'Marco Polo', which dropped this January 15th, is Brandon Riley's first release as a solo artist. The song discusses the anxieties and difficulties of maintaining healthy relationships with those closest to us through bouts of depression and self-isolation. This is a track we can all relate to right now. Let's find out a bit more about the artist and delve into the track itself...
This track has elements of Pet Shop Boys, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie as well as modern greats such as Billie Eilish and The Black Keys. It truly is a mesh of genre and delivers a very unique sound indeed. There's elements of electronic production with sweeping synths and programmed drums, and vocoder underpinning the lead vocal. At the same time however, there's a very traditional songwriting sensibility at the heart of the track which feels very British. This track is really refreshing to hear as it is a sleek yet unusual production.
Brandon Riley grew up in the Kansas City area. Years of working in bands provided Brandon Riley with opportunities of growth and learning, not only with music, but also the business side and entrepreneurship involved in making music. Then he turned to this exciting solo venture! And we're glad he did! Riley has a distinct image as well as sound, and we look forward to seeing some visuals shortly. Perhaps a video? We hope so.
Written by Brandon Riley and produced by Jack Elliott, Marco Polo is available on all digital platforms now, including Spotify: