Meet The Former Busker Who Is Opening For James Blake

Marques Toliver has a back story that sounds like it was plucked form a work of fiction. Born in South Daytona, Marques moved to New York to study music and start busking. And he’s a video of him doing the latter (taken after his relocation to the UK), from a random passerby who was captivated by his sound, uploaded nearly two years ago.

Out of nowhere, while he was busking he was approached by one Kyp Malone who asked if Marques would play with TV On The Radio for a couple of tracks, which also led to him playing with Grizzly Bear. Following this he moved to the UK and began work on his solo music properly, releasing his debut EP, the wonderfully titled ‘Butterflies Are Not Free’, earlier this year.

His music has come a long way since his busking days, as single Deep In My Heart illustrates.

It’s still driven by violin, but this is lush music that allows Marques’ voice to take prominence, and what a voice it is. This is really unique music that blends a whole range of influences, sounding a bit like Patrick Wolf at times, a bit like an exotic ballad at others, and even occasionally a bit like straight-up pop. There’s just so much substance here, and a comment on his Soundcloud page sums it up best: “This song is a galaxy”.

Marques Toliver has just been announced as the support act for all of James Blake’s Splendour In The Grass sideshows, and I cannot wait.

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