5 Questions With’: Morly
“It’s so wonderful working with people who really know you and who you really know because it feels more real, more like it gets underneath the music and, I hope, goes beyond just being glossy and nice to look at.”
Read the full interview below…
EQ: You’ve moved from the States to London, did that move impact or challenge your artistry in any way?
M: I’ve always found London an incredibly inspiring place. It’s both catalysed some of my biggest artistic turns and is the birthplace of so much music and art that I love. So despite this strange past year I’d say it’s bolstered me. I have an old upright in my bedroom and a room to paint in so it’s been a great place to lockdown.
EQ: What was your experience being part of a musical collective Gayngs like?
M: Singing with Gayngs changed my life. At the time I was timidly performing at open mics around the Twin Cities, so recording with and befriending such an incredible group of musicians and artists—people like Ryan Olson, Justin Vernon, Phil Cook, Channy Leaneagh, and Maggie Morrison—who’d devoted their lives to making music and art, helped me find the courage to commit to it myself. And to make sure I enjoyed myself while doing it. I also ran into Prince at my first ever real gig, backstage at First Avenue after performing with Gayngs, which for a young inchoate artist gave me a good bonus booster of encouragement.
EQ: I loved your video for ‘Dance To You’ – what was your creative process and inspiration for that?
M: Thank you! It was such a joy to marry my love of dancing with the music. The video was born out of conversations with some very talented friends. The choreographer, Katya Bourviski, introduced me to Pina Bausch’s work a few years ago and I fell in love with how she blurs together life, dance, and theater. We wanted to incorporate that strange blur. The dance was informed by talks we had about the meaning behind the song’s lyrics, and included her familiarity with how I move naturally, as well as some of the gestures from my album artwork. The director, Lawrence Pumfrey, and I had been wanting to work together and this was the perfect fit—he suggested using a fixed camera to rotate around the oddly curved room which I loved and felt harkened back to more experimental films of the 60’s and 70’s. It’s so wonderful working with people who really know you and who you really know because it feels more real, more like it gets underneath the music and, I hope, goes beyond just being glossy and nice to look at.
Photo Credit: Megan Kellythorn
“I ran into Prince at my first ever real gig, backstage at First Avenue after performing with Gayngs, which for a young inchoate artist gave me a good bonus booster of encouragement.”
– Morly
EQ: Tell us about your upcoming album – what can your fans expect?
M: The album is definitely an emotional journey. I made it through a fairly turbulent, dark time in my life but I think a lot of hope and joy come through too, if only because making songs for me is the height of happiness. It’s much more organic sounding than some of my older EP’s but still maintains some of the wonk and synthesized sounds that I love.
EQ: What else have you been cooking up that you can share with us?
M: I’ve done a lot of painting to accompany the album which I’m thrilled to share—a booklet of artwork and lyrics will accompany the vinyl. I know it’s a streaming-based industry evolution to release a lot of songs ahead of the album’s release, but I do appreciate that it allows me to paint more single artwork. I’m also working on more videos and have been playing around with some experimental instrumentals as well, so we’ll see where they take me…
Listen to ‘Wasted’ below…
Stream ‘Wasted’ HERE
Follow Morly on socials:
Instagram: @morly__
Twitter: @morly__
Facebook: @morlymusic
Website: morly.info