stellar (EP) by marzy lo
ABOUT MARZY:
Born in Central Texas, raised in Houston, marzy lo is a multidisciplinary artist with particular interest in writing and music. marzy showed an affinity towards singing and dancing as a toddlerand began taking dance classes at age 2. As she grew older, her artistic interests grew with her; she wrote her first children’s book at the age of 7, and she wrote her first song by age 9. At age 11, marzy began classically training in flute and played in concert band until graduating high school. During her first year at Dartmouth College, she joined an a cappella group called “Music In Color” where she learned more about vocal arrangement, melodic improvisation, and musical direction. After getting her bachelor’s degree in film & media and African American studies, she moved back home to Houston and began navigating the professional world while also trying to start her music career. marzy lo started out on social media, stitching and duetting other producers/creators with her writing, and eventually found her way to working directly with producers and engineers in the Houston area. Making her streaming debut, her first original EP titled stellar releases on August 19th, 2024.
“stellar was born from the coincidental cosmic motif across the different songs I had been working on from circa 2020-2023. This EP is a curation of my creative process and a live documentation of my [re]birth as an artist. Sonically, it’s fluid in genre, mostly with experimental hip hop/futuristic R&B as its foundation, but I also dip into Y2K pop sounds with “eclipse” and the bossa nova groove of “solace”. stellar is a celestial trip of self-expression, the rise and fall of a romantic relationship, and emotional growth.”
SONG-BY-SONG BREAKDOWN:
1.[intro]stellar - One of the last songs I made for the project. I was supposed to meet Mochii at the studio for a mix session when my car broke down and a hail storm came through, so we had to reschedule. I was really disappointed, but I figured since I was stuck at home, I might as well create anyways. Mochii sent me a beat as a challenge (literally titled the beat “ShowMeSport.mp3”), and I wrote and recorded the demo on my iPad in two hours (hence the shit talk at the end of the song). Mochii loved it, so we re-recorded, mixed, and decided it was the perfect way to start the story.
2. venus - I came up with the melody of the first verse back in 2019 after starting a new connection with someone. The lyrics tell the story of where I was at the time, wanting to take the leap but being apprehensive about the new person’s intentions/desires/etc. I finished the song years later with Chuks who provided great musical direction in bringing the rest of the song to life. The song is about riding on the highs of new love and being afraid of the gray area; it’s about the anxious craving to be vulnerable with someone.
3. eclipse - BZ-Tho (a good college friend and even better producer) sent me the beat in 2019, but I wasn’t sure what to do with it until 2020 after I found out I was cheated on (yes, by the person that venus was about). The lyrics are a classic, play-by-play demonstration of how I found out and how I reacted. I didn’t want to make a heartbreak song, so I tapped into the early 2000s energy of the beat and channeled the empowerment of Destiny’s Child’s “Bugaboo” to tell a similar story about bouncing back & moving forward.
4. void - I found the beat randomly on Campbell’s youtube in 2023. At the time it had less than 1000 plays, and I loved that the beat sounded like nothing else I had found online. The melody of the hook is heavily inspired by the beat’s loop, and the lyrics came during a time of transition. Often when I write, the words flow like a message that I’m channeling from some spiritual realm, and at the time of writing I felt like I was in a state of limbo. The words came as a comforting reminder that a large part of life is about being patient and still while you float through the voids.
5. solace - CEC sent me the beat in August of 2023. I thought the rhythm was very different to what I was used to, and honestly I struggled writing to it until I was on the tailend of a really tough summer. Again, the words started to flow as I settled into the groove. The lyrics felt like gospel and the rhythm felt free, which is why I named it solace–finding comfort and relief in my new sense of self after a stormy season.
click here to check out stellar by marzy lo
