Had the opportunity to chat to Marzmates, a young Canadian artist who infuses Pop and R&B music to create her unique own sound.
You know what? I think we should start a petition to raise money to move DNü to Canada. Most of the outstanding acts we’ve discovered or connected with in the past few years have all been Canadian. And, you know what as well? They’re all so friendly and warm— and so are we, I guess. Okay serious stuff now, let us introduce you to another amazing Canadian artist named Marzmates. Hailing from the beautiful city of Montréal in the French region of Québec, the emerging artist has been dancing since the age of three. She took hip-hop, tap dancing, ballet and contemporary classes— which is impressive to say the least. She’s also a pianist, and has been exposed to different forms of music early in her life which has helped her creative development. I am that annoying guy that always predicts artists future, at times I have been wrong but somehow in recent years I’ve been fairly right— SAINt JHN, A.CHAL, THEY., Post Malone, Black Atlass and IV4 are some artists I have predicted to have bright futures in the past. When I heard Marzmates’ new single “Ice Vanilla”, I heard a potential star. With the right development, self-belief and consistent releases , the young artist has what it takes to be a successful pop star. So you know, it was only right I had a chat with her. I want to be able to brag to my grandkids one day, be like, ‘did you know, I was the first blogger to speak to her’, while I smoke my cigar and smile like the cool ass grandpa I’ll be. Apologies I keep drifting, read my conversation with the amazing Marzmates below and make sure you follow her on all her socials and Spotify!
How are you doing?
I’m doing great, thank you. I am super excited for the release of ‘Ice Vanilla’!
How did you get your name? Is there an inspiration behind it?
There was a girl on Instagram from my area that I liked the aesthetic and had the ‘mates’ part after her username. I merged my nickname ‘Marz’ and mates and it gave Marzmates as a result. Before even starting my music career, my friends were already calling me Marzmates, so when I actually took music more seriously, I went on with Marzmates, since everybody (including myself) thought it had a nice ring to it!
Nice, I think I know who you’re on about! What city are you representing?
I’m repping Montreal, a city in Canada!
Beautiful city. What’s the music scene like there for emerging artists like yourself?
Well, first of all, Montreal is full of talent. What’s special is that our city is bilingual; we speak English and French, so we often speak ‘Frenglish’ and have our own slang there. The only thing is, in music, our industry is really focused on the French part, and doesn’t really push us, English artists, forward. It makes it a bit harder for us.
Ah damn, that sucks. How would you describe your music in your own words?
I’d describe my music as really emotional. From the instrumental up to the lyrics and vocals, I really want the emotion to be the most crucial part of it. I don’t really fall under one category, but I make that every song, including Ice Vanilla and my upcoming songs, portrays how I am genuinely feeling, especially since I’m a very emotional oriented person.
Which artists inspired your sound?
The artists that inspire me the most are Lolo Zouaï, Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande.
Nice! You’ve just released your new single “Ice Vanilla”, what message are you trying to convey in the song?
The message behind “Ice Vanilla” is about remembering how important it is to be well surrounded and that it’s okay to cut the negativity in your life. At the end of the day, the energy that is surrounding you influences a lot the energy that you put out. As a person who gets easily attached, some people used this in their advantage and sadly used me, my time and efforts. By removing them out of my life, I realized how toxic they were, and got to understand myself a lot more.
I love that message! Talk us through the creative process.
I got the first inspiration for “Ice Vanilla” last February. I sat down on my piano and the chorus flowed in my head. After that, I didn’t get any more inspiration until I had to cut someone drowning my energy down. I wrote the rest of that song in 40 minutes top notch. For the vocal melodies, I already knew how every single layer would sound like. I then went to Fifo, the producer I work with, and walked him through how I wanted the instrumental to sound like. I wanted it to sound like a whole trip. After that, I recorded the voices. It was a big project, since there are so many layers of vocals in Ice Vanilla.
The song combines multiple genres, but which genre do you think it falls under?
It is so hard for me to put it in one category! I’d go with ‘Dark Pop’.
Noted. How would you describe your 2020 in one word?
Challenging.
Damn right, sigh. Are you mentally ready for 2021 yet?
I am more than ready for 2021. I think it is going to be a crucial year for me and a lot of emerging artists.
I couldn’t agree more. What’s next?
I am working on a full-length project, hopefully dropping in 2021! Meanwhile a few singles will be released!
Connect with Marzmates
