"Some people spend their whole lives training for the Olympics. 'Meritas Unplugged' is one of our Olympics." Meri and Anita emphasize. Acoustic music strips the song and emotions bare, creating a special experience and depth. The album "Meritas Unplugged" (Menart, 2007) presents just that; a suggestive and unobtrusive take on pop music which many strive for, and only rarely achieve.

Meritas sound like a living room - comfortable and warm, romantic and intimate. They have been together for over 10 years, and in that time have become and inextricable part of the Croatian music scene. A merging of their individual names - Meri Jaman and Anita Valo - gives rise to the name of Meritas. Meri and Anita grew up in Germany, and after coming to Croatia in 1996 they formed the duo which by now has recorded four albums, earned and won nominations for various music awards, and become one of the most-played performers on Croatian radio.

Their first album "Jump, Dance, Scream!" (Dallas Records, 1997) brought optimistic, power-pop songs on to the Croatian music scene, and their next work "Game" (Dallas Records, 2000) set new production standards in music.

"We have Croatian pop stars a few light years outside of the box... the extraterrestrial sound of the album easily meets the standards set by the newest productions worldwide." writes one critic, in a review of the album "Game". With their third album "On first sight", they channeled positive energy, feelings of love and intimacy to and from those close to them.

Behind the work of Meritas, stands years of experience, and a diverse musical history. Anita has been on stage since she was five years old, when she performed with her brothers and sisters as part of the group "Valo 5". The first instrument she played was the melodica, after that she began playing the block flute. Today she has added piano, guitar and bass guitar to her wide-ranging repertoire. Anita went to music school, and went to a private school to master the mixing board. Besides the "Valo 5", she played in German cover bands, and sang spirituals in church.

Meri danced ballet since the age of the three, and sang publicly for the first time in church, at age 12. She went to music and arts school, as well as a private school for musicals and Munich. After performing with a few German bands, she met Anita in church, and they began writing their own songs.

After their first album came out in 1998, members of the group Meritas were nominated in several categories for the "Black Cat" award, including best female vocals, and best new artist. The same year, they performed in the Pula Arena, as the opening act for Vanessa Mae. Three years later, their album "Game", was nominated for a "Black Cat" in the Production of the Year category. Success kept coming, and their song "Suddenly You" (2005) won a national music award, a "Porin" in the vocal collaboration category for their work with Massimo Savic. They performed the song at Dora, the Croatian competition for Eurosong, in 2004.

Meri and Anita led two music workshops, "Contemporary Croatian Music" in Trogir, and "Modern Singing" in Osijek. They also participated in some goodwill events, which included making the song "Magic World" for the United Nations and Croatian Police Force.

Meritas write the music to their songs, and they surround themselves with a team that combines to keep them at a high standard of sound and appearance. Their music producer is Dejan Oreskovic, and lyrics are contributed by Ines Prajo and Arjana Kunstek. Performing and presenting their songs live, Meri and Anita arrange the songs in a semi-acoustic style. The band is formed by Dejan Oreskovic (bass guitar), Tin Ostres (drums) and Zdeslav Klaric (electric piano). Besides performing their own works, Meritas along with Jelena Radan come together to perform a special tribute program called "When Tomorrow Comes", singing the songs which musically influenced them.

For their 10 year anniversary in 2007, Meritas marked the event with a concert in Tvornica, combined with a unique art exhibition called "Transformed into Sound". The paintings were done by art students who each used a different song from Meritas to inspire their work.

"Love is something that moves us all," says Meri, "and whatever anyone thinks or says, it is the irreplaceable and most important part of life. From the purest one we strive for - God's love - to the everyday love we find in each of our small worlds."

Meritas have constructed a complete recognizable style, musically, scenically, and artistically. Their new album, in arrangement, production, and lyrics, just further prove their consistence. Not only in revisions of 13 previous songs, but in two new compositions, added as a bonus to their new album. The songs "Finally" and "Reason to... (bububu)" are a sign of things to come, in future days of the Meritas duo.

ALBUMS

Skaci, plesi, vici! [Jump, Dance, Shout!] (Dallas Records, 1997)
Igra [Play] (Dallas Records, 2000)
Na prvi pogled [At First Sight] (Menart, 2005)
Unplugged (Menart, 2007)

VIDEOCLIPS
[more on www.youtube.com/meritasweb]

Na kraju sna [At the End of a Dream] (1996)
Dan je tvoj [The Day is Yours] (1997)
Ti znas [You Know] (1998)
Sve sto zelim [Everything I Want] (1998)
Budim se [I Wake Up] (2000)
Igra [Play] (2001)
Nije vrijeme [It's Not the Time] (2001)
Odjednom ti / feat. Massimo [Suddenly You] (2004)
Daj da zaboravim [Let Me Forget] (2004)
Jedno [One] (2005)
Slucajno [Accidentaly] (2005)
Otvori oci [Open Your Eyes] (2007)
Napokon [Finally] (2007)