Marley Carroll is a prodigious multi-instrumentalist, producer and DJ from Asheville, North Carolina. The beginnings of his musicianship sprang from training in piano, percussion and scratch DJ technique. His 2007 debut album, Melanaster was the result of meticulous bedroom alchemy, sounding like a lost Radiohead LP submerged in ten feet of salt water. Not surprisingly, much of the inspiration for this album was drawn from the ocean. This is apparent through the notions of vastness, hypnosis and unpredictability often elicited when listening. Marley created Melanaster entirely on his own—from composition to instrumentation to recording and mixing. The album’s touchstones are found in the space between the beautiful haze of early Nineties shoegaze rock (My Bloody Valentine) and early 2000’s IDM (Autechre, Squarepusher). The result is smeared, melancholy pop songs tethered to abstract electronic rhythms, what NPR called “gorgeously subdued glitch-pop”.
 
Up until recently, the songs from Melanaster and new originals have been rearranged and performed by live bands. Now, Marley has developed his first solo PA set to bring a more raw and boundary-pushing version of his music to live audiences. Combining vocals, keyboard, turntable, X1 MIDI controller, Serato, and a Logic interface he designed himself, Marley transforms into something of a one man symphony. Quietly and humbly, Marley’s performance illustrates the irony of a painful yet beautiful life. Like the ocean, his show is universal and inclusive yet does not let us forget that we are small and alone. To witness the live performance is undeniably the human experience.

Since developing this solo PA arrangement, Marley released an EP, Comfort’s Curse, in January of 2011. Comfort’s Curse featured two previously unreleased tracks, some favorites from Melanaster, as well as a DJ mix and remixes. Marley’s remix of Emancipator’s “Bury Them Bones”—a traditional house reimagining of the track–was featured on Emancipator’s album Remixes, released in June 2011, and became a tour favorite of Emancipator’s over the summer. A brand new split, Our Chimes/OurPiano, is set to be released in early October, 2011. The split features purely instrumental tracks that are a slight departure from Marley’s typical abstract electronic pop. While they are indicative of a general shift in his sound toward an aesthetic reminiscent of minimal house, these tracks are stand-alone compositions that begged for an individual release. After the release of Our Chimes/Our Piano, Marley returns to working on 2nd full-length album to follow Melanaster.

As a DJ, Marley fluently blends together a carefully curated selection of IDM, minimal house, indie rock, hip hop, world, and a few pop staples. His sets include masterful mixing, innovative glitch technique and the skillful scratching that earned him high praise and accolades from a young age. He has a sixth-sense ability in reading his crowd and steering his sets in all the right directions. Making all selections pertinent to his audience, no matter what their tastes, it is not uncommon for people to walk away with a newly discovered appreciation for genres they never understood or cared for. Never before has a DJ so creatively mixed seemingly uncooperative styles of music into one cohesive masterpiece. Marley provides beats for the acclaimed hip-hop group, Mr. Invisible based out of Charlotte, NC. At age 17, Marley won the title of best scratch DJ in North Carolina by winning the Guitar Center’s Spin Off competition. He has recently been voted among the top DJs in Asheville, NC.

Marley has shared the stage with such great artists as Prefuse 73, Blackalicious, RJD2, Martyn, Eskmo, Emancipator, Blockhead, Beats Antique, Lorn, Tokimonsta, Eprom and more. As the DJ for the Honda Bigfoot stage at the 2011 Sasquatch! Music Festival, he shared the stage with Deerhunter, Ratatat, !!!, Twin Shadow, S. Carey, Yeasayer, Robyn, and Surfer Blood among others.

Marley’s work has been featured on All Songs Considered, the TCIAF re:sound podcast, and the award-winning documentary, Pelada. The track “Flying Nomura Theme” was given a place on volume four of the respected What.CD compilation in 2009, and was voted the #1 track of the album by peers.