When I first heard “The Mind” by British singer-songwriter and producer Marlon Percy, I thought I had him figured out right away, electro-pop genre blend, right? Not at all, really. It was on repeated listenings that I realized my first impression was just outright wrong, and the more I replayed the song the more I felt I discovered, and eventually, I actually had to force myself to stop listening to the song on repeat less I ruin it for me. Percy’s voice is just that good, and there are so many subtleties to his sound that it’s not easy to realize them all at once.

Turns out This London-born artist has been making music for a very long time, growing up to become a multi-instrumentalist and getting into production by the time he was 17 years old. It’s no coincidence or surprise then, that his talent and musical instincts are this refined, and that his style is one that packs all of its substance in the most careful and subtle way possible, rewarding a more dedicated listening style, which is no doubt something that is also at the heart of the song itself.

“This track is reassurance for all the people, like me, that struggle with a busy, whirring mind. In my experience, trying to let go of attachment (a characteristic of Buddhism and meditation) can really help to slow racing thoughts. The song explores trying to detach from modern desires and status in order to find a state of internal calm.”

The song isn’t so much introspective as it is -like Marlon says- reassuring. It has a comforting and calming vibe, but one that stimulates your ear’s curiosity rather than simply bringing you to full repose. If his goal was to represent the sound of mental clarity, I think he’s been as successful at it as anyone can be. I think that all stems from his background in electronic music. Marlon blends Elements of pop, R&B and Jazz, together with the broader spectrum of House music in other to create deceptively simple and very big soundscapes. Though it comes off subtly at first, his music is far from minimalistic, offering instead a delightful level of complexity for the attentive listener.

It seems as though “The Mind” isn’t just a personal reflection of Marlon Percy’s inner life, but also a very beautiful encapsulation of what his whole creative approach seems to be, a true sample of his “sound” in the broader sense, but packaged into a single song, I think that’s tremendously special.

“The Mind” comes out as the 2nd of Marlon’s releases with the amazing guys at SoCal Records, whose roster includes artists such as DANIEl, Hazel, kk, Famoe, Lynx, Jonas Hahn and others. No doubt He finds himself in good company and in the hands of people who really get what his sound is all about.

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