Here she is, our newest featured artist (#21) Marlee Quirarte. Originally from Kansas City, Missouri, residing in Los Angeles, California.

The Singer/Songwriter is heavily influenced by 80’s and 90’s music. Anything from Tina Turner or Prince to Aaliyah and TLC. As a young girl, she spent a lot of time in her room, listening to her favourite artists on her Boom Box. She used to drug her mom to the store to buy the  discs for her.

Her oldest sister was a competitive dancer as a young girl in the 80’s. Thanks to the fact that her mother kept the performance costumes, she found a lot of inspiration from the design of the costumes. She played dress up a lot in these costumes and made up dances to the music she was listening to.

That time period influenced and shaped her interest in music and dance to this day. But it wasn’t until she was in middle school, until she took up dance & voice lessons. She was mostly “trained” by mimiking the artists she felt did it best. Vocally, that is. She learned best through experience, so singing to her favourite artists and learning to hit certain notes that they hit, taught her in the most efficient way.

Some of her favourite artists include; Sade, Aaliyah, Prince, Tina Turner, Whitney Houston, LTD, Rick James, TLC, Timbaland, Missy Elliot, Outkast, & Solange.

In September, she released her first EP “When I’m Alone”. She wrote this record alongside two talented young men: Griff Synder & Abe Hovey. Abe co-wrote the EP and Griff co-produced. The three worked really well as a team and created something really original and fresh. Marlee wanted her influences to have a major role in this record, but also wanted people to hear something they hadn’t heard before. She believes that is where the magic happens, so she sticks to that theory in her writing and overall vision.

She wrote this project in a extremely intense, transitional time in her life. Through loss, grief, heartbreak and first relationship, everything is very personal and real.

Marlee creatively directed the official music video for the single “True” of the EP, and had a really awesome production crew to bring the vision to life! AthenaeumFilms. Check them out!

Follow Marlee on Instagram.

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