INTRODUCING: London Newcomer Mrley Brings Back The Punk Days Of MTV On Debut Single “My Side Of London”

Mrley, the pseudonym of 23 year-old Marley Rutherford, today shares his debut single, “My Side Of London”. Written during lockdown after Rutherford picked up a guitar at a recording studio, his raw and intentional sound is both a tribute to his musical upbringing and a release of the sound from within him. During his early years, Mrley spent time as a grime MC but during lockdown became re-inspired by the heavier records from his youth, ones that were derided in his mainly Black school as music for white people. In his own words: “Growing up there wasn’t many people who represented me in rock music, hopefully the kids of tomorrow will think differently.” Pulling together a number of genres, from funk, grime, rap, and of course punk, the anthemic “My Side Of London” has a rambunctious and unhinged power.

On the new track, Mrley calls out the world around him, “The internet and social media means people are no longer glancing at life through the lens their environment provides”, he begins. “It’s now fashionable to be “struggling”, you have kids raised in Kensington running around pretending to be kids from Kennington. It’s progress that people of all backgrounds are being brought together through the love of art but I think it’s important to let the people whose profits are thriving from street culture know that “I’m not your something, your something to play with”.

Paired with an old school MTV-style music – complete with pop up bubbles and VHS-worn video footage, Mrly acknowledges his retro musical influences while having a bit of fun showing off where he came from.

Watch below: