After impressing the world and garnering some well-deserved critical acclaim with his debut single ‘Home’, Indonesian-born, Melbourne-based singer-songwriter Kevin Riady has continued to reign over 2021’s blossoming independent scene, refining his evocative folk sound and proving his talents with a string of impressive singles. An undeniable talent, Marco has already become a firm favourite around our offices, but with his new single, he’s taken things to a whole new level.
His latest offering, and arguably his most inspired, ‘Marco’ is everything we’ve come to love about Kevin’s work and more, blending a lavish, neo-folk sound with tender narratives and waves of undeniable emotion. Inspired by the likes of Five For Fighting, My Chemical Romance, BoA, and Chet Baker, the new single is an ensnaring, yet humble masterpiece, one that shines with reflective beauty and perfectly represents his heartfelt, intimate sound.
A timeless tale of young love, Kevin admitted that the titular ‘Marco’ is “the true name of his beau”, a charming figure he met while studying in Lyon, France. As the song plays, it effortlessly draws you in, outlining how the relationship grows as the two students travel ‘from Part-Dieu towards Little Prince’, and as the crescendo of the song builds, you can feel the excitement and electricity between them, as well as the apprehension of wondering whether Marco feels the same way.
Perfectly captured in lines such as, “I've been wondering ‘bout, how do I get you to rest and stay awhile with me”, as well as the shifting emotive melodies within the piece, ‘Marco’ is a triumph of honest, unashamed songwriting, and it so wonderful to hear.
You can stream the new single now on all major platforms, as well as on Spotify below, and make sure you keep an eye on Kevin’s YouTube page for the official music video which is set to drop on the 9th of July this year.
While Kevin might have stopped playing music for a while, he’s definitely making up for lost time with singles like ‘Marco’, and its such a rewarding thing to hear him opening up and letting us all catch a glimpse of his life. An essential new release for any fan of modern folk-pop sounds, ‘Marco’ is quickly becoming one of our favourite releases of 2021.
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