199 lines
5.7 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
199 lines
5.7 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
culture
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music
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rockandpopfeatures
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8465594
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-----
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# Marques Toliver: Rise of the singing violinist
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## Marques Toliver tells Lucy Jones about life after busking
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![Marques Toliver: 'Whenever I perform, wherever it is, I imagine I?m on the
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Grammys?
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][1]
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Marques Toliver: 'Whenever I perform, wherever it is, I imagine I?m on the
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Grammys?
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By Lucy Jones 9:54AM BST 21 Apr 2011
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[Comments][2]
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'I was performing in a church, it was my first headline show, I was playing
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with a band for the first time, and then so many people turned up to watch
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me." Marques Toliver's tears at his first gig in the UK were understandable.
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A few years ago, he was sleeping on sofas and busking in Brooklyn, scouring
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Facebook for friends he could stay with, determined to make a go of his music
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career.
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Toliver's luck turned when Kyp Malone from TV on the Radio, a veteran of the
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Williamsburg music scene, spotted him busking. He fixed up Toliver's first
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session, which led to him working with "artists I'd only seen on the cover of
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Rolling Stone".
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Trained in the Suzuki method, Toliver's roots are firmly classical. The violin
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is his main instrument, which he accompanies with his rich, soulful voice. He
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was educated at a music school from the age of 11 and then studied music at
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university. When you hear him play, it's no surprise that he's more likely to
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have Elgar on his iPod than whatever's in the charts.
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Alongside his classical background is gospel. His grandmother played the
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church organ and he sang all the solos. So it was only fitting that Toliver's
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first London gig was in a parish church in Holborn. But his popularity started
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growing last year when he performed on Later with Jools Holland.
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## Related Articles
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* [Gerard Smith dies at the age of 34][3]
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21 Apr 2011
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* [Allen Toussaint at Brecon Jazz 2011][4]
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20 Apr 2011
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* [The stately homes that rock' n' roll][5]
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20 Apr 2011
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Singer Adele, currently making chart history with her latest album,
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recommended him to Holland. Toliver didn't realise what a coup that was: "I
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didn't really know anything about the show. Whenever I perform, wherever it
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is, I imagine I'm on the Grammys. You have to be in that same frame of mind.
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You have to perform like it's your last."
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It's rare for an artist to be booked on the country's leading music show so
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early in their career. But Mark Cooper, executive producer, saw someone
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special. "I'd never seen somebody do what he does. Singing like that while
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accompanied with a violin. He's very free in his persona but has a classical
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underpinning. I like his bravery, emotional honesty and the way he presented
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himself in an open way."
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The emotional aspect to his songs has led to comparisons with John Legend and
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Lauryn Hill. Indeed, it was watching Hill's MTV Unplugged sessions that
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inspired Toliver to write.
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His main instrument gives him a unique selling point. "Everyone's always
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looking for string players. They say, 'Dude, you play the violin! You should
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come over for a jam.' It's rare to find a violinist of a high calibre who is
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also trendy, because usually they are in tuxedos playing in concert halls."
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Busking in Williamsburg and Central Park and on the subway, Toliver wrote
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songs about the people he saw walk past, the weather, everyday happenings. But
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it was at night when his job came into its own: "The best time to busk in New
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York is on a Friday or Saturday night, because everyone's so drunk and
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emotional that if the music's good they'll forget about their train and stay
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on the platform."
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One early fan was Daisy Lowe, the model and socialite. She lent Toliver money
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for his ticket to London, where he lives with his partner in Muswell Hill.
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Where does he see himself in five years? "I'm thinking further than that. I'm
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thinking about 30 or 40 years from now. I want to set up music schools in
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abandoned fire stations, compose scores for films, write with the Gagas,
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Biebers and Winehouses, and have the longevity of Diana Ross, Elizabeth
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Taylor, Marvin Gaye. I want to be like Quincy Jones." With Toliver's talent, I
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wouldn't be surprised.
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_ _
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_'Butterflies Are Not Free', Toliver's first EP, is released on Monday. He is
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touring the UK until May._
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[X][6] Share & bookmark
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[What are these?][7]
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* Share: [Share][6] [ ][8] [ ][9]
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[Tweet][10]
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopfeatures/8465594/Marques-
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Toliver-Rise-of-the-singing-violinist.html
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Telegraph
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## [Rock and Pop Features][11]
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* ### [Culture »][12]
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* ### [Music »][13]
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* ### [Rock and Pop Music »][14]
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[![Buy Take That tickets][15]][16]
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### [Buy Take That Tickets][16]
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In culture
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[![George Martin][17] ][18]
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### [Auteurs make pop a matter of record][18]
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[![Mother of four and singer Stacey Jackson, dubbed Soccer Mom Rocker Mom, is
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an inspiration to yummy mummies everywhere.][19] ][20]
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### [The Cut Podcast: 11 March 2011][20]
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[![Justin Vernon of Bon Ivo][21] ][22]
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### [Top 10 songs named after real places][22]
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[![Bob Dylan turns 70 in May 2011][23] ][24]
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### [Bob Dylan's action-packed 2011][24]
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[![Marques Toliver: 'Whenever I perform, wherever it is, I imagine I?m on the
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Grammys?
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][25] ][26]
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### [Marques Toliver: Rise of the singing violinist][26]
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[X][6] Share & bookmark
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Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
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Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
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[What are these?][7]
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Share:
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* [ ][6]
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* [ ][8]
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* [ ][9]
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* [Tweet][10]
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* Advertisement
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![][27]
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telegraphuk
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Please enable JavaScript to view the [comments powered by Disqus.][28] [blog
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comments powered by Disqus][29]
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Book Now
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* [Festivals][30]
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