We had the chance to sit down with NYC based singer-songwriter and producer Charles Marduk to discuss his history with music, inspirations, favorite releases, and more.
Hey! Introduce yourself. Where are you from?
What’s good, my name is Colin, I’m a singer-songwriter and producer based in New York City. I make music under the pseudonym Charles Marduk. I’m originally from Albany, New York but I moved to New York City in 2016. Before that, I lived in New Orleans, LA where I attended college. Outside of music, I’m also a freelance writer and real estate agent/investor.
When did you start making music?
I’ve been making music as a hobby for most of my life. I learned how to read and play music in elementary school and started messing around with the guitar and piano when I was in high school. I started taking it seriously about 5 years ago and have been refining my style since then. I went to college in New Orleans, which really initially inspired me to take music seriously. New Orleans culture is such a unique hodgepodge of different influences and styles it inspired me to start experimenting with different genres and sounds I was interested in. Around that time I also started learning how to make beats with Logic Pro X, which gave me the foundation to start producing my own music.
Who inspired you to start making music?
There wasn’t really one person or influence who inspired me to start making music. It was a long process of stumbling into it for fun and then becoming passionate about the creative process. Some of my earlier influences were rock bands like Nirvana and the Pixies but later in high school and college, I got more into hip hop and started to look at rappers like Kanye, Jay-Z or the Wu-Tang Clan for inspiration. I try to listen to as much interesting music as I can and take inspiration to whoever I’m into at the moment.
How would you describe your music?
I’d say musically it’s a blend of alternative rock, pop and hip hop. That might sound vague but it’s hard for me to narrow it down into a specific genre. Production-wise my beats are a mixture of lo-fi hip-hop and trap but in terms of the songwriting and structure, it’s closer to rock with some pop-rap elements mixed in.
Who are you listening to now?
In terms of newer stuff, I’ve been listening to the Alchemist x Conway the Machine EP “LULU” and Boldy James’s album “The Price of Tea in China”, which I think is also mostly produced by The Alchemist. Other than that I’ve been listening to the Jay Electronica x Jay Z album and a lot of Drakeo the Ruler.
What are your best releases?
My best release so far is my debut single “The Sickness” which is available on streaming services right now.
That single is also a part of an EP called Fever Dreams which officially drops next week on streaming services, so definitely check that out.
Any shout outs?
I just wanted to send a shout out to all the independent artists and producers who are still grinding during this crazy pandemic. I hope everyone stays safe and productive and that we come out of this catastrophe with something positive like more dope music.
Don’t miss out on anything from the NYC based musician. Follow Charles Marduk on Spotify!