A Tale Called Meerkat.
While writing songs for himself, Yaco Canessa began shaping a concept that felt bigger than just music: a project with its own identity, its own worldview, its own name. He spent over a year refining it before ever thinking about finding bandmates.
When the time came, the pieces fell into place naturally. He reached out to Areli Garcia, a vocalist he already knew who had been developing her own solo project. Areli brought in Charlie Bardem, a drummer she'd been studying with at university. And then there was Anthony Olivera — who had crossed paths with Areli while working as a stage manager at a fair where she performed.
One rehearsal was all it took. The chemistry was immediate and undeniable. From that room, Meerkat officially came to life: Yaco on guitar, Charlie on drums, Anthony on bass, and Areli on vocals. They wasted no time, setting their sights on their debut show on February 29th, 2024, at Iwanna Rock bar.
Their debut single, Patroklos, released in May 2024, immediately established their musical and lyrical identity — a hard-hitting, deeply melodic track that announces itself from the first note. It was followed by Deadly Love, a single that crystallized the band's aesthetic and the intensity of their songwriting, gaining rapid traction on YouTube and pulling in audiences far beyond Peru's borders.
In October 2024, they released And So You Die, a Halloween-themed single that approaches love through a haunting lens — drawing a parallel between falling in love and the process of dying. The result is a dark, atmospheric track that captures the very essence of what Meerkat is about.
Then, in early 2025, coinciding with their first anniversary, came Meerkats & Nuns, their fourth single, closing out their debut year with a sound that had grown sharper and more defined than ever.
Throughout their first year, Meerkat delivered a series of high-energy live shows, each one carefully crafted down to the last visual detail — always elegant, always with their signature gothic edge. But beyond just performing, they began producing their own events, bringing together like-minded bands in a shared effort to build something different from what Lima's scene typically offers, and cultivating a real local fanbase in the process.
Meerkat placed second at the 2025 Rock Battle organized by Huamán Music, standing out among more than 450 competing acts. The jury praised both their commanding stage presence and the compositional quality of their songs. Around the same time, Converse took notice of what they were building and sent each band member a pair of sneakers for a content collaboration — a natural fit given that the brand's identity had always been part of Meerkat's visual language. They were also invited by APDAYC to be featured on their program Maestro de la Música, in recognition of their performance at the competition.
Over these two years, Meerkat has proven their ability to connect with audiences at home and internationally, and have done it on some of Lima's most important stages — Sargento Pimienta, Yield Rock, Vichama Conciertos, La Noche de Barranco, among others.
In July 2025, they dropped Normie Fuck — an aggressive, unapologetic statement that says it plainly: we'll make rock on our own terms. The track hit a nerve. Its energy resonated deeply with listeners tired of the same old formulas, and it became one of their most emotionally direct releases to date.
Their second anniversary brought something different: Nevermore (Unplugged), a release containing an acoustic version of Nevermore and a demo of Blue, one of their more recent compositions. With this release came the announcement of their crowdfunding campaign for their debut full-length album, Love & Other Tragedies.
October, 2026.
Love & Other Tragedies is now fully recorded after the crowdfunding campaing reach 100%.
To Hell and Back, the first single of the album will be released the 30th of october.
