Mersiv Pushes Beyond Bass With New Album and Fourth Red Rocks Show

From Guitar Covers to Electronic Fusion

Mersiv has built a reputation on heavy, deep bass music designed for live impact. But his upcoming album Nostalgia represents a deliberate shift toward the rock and punk influences that shaped his childhood.

"I used to play guitar as a kid, and I would cover bands like Tool and Metallica," Mersiv, whose real name is Anderson Gallegos, explained in an interview with EDM.com at The Caverns in Tennessee. "I sucked at guitar, but I loved playing covers. I'm figuring out how I can combine these worlds."

The record incorporates guitar samples, more vocals, and a greater emphasis on melody and emotion. "I wanted to make songs, not just wubs," he said. "I wanted to make something that people can sing along to. I put a lot of my emotion into how I make music, [especially] the more pretty stuff that has depth. There's a lot of personal stuff I've gone through that gets transcribed into it."

Following Ideas Over Formulas

Gallegos isn't abandoning the heavier side of his sound. Instead, Nostalgia gives him room to explore melodic elements that don't always fit neatly into a festival set. "Usually, I try to make heavier tunes or more bangers. This [album] has a lot more melodic elements. I've been tapping into that more because that's my favorite style of music," he said.

His songwriting process often involves weeks of designing what he calls little "blips and bloops" before something clicks. "Then, one day will happen where a whole song flushes out, almost like it writes itself, just pulled from the ether," he explained. "I'll be trying to search, and then it comes through."

Gallegos prefers not to spend too many consecutive days in the studio. Some of his best ideas begin at the beach, in the mountains, at a coffee shop, or visiting family, with nothing more than a laptop and headphones. "I want it to be whatever I'm feeling that day emotionally, positive or negative. It doesn't matter what I'm feeling, but I'm trying to channel that into records," he said.

Fourth Red Rocks Headline and the MorFlo Vision

Gallegos will return to Red Rocks this October for his fourth consecutive headline performance at the venue. The milestone has special resonance: shortly after moving to Colorado, he rode his bike to Red Rocks and spent the entire day pedaling to the venue. "I sat up there and I was like, 'This is my ultimate dream.' Not 'I want to do this' or 'I wish I could do this.' I said in my mind, 'I'm going to do this one day. I don't know when, but I'm going to.'"

Playing two sets at Red Rocks will give him extra space to move between melodic material, heavier selections, new music, and tracks that rarely make it into his festival sets. "For shows like the The Caverns or Red Rocks, I'll get some of my older music that I don't normally play, some stuff that's current, and I'll test out a bunch of new stuff that I'm scared to test out at a festival, or as an opening slot for a crowd that doesn't know me," he explains.

As he prepares for his MorFlo event in Florida, a music and flow arts festival, he's thinking about what makes a live experience memorable. "I recently played Elements, and this is one of my favorite things about Electric Forest, Shambhala and Big Dub too, is the people that throw those festivals spend a lot of time decorating the show and making it inclusive," he explained. "It's not just a stage in a parking lot. I can't stand that. I would appreciate a slightly smaller stage where there's decorations, or we're in the woods or there's activities."

Nostalgia is expected later this year. Mersiv's fourth Red Rocks headline is scheduled for October 2026.