Nick: I noticed that before the Marcy Firelife alias, there was lain blvd. However, even though that discography – full of singles, EPs, Mixtapes, Albums, you name it – is only a couple years old, all of the files appear to have vanished with no archives left behind. Why did you make this move at removing this back catalogue in the wake of Marcy Firelife?

 

Marcy: I removed it all because it doesn’t represent me as a person. I'm not proud of the work I made during those years, because during those years I was still trying to find myself as a person and to figure out what I liked making and it took five years to really figure that out.

 

Nick: Going into your first full-length as marcy firelife, this is one of the more personal and emotionally heavy albums I’ve heard within Sound Collage. So I wanted to ask how the passing of your mother impacted you?

 

Marcy: My grandmother I called her “mama” growing up. Her passing affected me extremely heavily since it happened, I don’t think I was the same since and it took years out of my life to find myself again after that event and I made that album as a real response to my growth as a person while reflecting on my past. 

 

Nick: How did that loss collect inside this album, with its enchanting textures? Was the selection of samples affected by it?

 

Marcy: The sounds I chose with that album are inspired by JRPGs and games like “Ico” and “Final Fantasy X” games I played around the time of making it help me make the glitter textures feel more alive. 

 

Nick: Was this approach new and unfamiliar to you at the time?

 

Marcy: It was both, because I was learning Ableton by just making simple beats on it trying to learn melodies and whatnot, and I applied that to the music I make now, I only sample vocals I like having full control of the sounds presented in each song i make and see how far i push these vocals to fulfill my narrative. 

 

Nick: What’s the significance of the date, October first?

 

Marcy: It's my grandma’s birthday, my birthday is on October 21st. I hold the date October first close to my heart. 

 

Nick: I noticed that a portion of these samples were used as mock producer tags focused around the Virginia area. Were they assembled by you or sourced externally?

 

Marcy: I sampled radio Stations I heard growing up as a kid. I remember the tags getting on my nerves too. So I basically turned them into a little inside joke for me. 

 

Nick: You weren’t fully solo on this album either. What essential roles did mae mildred, mo_tiff, and agorot key play in perfecting "October First?”

 

Marcy: Shoutout to Mae Mildred, she's very talented. She does the guitars in my works and I'm grateful to work with her. Mo_tiff and agorot key helped with the cover art shoutout to them too, Caperflower helped me find a home to house my music, I love everyone in that collective.

 

Nick: For me, one of the standout tracks off of the album was “shield.” How did you overlay that cyber Ambient composition over that singer?

 

Marcy: I sampled Keri Hilson, I love her music a lot. She has the perfect voice for my sound, same with kelela. I hope to work with Kelela in the future if I ever get up there, her music is perfect to me. I just do whatever comes to mind. 

 

Nick: Walk me through the design of “amo-te.” How and why did you go about referencing both Teezo Touchdown and early Elysia Crampton in a single track?

 

Marcy: That's funny, I didn’t even know that was teezo touchdown skit, I just saw the skit on youtube and thought it was funny to sample. I grew up hearing brandy so sampling songs like that came to mind while making the song. 

 

Nick: With everything we've discussed about “October First,” how do you think this album will interface with your discography a decade onwards?

 

Marcy: I think that album will be a significant blueprint to what I will make in the future and currently making. I think that album is very important to me going forward with how it will shape me as an artist.