Marlon On Debut Single ‘Blood In The Water’
Renowned for his ongoing work with some of Australia’s most revered hip hop royalty, Darwin-hailing singer-songwriter Marlon (a.k.a. Marlon Motlop) has unveiled his debut solo single, the captivating Blood In The Water, also accompanied by a sleek music video as the talented artist looks ahead to the release of his debut album later this year. Opening with a sultry bassline set against the sound of ocean waves, Blood In The Water surges with oscillating swagger, flitting between humid beats, driving pianos and jangly percussion, effortlessly helmed by Marlon’s polished vocals and sparkling hip hop production. Inspired by some of Marlon’s early musical influences, including Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder and Red Hot Chili Peppers, also forged alongside more modern elements of Miguel, The Weeknd and Frank Ocean, Blood In The Water also shines with thought-provoking lyricism.
Penning his debut solo track in a small room in his childhood home, Blood In The Water also saw Marlon join forces with another Australian powerhouse to ultimately let this vulnerable yet passionate song take full flight. Also armed with an accompanying music video, Blood In The Water’s sharp sonic aesthetic and lyrical content is mirrored via striking visuals. Directed by Richard Coburn (Hilltop Hoods, A.B. Original, Funkoars, Elsy Wameo), and produced by Coburn and Marlon, the video flits between moody coastal imagery, fiery hues and visceral red accents in perfect symmetry with the magnetic instrumentals and powerful emotion beating at the song’s very core. Marlon talks to Rob Lyon about his debut single.
Congratulations on your debut solo single Blood in the Water. You must be really stoked with the single, fantastic.
Yeah, it’s been a… yeah, a work in progress over probably a three‑year period, but yeah, it’s just good to get it out into the world. I’m really happy with how it was all released, and yeah, it’s… it’s kind of exciting as well. There were no real nerves around it, which was really enjoyable. It was just really exciting to get it out, which was great.
Did it feel like a long time in the making, and did you ever kind of lose a little bit of faith that you were ever going to get to the finish line with this?
I think so, maybe a little bit, but in the scheme of the whole record, we finished it pretty early on, so it gave us a little bit of space and time to be able to work on other things. I was just fortunate enough to be able to work with my producer, Trials, Daniel Rankin, who… you know, we’ve got a really good way of working, really efficient way of working, so we finished that one pretty early. That gave us time and space to work on the visuals and the concept for the video as well, which I feel like came together really well. So yeah, it was really good, but there was probably a split second where I thought, man, this is never gonna eventuate or come to life.
How hard a choice was it to nail that first single that defines who you are as an artist?
I feel like, from a creative standpoint, that was always really fluid, really organic, and it came really easy. I think that’s made possible by just being able to work and having a good relationship with Dan Rankin, my producer. I feel like Blood in the Water was a really good starting point as the first single to release and open up to the world and show them me as an artist, as a solo artist. From a performative aspect, I feel like it’s captured my ability to play and write on guitar. It’s captured my ability to play piano also. There are elements of production in there where I’ve been able to display some of my artistry and production as well. So yeah, I feel like it’s a really good starting point to show the world my identity as an artist and singer‑songwriter.
What’s the story behind the single? Is there a particular message you’re hoping people take away from listening to it?
Yeah, I think Blood in the Water started as a play on the analogy of “out of sight, out of mind.” The hook in the song reads, I see blood in the water, I’m afraid to swim in the light and I think it talks to that analogy in terms of… we, as human beings, have a natural habit to disregard or not pay attention or acknowledge the things that don’t directly affect us or people within our immediate circles. If I look at the landscape from an Aboriginal perspective within our country, being from Darwin, my hometown, I wrote Blood in the Water in my childhood bedroom in Darwin, and it was a reflection of what I was seeing in my community back home. We can walk through multi‑million‑dollar cities at any given time, to go to work, have a beer, go to the pub, see friends and family, and at any given stage we can walk past homelessness, disadvantage, hopelessness, drug and alcohol abuse. What I started to realise is that I was really guilty of that. So it was looking inward and what I realised is that majority of the time, the hopelessness, disadvantage, and drug and alcohol abuse I was walking past was more often than not the disadvantage and hopelessness of my people, Aboriginal people. So I felt like there was a responsibility for me to call that out. Not call that out on society as a whole, but more as a reflection of how I could be better, and looking inward.
Do you think we’re actually making any inroads there? It seems like a lot of the time we take a couple of steps forward and then quite a few backwards as well.
Yeah, I feel like it will never be perfect. But I think it’s a weighted numbers game. The more people in society that we have calling this out and speaking about it, and truth‑telling, and speaking about the realities of our society and human behaviour and what we create… I feel like that creates more conversation to be able to make change and take action. I don’t think we’ll ever get it perfect, and I don’t think we ever have, but being able to discuss it and be real about it and put it out on the table and have an element of truth‑telling to it is a really good point in terms of the trajectory of trying to fix a lot of the problems in society, particularly with our people, First Nations people.
With the single, were you very hands‑on with the film clip as well?
I had quite a lot of involvement with the film clip. I guess the concept and idea from a creative standpoint was all my ideas, and I was fortunate enough to meet the director and the videographer, Richie Coburn, during filming of The Gift, which was a single I did with the Hilltop Hoods last year. Richie really kind of storyboarded it and put it to life as well, so I think there was a really good balance of, from a performative aspect, getting all of that in, but also the concepts of those abstract ideas as visuals of storytelling and abstract kind of beings within the film clip, in terms of having the red cloaks and the dancers and choreography in the film clip as well. So yeah, I feel like it was really brought to life, but I’m really glad we got to the end of it, and that I had full creative control over it, and my ideas and concepts were really brought to life, and it was really in line with the original concept that I had.
What’s the plan from here? Are you planning on releasing more singles? Are you building towards an EP or an album?
Yeah, so Blood in the Water is the first single off my debut album, which will be coming out and released on July 31. That’ll be probably a ten‑track album on July 31, which I’m really looking forward to. That’ll be titled Marlon, after myself, so I think it’s… it’s probably the most vulnerable I’ve been in terms of it being a representation of who I am, my perceptions and how I see the world around me, but also a little bit of a look into my life as a young person growing up in Darwin, and how that’s transitioned into who I am today and my identity and how I find myself in this world today. So I’m really excited about that.
You must feel a sense of satisfaction as well, given that you’ve been really hands‑on and done so much work on it yourself, once it’s finished and out there, it must be a proud moment where you can sit back and say, yeah, job well done.
Yeah, I think so. If I look at the record in its entirety, I think there’s a really good representation of my performance and artistry as a singer‑songwriter and artist. I’ve been really hands‑on in terms of the production, you’ll have elements of a couple of songs in there produced by myself, and then others will be co‑produced. But in terms of the performative aspect, you’ll get a really good insight into my ability as a guitarist, as a singer‑songwriter, as a singer from a vocal standpoint as well. I think it’s just a really good representation of the shift away from… I guess from an identity perspective, you know, a lot of people in my networks around Australia know me as being from a big sporting family. It’s been a real struggle to break away from that sporting AFL aspect as a past player in the AFL scene, and shifting towards a singer‑songwriter and so that’s kind of hence the reason why I’ve titled it Marlon, to break away from that identity and just showcase me as a singer‑songwriter, something that’s been ingrained in my soul since a young kid.
I was going to ask that question, how hard was it to make that transition from a professional AFL player to assuming a normal life and venturing into the creative arts, like music?
Yeah, I think it’s… it’s been an enjoyable experience, I think. By no means am I disregarding or having any resentment to the life that I had as a professional footballer. But I think what that’s done is it’s taught me some really good, valuable life lessons, but it’s also taught me some lessons in terms of what I don’t want to be as a human being, in terms of my identity as well. I feel like it’s a really good, pivotal moment for me to shift away from that. I think it’ll be something that’ll just forever evolve, and it’ll still always be there, but I feel like there’s some really good growth in terms of the process of me moving away from that.
So you’re looking for a vinyl and a CD release, as well as the streaming side of things?
One hundred percent. I’m definitely looking towards releasing a vinyl of the record. I’m a collector of vinyls, I’ve collected all my parents’ old vinyls and grandparents’ old vinyls as well, so yeah, there’ll be a vinyl release which will be aligned with the record release in July.
You’ve been involved in a lot of other cool stuff, collaborating with other artists, was there any thought about compiling some of those as a bit of a checkpoint, or is it more important to forge your own identity and your own path with your debut album?
I think that’s a good question, and I think down the road that’s something that I really want to do. I feel like everyone I’ve collaborated with, I’ve grown a certain amount from that experience, and it’s one of my favourite things to do, to collaborate with other artists and write and create. So I think down the track there’ll be something that I’d love to be able to create and whether that’s… you know, I’ve just finished a tour with the Hilltop Hoods, and they had pretty much most of their feature artists from the last ten to twelve years, twenty years even, a part of that tour, and we were touring together. So that’s something that I’d really love to do, from a performative aspect, bring everyone together and just celebrate that. But yeah, potentially it’s something down the track that I’d like to do.
With the release date coming up, are you looking to go on a pretty big tour around the country for a couple of months?
I think that’s in the plans, yeah. I think eventually, by the end of this year, potentially… I’m not too sure yet. There’s nothing locked in and set in stone, but I think it’s just getting the record out, seeing how that lands, and how Australia and the world absorb that and resonate with it, and then we’ll go from there.
Interview By Rob Lyon
Blood In The Water is out now…
