When asked where Kayla Marque is from, she’ll respond with “I’m from the future, but my mothership landed here.”
Marque’s presence is hard to describe, but think Afro-Surrealist Disney Princess meets existential dread covered in confetti. Her song “Stardust” is part of a larger project that is still in the works, so for now you can only find this song on the 303 Music Vinyl Volume 5 — track number 8. “Stardust” is a song about union and becoming one with yourself, and one with the universe. It was written to illuminate the harmony in sensuality and sex as a sacred exchange, but it can transcend to all kinds of human and spiritual unions.
READ: Introducing the 303 Music Vinyl Volume 5 — Featuring N3ptune, The Mañanas, Shae District, Kayla Marque + More
“We’re living at the end of the world, so let’s make love until we turn back to stardust” — Kayla Marque on “Stardust.”
Marque’s art constantly evolves with every project, but creativity has always flowed in her family’s blood. Her mother is a writer, her father played saxophone and flute and her sister is a musician, actress and model. For Marque, getting creative was as simple as childhood playtime. She received a drum set at just four years old and grew up with a baby grand piano. Music was an essential part of her upbringing.
In 2007, Marque was attending Colorado State University as a psychology major when she entered a Thanksgiving talent show. Admittedly, she was more concerned with meeting other people of color on campus than she was with showcasing her talent. However, when she performed Corinne Bailey Rae’s “Like a Star” a cappella style, the trajectory of her life began to change.
Marque felt an incredible bliss from performing that she knew she needed to chase. She tried the traditional college route to appease her family, but now it was time to do something for herself. Although choosing to focus on music instead of school was clear, it was difficult to know where to begin. Starting this artistic journey was liberating, but it was also terrifying.
“Thank God for my younger self who was unafraid,” Marque said. “As you age and grow older in this dimension, you develop a lot more fear, so I’m very thankful to my younger self who didn’t give a fuck.”
Marque was unsure of how to start, and she fell into a period of depression. In the summer of 2009, while watching the movie Once, an Irish musical about two struggling musicians, something awoke deep inside Marque’s creative psyche. As the credits rolled, she started writing her first song. She’s never looked back.
Marque began performing in dive bars, singing and playing piano for patrons while her hands were still marked with an ‘X.’ These years were a grueling but necessary catalyst for her career.
At 19 years old, Marque formed the rock band Straight Nerdy Like a Cool Kid. The band represented a different version of Marque’s artistic vision which doesn’t really fit her current style — but it was a project that pushed her to keep writing, networking and evolving. When her guitarist signed with The Song Factory, Marque decided to disband the group and go solo.
Her first album, Live and Die Like This, was released in 2016. Marque refers to this era and this project as her “drunken rock star phase.” She romanticized her idols in the 27 Club, as many of us often have, and her work was a reflection of her potential fate. Remembering her mindest during those turbulent years, Marque explained her somewhat-tortured psyche. She was constantly thinking “I might die of an overdose someday, so here’s my work — here I am, take it or leave it.”
Marque faced a rude and painful awakening when her father passed away in August of 2018. After this loss, she was hit with the reality that she was not immortal.
Well, she is, but she isn’t, as Marque explained, “for now, I’m in this form and this dimension, and I don’t get to just be reckless and not have any consequences. My actions were hurting other people and myself. I didn’t want to be like that anymore.”
Deciding to become sober brought Marque into a different awareness and reality. For Marque, creating art is the most tangible form of healing, and she realized she wasn’t alone. She chose to be alive so she could continue to create.
Marque’s next project, Brain Chemistry, combined her love of music and psychology. The two-part EP is a left-brain/right-brain project born out of a period of sober reflection. It was then that Marque discovered her true self for the first time, without the influence of drugs or alcohol. According to Marque, sobriety is like a never-ending dentist appointment, but she no longer gets anesthesia during a root canal or painkillers after having a tooth pulled. Sobriety is life without a numbing agent.
When she was younger, she didn’t have the tools to work through her trauma, so she relied on substances. “Trying to rewire my brain from that is really difficult,” Marque said. “It’s a lot to navigate all the time. But I’m alive now. I can feel, and I can tell my stories to people who also want to feel. “
Marque’s work continues to evolve and her latest project represents this next journey. She doesn’t want to spoil the surprise, but she did tell us to expect something very fantastical, mystical and magical out of her next album. “I do talk about my existential crisis, but it’s covered in glitter,” Marque said. “It’s perfumed in poetry and Afro-Surrealism. And it’s the most authentic version of myself that I’ve met and embodied so far. It’s about remembering the future. ”
If you ask Marque how to remember the future, she won’t answer that question. Whenever someone asks where she’s from and she responds with “the future,” people can’t tell if she’s joking or if she’s serious. She refrains from elaborating to drive them down a path that already exists inside of them.
Her music begs the question: What if none of this is real? Marque came to a point where she realized there are infinite possibilities, and although she’s still intimidated by the infinite multiverse, she’s curiously exploring just how many “timelines” she can jump into.
If you want to encounter Kayla Marque’s music, pick up the 303 Music Vinyl Volume 5 and listen to “Stardust.” Follow her on Instagram to keep up with her latest project.