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We do, we do see. We see an artist that took a reprieve, recalibrated and came back more worthy than ever of appreciation. On DO YOU SEE ME?, Q Marsden returns in full emotional control, bridging and building on a sound that always felt open and earnest but now precisely focused. Instead of stripped back, the music is orchestral, rich and layered, the lyrics raw and understanding. It’s a beautiful record that listens like good news from an old friend. We were overjoyed Q was able to come into the studio to share the kaleidoscope of his past few years, the new process and so much more:

OnesToWatch: Q, how have you been? Where have you been? 

Q Marsden: I've been good. I was in Florida for a while, but I moved to LA last year, so that was a good transition. It was very needed. I was hitting the glass ceiling with my creativity and just doing things alone. So I was like, let me just take the big move over. And now I'm here. I tore my Achilles, but can you blame California for that? 


What's the biggest transition in terms of working with other people, coming to LA, a city filled with creatives?

Everyone's an artist here. Everyone's an artist and with that everyone has their own strong idea of what they want to see. That's hard when someone like me knows exactly what I want. So finding the people that are essentially going to be an extension of me, it's a very selfless act to find. So I guess finding my pocket and certain people, especially on my upcoming album, I definitely was able to find those extensions that also bring their essence and personality in everything they do. 

I remember someone telling me once that life is finding your people, keeping your people and then mourning your people. So you're finding your people. Good stage to be in. Musically, what does that look like? You've always had such a beautifully individualistic sound, does it change when you start collaborating more? 


No, it doesn't change at all because I still get the songs like 85 to 90% there before inviting people in. All of it is really all there. That's essentially where I would stop and be like, it's done, but that's where I challenged myself. I’m adding another layer by inviting other people. I do everything I possibly can just doing me, get the DNA of the song. And then I feel comfortable to give it to somebody and manipulate it and mold it and all that stuff. 


Beautiful. Process-wise, has anything changed? Have you? 

I think just being more honest with myself. A lot has happened in the past couple of years, mentally, so I've been able to really figure that out. And also with the help of my manager, John, who came to me and was like, “You make good music, but I think you can go deeper lyrically.” I remember when he said that it pissed me off. But deep down, I knew he was right. It took 3 years to figure it out: how do I want to speak? And it's not even just saying what I want, it’s finding other ways to say what I mean without being so on the nose. How can I express it in a sentence without using the word? Little things like that go a long way. 

What's on the horizon for you, what should we look out for? 

I just dropped a project called DO YOU SEE ME? Very excited about that. It's the longest I've ever worked on a project. It's more so about the message that I'm pushing out, just perspective. It's not about people seeing me. They could look in the mirror and ask the questions to themselves. Really the point is trying to nudge people to do a little bit more self-work so they can have better self-worth. 

That's a great message. Accountability is hard to come by, right? 

Accountability is a weird word. We don't want to hear that word. So it's like, how do you do that without making people feel like they're lacking or feeling bad? For me, hearing a certain truth is also about seeing a solution. I'm not just going to leave you here. 

That's beautiful. Much needed now. I’m curious, how old are these songs?
Is this an album that represents the last 3 years? 

Some of these songs are from when I was 19? 

Are they reworked significantly or are they still? 

They're reworked production-wise. As far as topline, on some of them, it’s the same. 

So what made you want to put all that together in one cohesive message? 

I didn't even know. You know, you just have songs and you sit with them forever. But then the best thing is when you have songs for a long time and they still stand the test of time. I was 19. I'm 27 now. That's a long time and it still sounds really good. 

What about editing? Because if you are pulling from those songs, how do you build a narrative? 

I guess it's just a feeling hearing it all together. Even just off the title, I could just tell. It's just like a feeling. The first three seconds of a song is what really determines what's on an album for me. 

Do you play with the order and everything as well?

Sometimes I play with the order, but a lot of times I already know what I want the story to be and it just works. 

Do you have an ambition for this project? 
Do you want to take something from it personally? Do you hope the audience takes something from it? 

For me, the ambition is to just be myself, like genuinely. I know it's a cliche thing to say, but I'm now understanding it. Just be me. And for the people, I just want them to purely enjoy and have a good time, make memories, all the things that music does. It brings people together. They get to escape, they get to cry, they get to dance, they can learn something. It's very poetic. They can listen to a song today, and then 10 years later, it means something entirely different to them. That's the reason why I love to do what I do. 

Love hearing that. All right, gonna pivot to some more fun questions. If you could build a dream lineup – call it a festival – who do you want on the bill? 

Man, Michael Jackson is the first one. I'm going to be his keyboard player. Just watch them work.
Bob Marley as well. 

You're really picking from the greats. 

I'd like to see Jai Paul one more time... a man of mystery. I saw him at Coachella and I was just like, this is crazy. It was really really, really inspiring. 

That's a good lineup. A bunch of friends ambush you at your place, they’re hungry. Can you whip up a meal? 


Of course. 

And what would it be? 

I’d honestly just bake a bunch of salmon. I’d put the tomatoes and some seasonings, bake it all on a pan. Boil some pasta, mix that joint together. Living well. Keep it simple. 

It's very California of you. 

Damn. They got me. 

If you could manipulate space and time, would you want to travel forward or backwards or not at all?

Man, I’d like to stay where I am. I'll be honest with you. I’d like to stay right now because it's gonna ruin things if I go anywhere else. If I had to do anything, I guess I would do the future, but honestly, I'd rather just chill on the timeline. 

If I find you at your most relaxed state.
Where are you? What are you doing? 

I'm literally on the couch watching camera reviews.
I love watching camera videos. 

Camera reviews specifically? 

Yeah, camera reviews, watching cinematic cameras and different types of gear. Either robot chicken is on or SpongeBob. I have Spotify playing a Japanese ambient playlist and I’m on FaceTime with a homie from Florida. 

Beautiful. 


That's my life right now. Also some Wingstop. 


Left turn. What's your favorite wing at Wingstop? 

Basic, bro. Lemon pepper with some lemonade. 

Last couple questions. If you could give grace to someone, something that you feel wrong about in the past, and you're trying to balance that to create equilibrium, what do you do?

I grew up super religious. So one thing that I used to hear and it stuck with me is that you can't pray for somebody and hate them at the same time. It's impossible to do. So I guess I just think about them. I just hold good intention for them. That's what I do. It's annoying, but it works. 

I’d love a non-music recommendation. 

Learning how to color grade. 

I've never heard that one. I like this. 

Color grading, man. It can change everything. 


What do you love about that specifically? 

To me, it's like adult coloring, you make things rich, you evoke emotion through color. 

I’d also love a music recommendation. 

There's this one song called, “Ruby and Stone” by girlsweetvoiced. I've been milking that joint, I listened to it for 5 hours at night. 

How'd you find it? 


I found it like 2 years ago. It just popped up on my page, one of those MacBook videos and I was like, damn. The next one is MEITEI. He's a Japanese composer. He makes very beautiful, organic electronic stuff. They call it Japanese ambient folk music. It's cool. 

Lastly, we’d love to end on anything you want to say, anything you want to share. 

Just stay up, man. You know, it's a saturated world, so just keep your head up. That's all. 

Thank you so much.