Latest / Stories from Mustang News on KCPR / Marlon Funaki's journey through music

Transcript

Marlon Funaki's journey through music · Stories from Mustang News on KCPR

• 0:07
  Speaker 1: A few months ago, Marlon Funaki stepped onto a stage
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: in Portland Organ and faced eight hundred people waiting for him.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: That big is headline crowd of his career. Now, as
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: this tour comes to a close, he's bringing that momentum
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: to Slope Free Rock on.
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: Friday, December twelfth.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: Funaki's love and connection to music started long before he
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: ever thought about performing. He grew up in a home
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: constantly filled with sounds ranging from rock to reggae.
• 0:36
  Speaker 3: There was not like one genre there, like, oh, like,
• 0:39
  Speaker 3: we don't like this style of music. It was like
• 0:42
  Speaker 3: just everything in the house at all times.
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: That variety created his open ended styles, shaping his music today.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: Funaki gravitates toward what he calls alternative indie folk, but
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: his music jumps between jazz influenced guitar, psychedelic rock, and
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: even the occasional.
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: House or EDM track.
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: At the core, he described his songs storytelling, you know, like.
• 1:02
  Speaker 3: Someone would read a book, I would kind of want
• 1:04
  Speaker 3: them to listen to my music like that.
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: Songs are built from vivid imagery, often sparked by constant
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: creative thoughts.
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: He says, never really switch off.
• 1:16
  Speaker 3: I'm just I'm thinking about music like and I swear
• 1:19
  Speaker 3: I dream about it, you know, like I just it's
• 1:21
  Speaker 3: like it's it's there, It's always there.
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: That imagination takes form in his first album, Monterey Village,
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: which he made entirely on his own.
• 1:32
  Speaker 3: I was in a space where I was like, you know,
• 1:35
  Speaker 3: I'm going to create whatever the hell I want.
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: His newer EP, Overdue, showcases a more intentional sound, inspiring
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: him to release, as he puts it, a story within
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: a story.
• 1:46
  Speaker 3: I want to be like fully cook, he said, if
• 1:48
  Speaker 3: he will be like, Okay, that song belongs in that
• 1:51
  Speaker 3: out o shit.
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: Funaki is a solo artist, but accompanied on stage by
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: a four piece band made up of close friends. He
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: finalized the lineup last year, and their on stage chemistry
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: has become a defining part of his live show.
• 2:09
  Speaker 3: There's been multiple times where you know, the audience come
• 2:11
  Speaker 3: up and be like, oh my, you know, like he
• 2:13
  Speaker 3: just looks like you guys are having so much fun
• 2:15
  Speaker 3: on stage, and that's how I like.
• 2:17
  Speaker 4: To keep it.
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: This tour brought along list of milestones, including his first
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: run on the East Coast, but nothing compared to his
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: night and the crowd in Portland, Oregon.
• 2:26
  Speaker 3: It almost felt like I was opening for someone, Like
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: knowing that all of those people were there for me
• 2:32
  Speaker 3: and us and the music.
• 2:33
  Speaker 4: So that was super cool, Like I was like, yeah,
• 2:41
  Speaker 4: this is the group of musicians I who the tour with.
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: Funaki says next year he will focus on festival performances,
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: giving him more time to write new music. He also
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: hints at a UK tour, the first international chapter of
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: his career now.
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: As he wraps up this tour in California, his Slow.
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: Grew Rock Show offers audiences a look where sound is
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: headed next.
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: I'm Delaney Ridder for Mustang News on kcy PR at
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: ninety one point three FM.