Dance-Worthy Sad Boy Music : An Interview With Murky Waters

When I was sent the PR email about interviewing Murky Waters the pitch explicitly said his music was for fans of Still Woozy, Tyler, the Creator, and Dominic Fike – not a low bar. Although Murky Waters has only released two songs – his debut single ‘Alone,’ released January 22, and ‘Upside Down,’ released November 12, 2020 – both are excellent. His tunes could potentially fall into categories like ‘lo-fi study beats’ or ‘bedroom-pop-that-has-some-hip-hop-influences-because-what-doesn’t-today,’ or maybe even ‘music-to-skate-to,’ but don’t mistake its chill exterior for lack of emotional depth.

Murky Waters makes sad music, but it’s music for feeling your way through. You could listen to it alone while stalking the Tinder date who ghosted you on Instagram at 2 am, or while pregaming with your friends for your first night out after a break-up. If you wanna cry to it you definitely should, but you should also probably dance. Murky Waters also definitely has a defined sound, another impressive feat considering he’s less than a year into seriously pursuing music. ‘Upside Down’ sounds like the first movie, while ‘Alone,’ is like the sequel, but they’re definitely part of the same franchise if you know what I mean. Both are downtempo, guitar-focused songs built on hip-hop beats and production. The stripped-back, lo-fi vocals perfectly compliment the music, and neither overwhelms the other, resulting in an incredibly relaxing listening experience. It’s sad boy music for internet kids, and it works.

While both songs reflect Murky Waters’ considerable musical talent, if you want a proper intro, I think you should head straight to his short film ‘Peachy Boy’, which premiered on October 31, 2020 (check it out here). The short film follows Murky over the course of a day, from skating with his friends to heading to a party later that night. Not only does Murky Waters seem like the nicest guy at the skate park (I’m trademarking that if it isn’t already), but the film’s cinematography is so well done, and its premise, of introducing four of Murky’s songs as snippets during different points to soundtrack the film, is genius. Like this should be the only way music is teased and promoted from now on. It’s so clever I’m actually a little angry about it, and whoever created the concept for this film deserves a fricken Oscar. Anyway, Murky Waters joined me on Zoom (we love COVID) to discuss making ‘sad boy music with dancy beats,’ building his own brand ‘Peachy Hillside,’ and his future as an artist.

[UNPUBLISHED] Tell us a little bit about yourself and a little bit about your music.

[MURKY WATERS:] I’m Murky Waters. I’m a musician who’s based in LA right now but I want to move to New York sometime soon. I’ve been making music seriously since I was 18 years old, although I kinda started around 16 or 17. I haven’t really been serious about it until this year, which is when I got my manager. I’m just trying to get it off the ground and see what happens with it.

[UNPUBLISHED:] How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard it before?

[MURKY WATERS:] I would describe it as sad boy music, but with dancy beats, because all I want to do is dance and have a good time, but I really like to write sad music. I don’t really write a lot of happy songs. Sometimes I do, but I’ve had a lot of traumatic moments in my life and I’ve been really bad about keeping it in and music is the only way I can get my emotions out into the world. I’ve always kept it in but when I found music it was the only way I could express myself honestly. It’s the best therapy. Some days I’ll just hate life, but then I’ll go record and everything will be fine.

[UNPUBLISHED:] You’ve mentioned other music you’ve written, but ‘Alone’ is the only track up on Spotify and Soundcloud.

[MURKY WATERS:] I’ve got another song called ‘Upside Down’ that’s just on Apple Music. For some reason it’s not on Spotify but it’s the same type of vibe. I’m trying to find my sound at the moment. I have a bunch of unreleased songs at the moment because I like to sing. I don’t know why I like to sing because I’m so bad at singing but I just love it.

[UNPUBLISHED:] What made you decide that now was the right time to start releasing music and why did you choose the song ‘Alone’ to kick everything off?

[MURKY WATERS:] I’ve been sitting on the song ‘Alone’ for about a year and a half. I’ve finally got a bunch of songs together that I actually really like. I’ve made over a hundred songs, and I always say it takes a hundred crap songs to make one good song. I’ve had a bunch of songs that I always thought were good, and then I finally made some songs that I thought would actually pop. Every one of my friends was like, ‘You need to start putting out stuff,’ and I was always like, ‘No, I gotta wait for the right time,’ but now I’m ready to just see where it goes.

[UNPUBLISHED:] How did you get into music and what has your journey been like up until now?

[MURKY WATERS:] Not to sound corny or anything, but Tyler, the Creator is my idol. I love that guy to death, he’s my favorite person ever. I think I was eleven when I started listening to him with Odd Future, and I was always like “I love music, this is so cool.” When I was about sixteen or seventeen I started getting YouTube beats, and I would skip school and go to this skate spot and would just record there for like six hours, from the start of school to the end of school. It was going nowhere; I was kind of just making stupid songs. Then I found a producer, his name is Ford Jones, and he produced ‘Alone.’ I knew he made beats for another one of my friends, Ethan Ardalan, and I was like, ‘“I’m gonna become friends with this kid because I need to make music.” It was kind of a forced friendship, but now he’s my best friend. I knew he was having an 18th birthday party and I was like ‘I’m gonna go there and make this kid my friend so we can start making music together,’ and ever since that day like I moved to Santa Barbara with him we’ve been making music.

[UNPUBLISHED:] How old are you now?

[MURKY WATERS:] I’m 22 now. I turn 23 in May.

[UNPUBLISHED:] I know you’re releasing music independently, but I saw on your Spotify that you labeled the track ‘Alone’ as being released under the label ‘Peachy Hillside’? What is Peachy Hillside?

[MURKY WATERS:] Peachy Hillside is the brand I want to make. I want to make a record label one day, and I’m probably going to get screwed because I don’t think Peachy Hillside is copywritten so someone will steal it from me. I’ve always wanted to have a record label called Peachy Hillside. I released a short film when I was first getting into the music industry that featured four songs that were all kinds of snippets, and I named the film ‘Peachy Boy.’ So being ‘peachy’ is kind of like when you’re happy, and I always want to be happy. I’ve always wanted to have a record label called Peachy Hillside, so when I was filling out the track information on Spotify, I was like ‘I’m just gonna do it.’

[UNPUBLISHED:] What has being an independent artist been like for you rather than trying to find a label?

[MURKY WATERS:] Honestly, it’s pretty stressful. Especially leading up to the release day, because you have to have so many things in order. I would love to be independent for the rest of my life, that would be sick, but at the same time if a record label sees something in me and the deal is good I’d love to see how that goes. We release music through DistroKid right now. I love being independent, but if a record label sees something in me, I’ll hear them out.

[UNPUBLISHED:] What is your songwriting/composition process like for each project? Do you start with the lyrics or melody first? Do you have any specific producers you like to work with or do you do the production yourself? Do you have a method for how the music usually comes together or is it slightly different each time?

[MURKY WATERS:] It’s so different for each song. I’ll go through a three-week writer’s block where I cannot write a single thing, and then I’ll go into the studio. I don’t like going to the studio, I like working alone. When I have a bunch of people around me I don’t feel like I give a hundred percent, and when I’m alone I can be as weird as possible. My friend will send me a beat and I’ll listen to it for hours on end, and whatever gets sparked from it, whether its melody or lyrics, or sometimes I’ll just go off of a word, and I’ll see what that brings me to. For example, with ‘Alone,’ I made a beat first, and my friend went to work, so I just sat in his living room for two hours and it was kind of like time stood still and I had no idea what was going on, and then when he came home I was like, “Dude you have to listen to this.” The chorus was done, and that chorus is still my favorite chorus I’ve ever made. If I have to force something, it comes out bad every time. That’s why I hate paying for studio sessions because that means I’m locked in there for twelve hours trying to make something, and it’s just gonna go sideways at some point. I kind of just record whenever I feel I want to record and it just happens that way.

[UNPUBLISHED:] How would you describe your music sonically? Do you have any specific inspirations for how you want the music to sound and the instruments you want to incorporate/the production techniques you want to use?

[MURKY WATERS:] My manager was asking me this a little bit ago and I was trying to put a finger on where I get inspiration from. I just get inspiration from my friends. Like Ford will make a song, and I’ll be like, “oh my god that’s the craziest shit ever I have to try and top that.” It’s kind of a competitive style of making music. My friend Ethan, who’s an insane artist, has been making music since he was fourteen and he’ll make something and I’ll be like “oh my god that’s amazing I have to make something like it.” Or not something like it, but something that’s at that level. I was always in the lowest tier, but now I’m kind of getting a little bit higher in the rankings within my friend group. They all know how to play every instrument, and I’m not like that. My passion is writing, even though I sucked at English and writing essays in school but I’ll write music for days on end. In terms of artists, I don’t know any top artists that inspire as much as Tyler does because I’ve just been following him for my whole life. Maybe Frank Ocean too, but he was also in Odd Future. If I could sing like Frank Ocean it’d be over.

[UNPUBLISHED:] Are there any kinds of music you haven’t been able to make yet that you’d like to do?

[MURKY WATERS:] My friend made a rock song the other day and I was like, “that’d be pretty cool to do.” I might mess around and make a couple of rock songs. Right now if I had to put my music in a category, it would probably be indie hip-hop. I still love rap, but I’m not a trap rapper or anything. Yeah, I’m more indie hip-hop, maybe a little bedroom-poppy too.

[UNPUBLISHED:] What’s your studio set-up like for recording at home, since you don’t like recording at a studio?

[MURKY WATERS:] I go into a garage and close the door, and no one’s allowed in until I’m out of there. I don’t smoke weed or anything; I kind of hit my limit on that stuff and I can’t do it anymore. I’ve got a really good group of friends that support the hell out of me and they know that if I’m recording, don’t go in. Whether it’s for forty-five minutes or five hours. I just sit there. I’ve got my speakers, my mic. I just chill.

[UNPUBLISHED:] Do you make beats as well or do you have other producers make them for you?

[MURKY WATERS:] I’m trying really hard to learn it, but it’s such a foreign language to me, it’s crazy. My best friend Ford teaches me once in a while but I’m so caught up in trying to make songs at the moment to get my career started. I feel like once I’ve put my foot in the door with my writing, then I’ll sit down and try to learn Ableton. I also want to learn guitar really badly. I work in the movie industry now, so I’m working to make some money so I can live. I’ve got no time on my hands right now, so when I do it’s work and music.

[UNPUBLISHED:] What do you hope people take away from listening to your music?

[MURKY WATERS:] Just to dance and have fun while being sad. I feel like sad songs and emotional songs are the best type of songs. You can get in your feelings for a little bit. I feel like music for me is a place where I can just leave this earth and get in my own head. Just have fun and be sad about it.

[UNPUBLISHED:] COVID has definitely ruined any promotion/touring plans for the moment, but what’s next for you once you’re able to get back on the road? Do you have any loose plans for an album, singles, or other musical projects? Do you plan to tour?

[MURKY WATERS:] Oh god, I want to do shows so bad. I was in a group back in the day with a bunch of my friends and we were doing shows all the time and it was so much fun. But now that COVID’s here, I think I’m going to release a couple more singles and then work on a little EP. Hopefully, I’ll have eight-ish songs together by the time COVID’s done, so when this is done, I can just get out there and go play shows all the time and try to create a brand.

[UNPUBLISHED:] Are you working on an EP at the moment?

[MURKY WATERS:] Yeah, there’s a bigger project. I see rappers and artists nowadays putting out like twenty-four song albums and that’s crazy to me. I can’t do that. My album length is like seven to eleven songs. Once you make twenty-four songs and put them on an album, how do you sit through that? That’s two hours of music. I want people to be able to sit through 1-11, or 1-7, and be like ‘this is really nice.’

[UNPUBLISHED:] Is there anything you’ve been listening to recently that you’d recommend?

[MURKY WATERS:] You know Brent Faiyaz? He dropped the sickest song with Tyler, The Creator, called ‘Gravity’. It’s literally my favorite song I’ve ever listened to. Whenever I listen to music now usually I’m listening to my own stuff because it’s all I’m making and I kinda want to perfect it, but I’ve gotten into Felly recently. Also, Baby Keem is the GOAT to me, he’s awesome, and Omar Apollo. He’s so cool and his music videos are so sick.

[UNPUBLISHED:] What is your biggest goal is as an artist?

[MURKY WATERS:] I just want to be successful in whatever I do in life. I don’t want to lead a life that’s mediocre. I also just wanna have fun with it. I don’t need to be Drake, or Frank Ocean, or all these big names. Would it be awesome? Yeah, it would be sick as hell but as long as I’m doing what I love. I want to leave a name for myself so that when I’m off this planet people are like, ‘Oh do you still listen to Murky Waters’ old songs?’. Bigger picture, I want a big mansion and a lot of cats. My 20s need to be crazy, that’s all I’m trying to do. At thirty I’ll chill out a little bit, or maybe not. There’s a bunch of thirty-year-olds in the game that is still pretty crazy.

Keep up with Murky Waters:

Stream ‘Alone’ on Spotify or Apple Music.

Watch Murky Waters’ music video for ‘Upside Down’ here.

Watch Murky Waters’ short film ‘Peachy Boy’ here.

Follow Murky Waters on Instagram and Soundcloud.

Julianna RitzuMarch 1, 2021batch 4