Q&A: Market "Show It"

MusicQ&A

Oct 27

WITHIN THREE SECONDS YOU’RE GROOVING TO MARKET’S LATEST RELEASE “SHOW IT” - thanks to some charming guitars and washed out synths, “Show It” emulates a smooth feel-good energy. Bringing in elements of hazy lofi sounds and an upbeat indie tone, Market creates an endearing flow. The first single from their upcoming EP, 2, “Show It” touches on the heavy topic of generational trauma despite the light and warm feel of the track. Market’s upcoming project touches on more personal topics, reflecting their desire to grow as a songwriter.

Listen to “Show It” and read below to learn more about the making of the track, the upcoming EP and more.

LUNA: Congrats on the release of your new track “Show It”! I know it’s a weird time to be putting music out, so how are you feeling about this release?

MARKET: Thank you so much! It definitely is a weird time, so many of us artists are out of work and unable to play shows to physically celebrate a release. Melbourne has had some of the strictest lockdown rules in the world this winter so the fact that I was able to pull together and get something I’m happy with done has been quite an achievement for me. I’m really proud and excited for people to hear it - there’s definitely plenty of exhaustion and pain in there which we’re all feeling right now, but I think there’s a lot of hope too.

LUNA: You wrote this track in the iconic Cairo Flats in Melbourne, how did this atmosphere and ambiance impact your creative process?

MARKET: It kind of positively and negatively impacted the whole process. The Cairo Flats are these beautiful Art Deco set of apartments built in the 30’s really close to the city that are light-filled and stunning but also god damn tiny! You’re kind of living on top of other people so you can really hear your neighbours. I’ve never been a super confident singer, so it was confronting knowing that people could hear my very dry out-of-practice vocal takes, but I really felt like I just had to push through it. I think the folks on either side of me probably know the EP (and horrifyingly the tracks that didn’t make the release) just as well as I do by now.

LUNA: Despite some not so positive energy going around, “Show It” has a sweet and light feel to it. What narrative/theme do you explore with this track?

MARKET: I’m glad it feels sweet and light!! I didn’t really want it to sound as depressing as what it’s actually about which is generational privilege. I was really motivated to write it when at the height of the pandemic the conservative government in Australia slyly pushed through a bill to profoundly and radically change the pricing structure of humanities and other degrees that they wanted to stop future generations from studying. It was a significantly disruptive social policy from folks claiming to be pro-small government/pro-free market. While that’s quite a specific issue, Show It is essentially about showing a lack of self-reflection or honesty for the sake of feeling comfortable.

LUNA: In addition to Market, you have other musical projects including The Townhouses and Take Your Time. How does your experience with these play into the sound of Market?

MAKRET: One common thread is definitely in my style of production. I feel like what I enjoy about Market is that it sounds like lo-fi indie pop made by someone who makes dance music. While it’s not exactly a danceable project, it’s very much got similar elements around the drum programming and a need to keep quite a lot of space in the recordings which I never really think about how I’d play live. I’ve never really been a grab-the-guitar-and-write kind of artist - I think it’s a lot more of an electronic-style approach.

LUNA: Given your array of collaboration through these other projects and the collaborations you do for Market, what value would you say working with others have?

MARKET: I certainly love working with other people because it’s so nice getting a fresh perspective on songs. Everyone I’ve worked with so far with Market has all brought something really special that often ends up being some of my favourite parts on the recordings. It also has a huge personal value for me in that it trains me to let go a bit and unlearn some of my rigid creative habits (100% Capricorn control freak over here).

LUNA: How would you compare the feel of your upcoming EP 2 to your previous work?

MARKET: I’d say 2 feels a lot rougher than my debut EP. I knew that for my first release I just wanted to make something that feels beautiful, almost easy-listening in way that appeals to me. There were personal elements to it, but it certainly wasn’t as clear cut as what I feel the new EP is. I know it’s a bit of a cliche, but for this release I really did want to push myself further lyrically and dig into what the last year has felt like for me. I think this probably comes across most obviously on “Like You”, the last song on the release. I’ve struggled with body dysmorphia, and what I feel like I’ve learned and worked through is that you can’t really self-help or self-love your way to a good place, you gotta unlearn a lot of stuff that’s shaped you and how you see yourself and others. It’s really hard to google solutions because anyone who does experience it experiences it in such a personal and unique way.

LUNA: Are there any plans for visual work to accompany “Show It” or other tracks from the upcoming EP?

MARKET: All the artwork was shot by 정홍련 / Esther Jeong - an amazing photographer from South Korea. We just followed each other on instagram one day and her photos really matched this botanical, dreamy and un-staged aesthetic I really like. In terms of video work, I’ve been loving recording mini-DV footage on this little ‘dad-cam’, so I’m hoping once we’re a little more free to move around Melbourne I can start compiling footage for the next single!

LUNA: What’s the end goal for yourself as a musician?

MARKET: This is something I’ve actually been talking about more and more with other musicians and friends. I think it’s easy for us to set really ambiguous goals of what it means to be successful or to have a successful release, and of course now that release cycles move so quick and years of work is forgotten within a month, it’s easy to feel jaded or that it passed you by. So I do think it’s important to make goals big and small for yourself and your releases.

That being said, I can’t say that I’ve given much thought to an ultimate end goal because I can’t imagine a life not making music. I’m so blessed to have a beautiful library job that I love, and I care deeply about that work and what it brings to the community, but it’ll never diminish that joy of sitting down at a piano and coming up with a chord progression that I hadn’t tried before. If there’s any kind of end goal for me, it’s that I don’t ever stop being curious and excited about making the kind of music that I personally want to hear.

LUNA: As the year winds down and EP release gets closer, what do you hope the rest of the year brings you?

MARKET: For this EP I just hope people connect with it and enjoy it. It means a lot to me so fingers crossed others find it a somewhat comforting end to a really unsettling year. I’m currently working on finishing new work with Angela Schilling as Take Your Time that’s been a long time coming so it’d make me ecstatic to start sharing those songs. After a year of being inside, the idea of playing loud-emotional-club music next summer is super exciting.

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