Kiwi singer Merk on his latest album, touring, and cone-themed conspiracy theories Kiwi artist Mark Perkins, known by his stage name ‘Merk’, has made a name for himself in recent years releasing two successful albums to critical acclaim. Critic Te Arohi spoke to Merk about his most recent album, Infinite Youth, which came out in February of this year. Merk has been playing music since he was a kid. “I started learning drums when I was 11, transitioned to guitar when I was 13, and have been writing songs since I could play guitar.” Throughout high school, he worked some shitty jobs to get by, including a fundraising job where “in the middle of summer I had a wear a big fluffy cow costume while I had the worst hayfever of my life.”