Biography
Emerging as one of the 2010s’ most distinctive talents, Marques Toliver works as a songwriter, producer, violinist, and vocalist and calls Daytona Beach, Florida, home. He first took up music studies at the age of ten, then pursued classical violin at Stetson University’s School of Music. After relocating to New York—where street performances became routine—he contributed to live shows and recordings by An Albatross, Grizzly Bear, TV on the Radio, Bat for Lashes, Holly Miranda, and Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson. In 2010 he appeared on the BBC’s Later...with Jools Holland, delivering a violin-and-vocals interpretation of his song “White Sails,” whose demo he had issued independently the same year. Soon afterward he joined the roster of Simon Raymonde’s Bella Union label, shared with Beach House, Fleet Foxes, and Veronica Falls, and issued the four-track EP Butterflies Are Not Free in 2011. The single “Magic Look” arrived in 2012, setting the stage for his debut album, Land of CanAan, which reached stores in May 2013.
Singles