Saskatchewan and Toronto-based artist Marvin Chan, known on stage as Merv xx Gotti, brings his indie dream pop sound to Folk on the Rocks in 2025.
Merv xx Gotti’s musical résumé includes a spot in Asian hip-hop boy band Samurai Champs and emo band Ghostform, who just released a single, Second Chances.
However, he’ll be playing solo in Yellowknife – and told Cabin Radio he’s “pretty stoked” to play Folk.
Merv xx Gotti has a few friends who’ve played Folk, including Cabin Radio playlist sweetheart Skye Wallace, who starred at the festival last year and returned to Yellowknife in March to play at Snowkings’ Winter Festival – and play a set on Mornings at the Cabin.
Wallace recently shared their pregnancy and released a single, Iced Tea.
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“I was actually just at their baby party the other day,” Merv xx Gotti said.
“Baby party?”
“You know, when the baby’s not born yet.”
“So, a baby shower?” Cabin Radio confirmed.
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Asked where his stage name comes from, Merv xx Gotti credited a Korean friend who “learned English from listening to a lot of songs by hip-hop producer Irv Gotti,”
“Old Dr Dre albums and Snoop Dogg and stuff. He’d always be like ‘Merv Gotti music’ – and it stuck.”
Merv xx Gotti’s discography is made up of sombre sounds drenched in reverb. Electronic drum tracks suggest something upbeat in tone, but lyrics reveal themes of nostalgia, introspection, and a deep perception for the state of the world around him.
“I think it is just a reflection of who I am,” Merv xx Gotti said, mentioning the time his brother sent him a quadrant graph used to represent different types of emotional dispositions.
“There’s the people that, when they’re happy, it’s nice, but when they’re sad, they can go really deep, and that usually ends up being the artists or the poets or whatever. And I might fit into that category.”
He explained his inclination to turn to songwriting in the deeper moments.
“Music is a tuning fork, a resonance thing. It makes whatever internal state I’m feeling a bit more seen or aligned,” he said.
“When I make music, I’m producing my own tuning fork. So I know my inner world actually exists, or isn’t wrong.”
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When it comes to performing, Merv xx Gotti inhabits that same thoughtfulness.
“I spend so much time in the hip-hop world where so much of it is so based on ego and bravado. I would always see these rappers giving a pretty shit show. They look like they’re having a great time because they’re yelling into the mic, but no one else is having a great time,” he said.
“If you’re performing, it’s not just about you. Like, it is about you, but the whole purpose of you being you is so everyone else there can have a good time, or feel what your music is supposed to make them feel.”
Merv xx Gotti told Cabin Radio what to anticipate at his set at Folk: “If you expect a party, don’t come. But if you want your nervous system down-regulated, I hope I can do that for you.”
