Up and coming artist, Murloe is creating a space for herself in the unique genre of ‘wonky’ pop. A singer and songwriter, she tackles the nuances of life and relationships through her music. She draws inspiration from a diverse range of artists and sounds which include Jordan Rakei, Dua Lipa and Disclosure.
“I don’t like to define what something is or put a label on it, I just do what feels right. I’d like to think all my people who feel the same will put this track on in their kitchen and vibe like nobody’s watching”
Murloe via Instagram
Hi Murloe, how are you?
Hey, I’m great thanks! How are you?
Can you tell us about yourself and background?
I’m a singer, songwriter and all round creative from West Sussex.
When did you start singing?
I’ve been singing as long as I can remember. I did musical theatre from the age of 4 and grew up with a bass player dad so music was around me 24/7! I didn’t get into writing until a bit older when in secondary school I got my first 61 key Yamaha keyboard, the staple of the school music classroom.
How did you kickstart your career as a musician?
I studied at BIMM London for 4 years learning the ins and outs of the Music Industry as well as working on my writing and performance skills. Once I graduated I knew I had to start getting my music out to the world so I released my first song ‘Polarised’ not long after and the journey has just been up from there. Whilst at BIMM I made some incredible friends who were able to connect me with some amazing people in the distribution and PR sectors, who I’ve been working with for a short while now. They’ve been incredibly supportive of everything I’ve been doing which has really helped motivate me to continue doing what I’m doing. I’m still right at the beginning of this crazy journey but I’m so excited for the next chapter!
Who are your musical influences? What do you love about them?
I always find this question so hard to answer because I feel like I’m influenced by so many artists and musicians it seems almost impossible to narrow it down to just a few. I create all kinds of music but I’d say the songs I’m currently releasing are heavily influenced by more modern artists like Tom Misch, Jordan Rakei and Dua Lipa (just to name a few!!). With Tom Misch and Jordan Rakei I adore the way they incorporate different genres into one big mash up of vibe, you have funk, soul, pop, jazz as well as using a gorgeous blend of acoustic instruments and electronic to make something real special. Those boys also know how to make a BEAT! I really take inspiration from Dua Lipa’s vocal melodies and lyrics. They flick about so smoothly yet chaotically all over the place in some of her songs, particularly ones like ‘Levitating’ and ‘Future Nostalgia’. She makes it sound easy to sing those songs… they’re not easy haha!
Music cover
We heard your newest song, “Waste Away The Day With Me”, it’s a lovely bop and it brings out the romantic in us. Can you tell us what inspired the song?
I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t ‘someone’ that inspired the song. I enjoy writing about things I’ve experienced which is why I think a lot of people have been able to relate to this particular track. It’s the kind of feeling that most people don’t talk about. You’re either friends or ‘together’; whether you’re happy or not. I don’t hear much about the weird, in-between area that I’m pretty sure most of us have found ourselves in before. I found myself in this situation, and instead of trying to work out what it was that was happening I took a breath, had a sip of tea and just let it be. I thought ‘you know what, this is nice. I could just sit here all day with you. I don’t know what’s going on but it’s cool because I like being around you’. We didn’t even have to talk, there was just this undefined, powerful, sexual, friendly, mutual energy and we could both feel it. To be in the moment is the most important thing sometimes. Not to think about the past or future, to get rid of those thoughts of traditional relationship labels that are ingrained into our systems and just be a human, just know that at that exact moment in time, you are happy.
What does music mean to you?
Music to me is a release. It’s rare that there’s no music around me at all, whether I’m singing, have the radio on in the background or it’s coming from a fire playlist from my phone speakers, it’s on…constantly! When I write music myself, it’s almost like writing a diary. If anything is bothering me or there’s something I need to get off my chest the best way I find to release these emotions is to channel them into a song. Equally when I’m feeling ecstatic and having a good day I’ll be thinking ‘I really want to go and write and make the most of this feeling’ haha. The amount of voice notes in my phone when I’ve been out and about of little riffs and lyric ideas is ridiculous. I feel like there’s a constant beat in my head, kind of cool really.
What are your goals as a musician?
As cliche as it sounds, music is my passion. I don’t think I could get bored of it, ever. I feel like everybody is put on this earth to do something, if creating music isn’t that thing for me honestly I have no idea what is. I don’t like setting specific goals for myself as immediately that goes hand in hand with pressure and deadlines which I think are unnecessary if you have determination and love for what it is your doing in the first place. I feel like I’ll get to where I need to be whatever path I end up taking, I just have to trust that what I’m doing right now is the right thing. All I know at this moment is that I want to be writing, creating, performing and sharing as much love as possible. If my music can cheer just one person up, if it can make somebody go ‘oh, I’m not the only one who feels like that’ or if it can make you feel like bobbing your head and moving for a few minutes, I’m heading in the right direction. I want to meet all my like-minded people and bring people together, I have so much love and kindness to give, and what better way to get that across than by sharing the music that’s inside of me with the world.
What is your creative process like?
Random. So random. A bit like me haha. I don’t have a lyrics come first/chords+track comes first way of doing things, when I create I simply just…create. If I make a track and no words come to me, it’s an instrumental. If I write a poem and it has a certain flow to it, or I can sing a melody to it, it’s time to get on to my laptop or behind the piano and write some chords to go with it. Equally if I’m feeling a particular emotion and I’m in reach of my piano, a lot of my songs have come from just improvising behind it and writing down afterwards what happened, what chords I liked, what words came out and seeing if I can structure it into some kind of song. When I finally come up with something that I want to share I create a demo on my laptop – usually in the early hours of the morning after hours of messing about with it haha – and I’ll send it over to a producer who can make it pop even harder and add an extra bit of spice to it. I’m lucky to have some insanely talented friends in that area that I trust completely with my music, so when I send it over to them I have complete faith that they will do what’s right with it.
Can you tell us about the challenges you face as an upcoming musician?
There’s a lot of competition in this Industry, some healthy, some not. One of the most challenging things for me is staying true to who I am in a world where there are a lot of people who would want me to conform to a certain standard or ‘type’ of artist. I pride myself on being my authentic self all the time but occasionally it becomes difficult when an opportunity comes along that requires me to be something I’m not. I’m learning though, staying true to myself is one of the most important things for me; it’s remembering if one person doesn’t like me or my music for what it is there will be another ten out there that will, they just might not have discovered it yet.
What has been your biggest moment so far as a musician?
100% releasing my first song has been my greatest achievement so far. It took so much of me to pluck up the courage and get it out into the world. I think any artist knows the doubt and fear that comes with sharing a part of your creativity, it’s scary as hell for the first time, but the relief and sense of achievement that goes with it once you’ve committed is a feeling that can’t be replicated. Since my first release I’ve released two more songs and I’m so ready to continue sharing more. Music is quite literally my drug, now I’ve started I don’t want to stop.
Do you have any other interests besides music?
When I’m by myself I really enjoy writing, drawing, painting and reading. Anything creative that stimulates my brain really. I have a cheap notebook that I write poems and thoughts into sometimes, and I started trying to write a book last year. It’s still definitely in it’s early stages but I come back to it from time to time, it may be a life long project haha. When I’m in the mood I also really love baking, mainly sweet stuff. I became a bit of a self proclaimed home baker during lockdown last year, my mum and best friend loved it haha, and funnily enough I ended 2020 by getting a job in a bakery.
Thank you for doing this with us. Have a lovely day.
Thank you, and you!
