Merlin's work includes composing for
film, albums, theatre & advertising.

Weaving magic with her music, Merlin D'Souza instantly has everybody under her spell. With loads of talent, she adds her own brand of originality to every piece she composes. Her music is mystical and mercurial with parts of soulful seductiveness, poetic genius, feminine intuitiveness and occasionally 'Merlincholic'. Familiarity breeds contempt, she says, and elegantly side steps the tried and tested path. Instead, there emerges from her keyboard something fresh and exciting.

Merlin hails from a musical Goan family and began her musical yatra when she started playing the piano at age 6. She began her formal training in classical music, became an All India Radio artist at the young age of 8 and then went on to compose, arrange and lead her own band through her college years. She graduated with an Arts Degree in Psychology and also completed her Diploma in western classical music: Licentiate of Trinity College of London. But more than formal training, it’s a natural predisposition for the arts that drives her.

Merlin is truly a consummate musician whose work includes composing for film, albums, theatre and advertising. She began her memorable career by scoring and performing for Noel Godin’s musical ‘Blood Brothers’. Her journey in theatre as a music director has seen her score for Alyque Padamsee’s 'Romeo and Juliet', Pearl Padamsee’s 'Godspell', Naseeruddin Shah’s 'Julius Caesar' and Etienne Coutinho’s 'Jazz'.

Her foray into films as composer, arranger and vocal director hit the right notes in K3G, Road, Bus Yun Hi, Prince of Egypt and more. She has gigged with greats like Shubha Mudgal, Trilok Gurtu, Talvin Singh, Taufeeq Quereshi, Rakesh Chaurasia, Igor, Tala Faral, to name a handful. Merlin also has the distinction of being the first Asian jazz ambassador for Hennessy X.O. She has toured extensively from Australia and China to Europe and the United States (including a stint at the Blue Note, New York).

In her latest Album, Soul Yatra, Merlin has blended the divine ragas with a western essence to create a resonance that touches one within. It is inspired by her love for fusing the Indian with the western, to create a contemporary sound which can be truly considered to be ‘world’ music. Soul Yatra, with its harmonious patterns and fluid piano work is evocative, and the album glistens with artistic contributions by the likes of Taufeeq Quereshi, Rakesh Chaurasia, Mukul Dongre, Karl Peters, and Vivienne Pocha, to name a few.

It would not be unfair to say she has been there, done that.

Merlin confesses that she could’ve just as easily ended up as a PR professional. Thankfully, she didn’t.