old from Phoenix, Arizona is a student at Berklee College of Music. She has just released her debut single, Meeting People, and it is nothing short of magical. Drawing inspiration from Madison Cunningham, Lizzy McAlpine, and Andy Shauf, Mezttly finds joy in the process of creating.
“I like to see what kinds of chord progressions and melodies I come up with,” she says. “I mostly focus on what sounds to include in the music and adding layers with instruments to make my songs sound more interesting rather than relying on crazy vocals with crazy runs.”
Meeting People is based on a true story, Mezttly tells us. “It’s about going through the motions of going to a party when you’re not great at socializing and ultimately feeling isolated in a packed room." The song takes the listener through how the night went, and she found that the lyrics poured out easily, as this is such a shared experience through navigating young adulthood.
Although she says she was nervous to release anything at all, this song stood out as a debut with its upbeat tempo yet contradicting lyrics. She originally recorded a different kind of song that was initially going to be the debut, but shortly after recording, she wrote Meeting People and her producer (Asher DeVerna) encouraged her to record it “right away.”
“The production turned out so good that we were convinced it had to be the first to be released,” Mezttly emphasizes.
She found that she loved to sing since she was little but started getting creative when she was around 9. Mezttly began writing her own original songs and posting videos on YouTube. She got a small keyboard at a garage sale and taught herself how to play piano when she was 12 which turned into getting lessons during high school. After starting to learn guitar in her first year of college, she writes a good amount on both instruments. She says that “it’s mostly just playing around and hearing what sounds good rather than actually knowing what I’m playing.”
Mezttly is a Pro Music major at Berklee with tracks in songwriting, music business, and media scoring. In her free time away from school, she takes advantage of the practice rooms to play around on piano and write her songs. She loves going to local shows and discovering new music.
Since she attends a music school, she says “drawing the line separating schoolwork from her own music is a little difficult to do.”
“I think the number one thing keeping them separate is how I write my lyrics,” Mezttly states. “I think that when it’s my own authentic song, I can tell by what I say in my songs and what I sing about — which are more personal and real-life experiences.”
From the outside perspective, Berklee can seem like an intimidating place to attend — “It felt like everyone had an entire discography out, and I had nothing out at all,” she says. But she found that she loved listening to everyone’s music, and it inspired her to release something of her own.
“I don’t think I would’ve done it if everybody around me wasn’t doing it since I get so self-conscious, but I’m glad I’m starting,” she added.
Moving forward, Mezttly hopes to simply continue sharing her music with the world. She says the ultimate dream for her, and almost everyone else at Berklee, is “to make a career out of something you love to do.” Her passion resides in the intricate details of creating something that matters.
“There’s no harm in making music I like and releasing it, so why not?,” she emphasizes. “As long as I’m enjoying what I’m doing, I’ll keep going.”
Meeting People is available on all music streaming platforms, and keep up with Mezttly’s journey on her socials.
