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The louder the personality, the louder the music.
MkX does everything as loudly as possible. His encyclopedic understanding of pop music along with an unmistakable fashion sense results in his inimitable presence, steeped in millennial nostalgia with an eighties-infused futuristic flare. He’s the kind of figure you look at twice on the street out of sheer curiosity. Architecting every nuance of his vision, he not only sings and writes, but he also produces each track along with a 360 multimedia installment including hand-crafted visuals and hi-tech stage effects. Generating nearly 5 million streams independently, he arrives as an undeniable force.
“I like to take everything I do and crank it to the highest maximum I can,” he exclaims. “I’m such a late nineties and early two-thousands fanatic. I’m completely engulfed and immersed in the culture and memories I grew up with. My music is a mix of Pop and R&B with high-tech industrial sound design, incorporating different samples of gadgets and pieces of technology from my childhood. There’s a very nostalgic quality to my music, but I always put a modern, futuristic spin on it. I love sprinkling unique sounds and effects throughout my songs to perk the listeners’ ears.”
As a kid, music immediately enchanted him. Although his parents worked in the toy business, he only gravitated toward “cassettes, CD’s, and a Fisher-Price tape recorder,” cutting his first vocals at just three-years-old. Two years later, he taught himself how to create visuals laden with effects before picking up guitar. By the time he reached grade school, he learned Garageband and spent countless hours on the program before adding Pro Tools, Logic, and Final Cut Pro to his arsenal. Through utilizing vocals, synthesizers, guitar, and keyboards, he slowly, but surely found a way to free the elaborate sounds stuck inside his head. He cut his teeth by performing local shows starting at age 7. Ten years later with 300 shows under his belt, he eventually landed shows opening for the likes of Ariana Grande, Christina Perri, and Rixton as part of a duo with his sister on drums. After logging a decade on the road, he attended the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Inspired by the likes of Lady Gaga and Tinashe as well as producers such as Max Martin, Darkchild, Sophie, Cashmere Cat, RedOne, The Neptunes, and more, MkX carefully crafted his own sonic footprint. He incited buzz with solo releases such as “The Look” [610,000 Spotify streams] followed by 2018’s “One Sided Love, a futuristic Pop/R&B track that scored over 900,000 Spotify streams and over 275,000 views on YouTube. Hitting #37 on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 Indicator chart, the track propelled MkX to reach #2 on the Mediabase Top 40 Indie Label report. MkX kept the momentum going throughout late 2019 with “right place, at the right time,” which scored heavy rotation on SiriusXM’s Venus channel while generating nearly 500,000 streams on Spotify. During 2020, he delivered “In The Building,” which gathered close to 1 million streams.
Aside from his solo project releases, MkX is also writing and producing for other artists. He co-wrote (with Kim Petras) and produced the track "Young & Wild" for K-Pop group TWICE, which appeared on their platinum selling EP "YES or YES”. The EP went #1 in South Korea and Japan.
His newest release “Down (feat. CupcakKe)” is infused with thick drums and cutting edge synthesizers, overlaid with in-your-face lyric imagery. “I wrote Down about a year ago and sat on it for a little while. I knew I wanted to feature a really dope rapper that I respected. CupcakKe heard the track and said she was down (no pun intended) to drop a verse on it. She did a fantastic job and really brought the song to the next level.” After the creative process was finished, CupcakKe recalled “working with MkX was a ball, he sent the record over and I automatically knew it was a vibe. I can hear this record being played in clubs, radio, and many more lit locations. I’d definitely love to work with him again.”
For MkX, it’s not solely about the music. He brings his multi-dimensional artistic vision to life with the skills he has cultivated since he was a toddler. “I love to incorporate my love for technology into the show and into my clothing. I created all of the video content and visual effects that play during the show. Each song that I write has a visual concept and aesthetic that goes hand in hand with the track. I digitally replicate this as a video backdrop to give the audience a glimpse of what goes on in my brain during my creative experience.”
In many ways, his chosen name also signifies his path.
“A long time ago, I decided to create this persona that embodied everything I wanted to be as a person. From auditory/visual art and fashion to attitude and confidence, I developed an identity that represented the best version of myself,” he explains. “After pushing my boundaries and stepping out of my comfort zone, I eventually became that person. The ‘X’ stands for self-expression through art. I want everyone to find their own ‘X’. I found mine and ran with it.”
In the end, MkX keeps running towards a very bright future for pop.
“I want to write songs that reflect both what I am going through and what my listeners have gone through at one point or another,” he explains. “I’m really into creating records that have a unique level of detail and cleverness in the wordplay, but keep them a bit vague so that everyone can connect with them on a personal level. One of my main goals as an artist is to show my listeners how important it is to dare to be different. There are millions of people who try to blend in with the crowd. There aren’t enough crazy people. Stick out and be yourself—loudly.”
