Q: Was there a pivotal moment in your life when you decided to follow your path as a musician?
Mrqs.whly: All of my life I’ve been into showbiz; I was a commercial kid since the age of 2. It was around 14 years old when I consciously was like, “I want to do this as a career”, but I didn’t have – and in ways still don’t have – the “talent” to make it as a singer. But, I’m a pretty damn good writer and have a good ear for catchy music and I applied myself to making music. I can carry a strong narrative and interesting aesthetics to represent a very underrepresented demographic.
Q: ‘Morningstar’ is dark and eerie, but still gives off uplifting vibes. What was your creative process in making ‘Morningstar’?
Mrqs.whly: So, I was working with this French Producer named Bibz and I came in with a completely different track I made back in high school called ‘Dancing with the Devil’. Honestly, it just wasn’t working so we took what was working, which was the “you’re a star, you’re a star…” bridge in this track, which was originally a pre-chorus. We started laying down bass lines and coming up with chord progressions and I suddenly had the lyrics flow to me. The first verse was recorded before leaving and on the way home, I already had the chorus and a week later we had the demo finished — this was all back in 2018. This song is sort of a continuation to another dark pop song I have called ‘Broken’, but ‘Morningstar’ is kind of me playing the role of either Lucifer during the fall or it even could be argued I’m playing the lover of the devil figure as a metaphor. I wrote the lyrics to be left to listener interpretation. It could be a blatant retelling of the fall, aka a battle, with pride and self-righteousness, or a child leaving home to become an adult against their parent’s wishes, or a person in a toxic relationship and choosing themselves ultimately. All three are correct and I’m sure there are other interpretations the listener can gather.
Q: Did any real-life events occur in your life that inspired ‘Morningstar’?
Mrqs.whly: In ways, both yes and no. There was no one moment that led me to ‘Morningstar’, but rather reflecting on my youth, I grew up extremely religious and was deep in the church and had this self-righteous image of perfection that I upheld. While realizing I wasn’t going to ever be anyone’s savior, I had internal and external struggles of coming to terms with who I am and I remember reading Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’ and ‘Dante’s Inferno’, as well as verses in the Bible referencing Lucifer’s story – which resonated with me heavily and after living life a bit, I noticed parallels between the fall of Lucifer and my own story – and the song was born.
Q: What has been one of the highlights of your music career so far?
Mrqs.whly: Hmm… When I was 12, I had a vision board where I put the VMA’s 2016 in attendance! Fast forward to 2016, I was invited through a publicist friend and got front row seats to what was basically a Beyonce, Rihanna, and Britney Concert! And since then, I’ve been fortunate enough to attend 2 more times and was invited to the Grammy’s twice!
Q: Who would you most like to collaborate with, if it could be anyone?
Mrqs.whly: Haha! I’m a huge fan of Miley Cyrus and I believe we could make an edgy dance punk-pop track together.
Q: What do you do when you AREN’T working on music?
Mrqs.whly: I study Western and Sidereal Astrology and have been for the last 3 years. Also, I act and work as a portrait and fashion photographer, currently contracted with another artist named Shacar (you can see my work with him all over his social media @iamshacar). So I stay busy!
Q: What’s up next for you?
Mrqs.whly: Musically, I’m writing new music exploring a more mature take on similar themes such as heartbreak, love, self-acceptance, existentialism, etc. I have a single we’re reworking currently called ‘Mirrors’, but that won’t be ready for a while. But for this year, an alternate Dance Pop version of ‘Come Over’ will be released as well as another single in the fall and visuals of course.
Interviewed by Kevin JP Hulihan
