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Larkn (singer-songwriter Kristen Marie Mercado), expressed an interest in music and dancing from a young age and accepted a scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music (Boston) for voice and contemporary writing and production in 2006. She grew up in Clarkston, Michigan, (a small town near Ponatic), studied classical music, played the lead in three high school musical productions and released self-made indie albums of original songs.
After Berklee, she moved out to Los Angeles in 2010, where she interned for music publishers and record labels with the intention to both learn about and "get into" the pop music industry. She brushed shoulders with producers in Malibu, Bel Air and Van Nuys and sang back up vocals for LA-based singer-songwriter Kari Kimmel and Canadian singer-songwriter Meg Todd. After working on demos while waitressing in Beverly Hills, Larkn (who adopted several different artist names, i.e. Kristenella, Duhv, etc.) was not happy with any of her recordings, was turned away from studios, however continued working on songs.
Just as a gig in Claremont, California arose, a combination of stress, nerves or maybe divine intervention, brought on a severe period of acid reflux that ultimately led to Larkn leaving California. Upon arriving back in Michigan and working in grocery stores, she wasn't sure if she would do music again, but after some time, called up studios, which led to her connecting with Big Sky Recording in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where just a few months later she tracked six original songs with Michigan musician friends, including her original song Make it the Most.
While putting finishing touches on the Make it the Most EP, Larkn completed the audio engineering and production certificate program at Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor, Michigan and become an avid certified Pro Tools user. She also started an indie record label called Better From Here Music in an effort to help artists, which has run a monthly open mic in downtown Ann Arbor for the past two years and seeks to empower artists.
With a pop musical style that is influenced by singer-songwriter, soul, Americana, country, jazz, blues, folk, punk/grunge, dance and R&B sub-genres, Larkn evokes a unique nostalgic 90s meets singer-songwriter vibe and has been compared to artists like Colbie Caillet, Fiona Apple, Jewel and Alanis Morissette. She has played Michigan venues such as Ziggys, Token Lounge, Music Factory Battle Creek, The Blind Pig, and Ghostlight Bar in Detroit.
Find and follow her on instagram @JustLarkn and for more information please go to www.larknmusic.com
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