Mertens was born in Neerpelt, Belgium. He studied social and political science at the University of Leuven (graduating in 1975) and musicology at Ghent University; he also studied music theory and piano at the Ghent Conservatory and the Royal Conservatory of Brussels.
In 1978, he became a producer at the then BRT (Belgian Radio and Television, now called Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroep). For Radio 2 (Radio Brabant) he produced concerts by Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Terry Riley, Meredith Monk, Urban Sax and others, and hosted a program called Funky Town together with Gust De Meyer (with whom he recorded the experimental album For Amusement Only).
Known primarily as a composer since the early 1980s, Mertens began developing a reputation after releasing "Struggle for Pleasure", under the name of his early ensemble Soft Verdict, and for "Maximizing the Audience", which was composed for Jan Fabre's play The Power of Theatrical Madness, which premiered in 1984 in Venice, Italy.
Mertens' style has continually evolved during the course of his prolific career, starting from downright experimental and avant-garde, always gravitating around minimalism, usually, however, preserving a melodic foundation to the forays that he makes into the worlds that he is exploring. His compositional quality has often overweighted the "labelling issue" and reached wider audiences although stemming from a far-from-mainstream musical context (see section In popular culture). One can follow three separate threads of musical styles throughout his work: a) Compositions for ensemble, perhaps his most accessible and "commercial" material; b) Solo piano and voice compositions, which features haunting keyboard melodies accompanied by Mertens' unique high-pitched tenor voice singing in an invented, personal language; and c) Experimental minimalist "cycles" for single, dual, and sometimes more instruments.
Mertens has released more than 60 albums to date, the majority of which were issued by Les Disques du Crépuscule from 1980 until 2004. Mertens also produced a number of Crépuscule releases and consulted with the label on its choice of works by contemporary composers such as Michael Nyman, Gavin Bryars, and Glenn Branca. Mertens also curated a series of releases for a Crépuscle imprint, Lome Armé, that featured works from the classical era as well as contemporary jazz.
In August 2007 Mertens signed a contract with EMI Classics (now Warner Classics) for his entire catalog. The label re-released his entire back-catalog beginning in January 2008. EMI Music Belgium also released Mertens' new work, beginning with the 9-track album Receptacle on 24 September 2007. For this album Mertens decided to work with an orchestra consisting of only women, 17 in total. It is not the first time that Mertens worked with EMI. Already in 1999, Mertens released the soundtrack to the Paul Cox film Molokai: The Story of Father Damien via EMI Classics.
Mertens is the author of American Minimal Music, which looks at the school of American repetitive music and the work of LaMonte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass.
Discography
1980 – For Amusement Only – The Sound of Pinball Machines
1982 – At Home – Not At Home
1982 – Vergessen
1983 – Close Cover
1983 – Struggle for Pleasure
1984 – The Power of Theatrical Madness (Limited Edition Single)
1984 – A Visiting Card
1985 – Usura (under the band name Soft Verdict)
1985 – Maximizing the Audience
1986 – Close Cover (2)
1986 – A Man of No Fortune, And with a Name to Come
1986 – Hirose
1986 – Instrumental Songs
1987 – Educes Me
1987 – The Belly of an Architect
1988 – Whisper Me
1988 – After Virtue
1989 – Motives for Writing
1990 – No Testament
1990 – Play for Me
1991 – Alle Dinghe Part III: Alle Dinghe
1991 – Alle Dinghe Part II: Vita Brevis
1991 – Alle Dinghe Part I: Sources of Sleeplessness
1991 – Stratégie De La Rupture
1991 – Hufhuf (Single taken from Stratégie De La Rupture, including previously unreleased material)
1992 – Houfnice
1992 – Retrospectives Volume 1
1992 – Shot and Echo
1993 – A Sense of Place
1994 – Epic That Never Was
1994 – Gave Van Niets [Promo] [1994-11]
1994 – Gave Van Niets Part IV: Reculer Pour Mieux Sauter [1994-11]
1994 – Gave Van Niets Part III: Gave Van Niets [1994-11]
1994 – Gave Van Niets Part II: Divided Loyalties [1994-11]
1994 – Gave Van Niets Part I: You'll Never Be Me [1994-11]
1995 – Jeremiades [1995-04]
1996 – Entre Dos Mares [1996]
1996 – Lisa [1996-04]
1996 – Jardin Clos [1996-10]
1996 – As Hay in the Sun [1996-10]
1996 – Piano & Voice [1996-12]
1997 – Sin Embargo [1997-10]
1997 – Best Of [1997–11]
1998 – In 3 or 4 Days (Single taken from Integer Valor, including previously unreleased material)
1998 – Integer Valor
1998 – And Bring You Back
1999 – Father Damien
1999 – Integer Valor – Intégrale
1999 – Kere Weerom Part III: Decorum
1999 – Kere Weerom Part II: Kere Weerom
1999 – Kere Weerom Part I: Poema
2000 – If I Can
2000 – Rest Meines Ichs (Single accompanying Der Heisse Brei, not sold separately)
2000 – Der Heisse Brei
2001 – At Home – Not At Home
2001 – Aren Lezen [Promo]
2001 – Aren Lezen Part I: If Five Is Part Of Ten
2001 – Aren Lezen Part II: Aren Lezen
2001 – Aren Lezen Part III: Kaosmos
2001 – Aren Lezen Part IV: aRe
2002 – Years Without History Volume 1 – Moins De Mètre, Assez De Rythme
2002 – Years Without History Volume 2 – In The Absence Of Hindrance
2002 – Years Without History Volume 3 – Cave Musicam
2002 – Wim Mertens Moment Box set featuring Vergessen, Ver-Veranderingen (Previously recorded 1981 but unreleased), The Belly of an Architect, Struggle for Pleasure, Motives for Writing, Maximizing the Audience, Instrumental Songs, If I Can, For Amusement Only, Educes Me, At Home – Not At Home, After Virtue, A Man of No Fortune, And with a Name to Come
2003 – Years Without History Volume 4 – No Yet, No Longer
2003 – Skopos
2004 – Years Without History Volume 5 – With No Need For Seeds
2004 – Shot and Echo/A Sense of Place (including previously unreleased material)
2005 – Un respiro
2006 – Partes Extra Partes
2007 – Receptacle
2008 – Platinum Collection
2008 – L'heure du loup
2008 – Years Without History vol. 1–6 boxset (vol. 6 available only in this boxset)
2008 – Years Without History Volume 7: Nosotros
2009 – Music and Film (3-CD boxset with over 20 unreleased tracks)
2009 – The World Tout Court
2009 – QUA (37-CD reissue of the complete cycle previously known as Alle Dinghe)
2010 – Zee Versus Zed
2011 – Series of Ands/Immediate Givens (2-CDs, two separate albums released together)
2011 – Open Continiuum / Tenerife Symphony Orchestra(OST) (2-CDs and one DVD)
2012 – Struggle for Pleasure / Double Entendre (2-CDs: one reissue, one of unreleased material from that period)
2012 – A Starry Wisdom
2012 – When Tool Met Wood
2015 – Charaktersketch
2016 – What are we, locks, to do?
2016 – "Dust of Truths"
2017 – Cran Aux Oeufs
In popular culture
With that same title, the collection of electronic music Café del Mar features in its 5th volume "Close Cover", one of the most melodic and, in a way, classical pieces of the author.
"Struggle for Pleasure" was directly covered by Belgian dance music project Minimalistix in 2000 and reached the Top 40 in the charts in many European countries including the United Kingdom, Belgium and the Netherlands. The group also did a successful cover of, again, "Close Cover".
A cover appeared in 2001 on Gatecrasher Digital. Elastica presents Jesus Elices 'Maximizing the Audience'.
The James Bond novel High Time to Kill (Raymond Benson, 1999) contains a passing reference to the music of Wim Mertens, in which characters in the novel comment on the music playing in a cafe. Benson, the fourth official James Bond novelist, is a fan of Mertens' music. The reference is somewhat ironic given the interest in James Bond culture shown by Michel Duval, the founder of Les Disques du Crépuscule.
"Struggle for Pleasure" also inspired one of the most influential Electronic dance music tracks – Energy 52's trance music project called "Café Del Mar", first released on Eye Q Records in 1993. It became a successful hit in 1997 with Three 'n One remix, and Nalin & Kane remixes in 1998. In April 2011, the song was voted number one in Pete Tong's Top 20 Dance Tracks of the last 20 years.
"Struggle for Pleasure" is well known for being the flag piece of Belgian telecommunications giant Proximus and featuring prominently in many of its advertisements.
