FAST-RISING GENRE-DEFYING IRISH ARTIST MARCUS RETURNS WITH HIS REFLECTIVE NEW SINGLE ‘REDEMPTION’ OUT APRIL 14TH
Following on from the release of his critically acclaimed debut single ‘Obey’ last year, a release that was added to influential Spotify playlists; Alt Pop, A Breath of Fresh Eire, An Alternative Eire, and The Best of Fresh Eire, and found tastemaker support from Hot Press, Earmilk, RTE, Buzz.ie along with being picked up by stations 2fm, Spin 103.8 & BBC Radio London, Dublin-born genre-defying artist Marcus is back once again to deliver his reflective new offering ‘Redemption’
Much like what we heard on ‘Obey’, ‘Redemption’ sees him channel a light and uplifting direction for the release. With his natural Dublin tones hovering over a broad and textured production, this new gem spells the beginning of a promising year ahead for the young artist.
Speaking about the new track, he said, “I wrote Redemption in April last year. We were in the middle of the first lockdown and I recorded the track (for the most part) remotely with Alex Borwick, bouncing files between us. The vocals in the first verse were recorded on a budget mic in my room, using the wardrobe as a vocal booth. A few weeks beforehand I had been to visit my Mum in Istanbul with my brother. It was a really nice trip and we managed to do it just before Covid really forced the world to a stand still. I had originally written a song called Istanbul, but after a couple of rewrites it became Redemption – a song about family, friends and the places we come from.”
Born and raised in the Irish capital of Dublin, singer and songwriter Marcus always felt the urge to write and perform music. Learning to play the guitar in his preadolescence, he spent much of his childhood dabbling in songwriting before giving up the craft in his teenage years. But when he turned 19, the urge to get back on the wagon was too much to ignore and he began to take his commitment to music much more seriously.
Growing up in a varied musical household, Marcus’ influences came from two distinct areas. His Dad’s love of musicians such as Bob Dylan, David Bowie, and Bob Marley, as well as his growing love affair with hip-hop. These two almost polarising tastes are what first engaged the artist to create his own direction, fusing the creative and inventive style of so many acts he admired to create something he could call his own.
“I was introduced to music by my Dad as a kid. He had a massive cd collection and there was always something playing in his house. I can remember The Clash, Bob Dylan, Jurassic Five, David Bowie, Bob Marley, Wilco, Lauryn Hill, Neil Young all playing. He also taught me a few chords on the guitar when I was 8 or 9. I really took to it but stopped playing by the time I had started secondary school, there were a lot of distractions and I just sort of drifted away from music.”
“When I was a teenager, I began listening to Hip Hop (The Pharcyde, Nas, Jay Z, Biggie) and when I started hearing Irish hip hop it really caught my attention. When I heard guys like Willa Lee and Maverick Sabre singing over hip hop beats it really resonated with me. I saw Plan B and Mike Skinner doing similar things and I began to think it was something I could do, but it wasn’t until I was 19 that I decided to give music a try.”
His drive to create and perform music was so strong that he ended dropping out of university early to get a headstart on a career that he knew was in his blood. Starting out on Dublin’s fledgling open mic circuit, including regular stints at the city’s legendary venue Whelan’s, he began to embark on an almost guerilla-like approach to promoting his own music. Keeping much of his interest in the scene away from his friends, it wasn’t until he began to post videos of himself singing on Facebook that everyone suddenly saw the talent they were dealing with.
“I was in my first year of college at the time but I was failing exams and not enjoying myself. I began playing the guitar again and decided that, somehow, I was going to make a career in music. I dropped out of college, to the bemusement of family and friends, and began writing music every day.”
His first set of releases were self-financed by his time working in a pizza restaurant, and it was during this period that a family friend introduced him to his now manager, who had previously worked with the likes of The Boomtown Rats, Sinead O’Connor, Bananarama, Morrissey and many more.
In 2020, Marcus self-released his debut single ‘Obey’ through tunecore, a track that instantly made an impact. Picked up by a number of influential Spotify playlists, including Alt Pop, A Breath of Fresh Eire, An Alternative Eire and The Best of Fresh Eire, he also landed enormous amounts of praise within the tastemaker media, with Hot Press, Earmilk, RTE, Buzz.ie and many more jumping on to support the young artist.
