Hailing from Central Jersey, singer/songwriter Mree has managed to garner over a million views of her YouTube videos, and is slowly building a fanbase that would make more established artists envious. Using the new trend of doing cover songs to attract viewers, and then exposing them to original songs, she has successfully become a popular internet artist while still only in high school.
“Well, it surely wasn’t an overnight thing,” Mree relates. “It all started on YouTube and actually took about three years to gain the amount of subscribers/fans that I have today. I started off by doing covers and posting a few originals here and there. I really have to thank my fans for all the support they’ve given me to get me to where I am today.”
Mree sees herself as an indie artist, mixing singer/songwriter and folk. But she has a unique electronic component she is able to incorporate into her live shows. “I am a solo performer, usually equipped with my acoustic guitar, electric, and my looping pedal,” she explains. The looping pedal allows her to layer her vocals, so she is in essence singing harmony with herself.
While she is strictly a solo performer, she did collaborate with Vows and with Jared Eddy, both in the studio and live. They also both contributed to her new album, Grow. Mree’s writing style usually encompasses a unified approach, as opposed to piecing things together. “For me, I always have to write music and lyrics at the same time,” she says. “I’ve tried doing it separately, and on few occasions I’ve been successful. But usually, it’s harder for me to fit them together and express a thought when I don’t write both of them simultaneously.”
Mree is also somewhat of a restless artist, constantly trying to move ahead from her previous work. “Personally, after writing and mixing a song over a long period of time, I tend to grow, I wouldn’t say tired of, but less excited about the song rather than when I first wrote it,” she muses. “However, three songs off of my album that I still enjoy listening to are ‘Of The Trees,’ ‘Atmosphere,’ and ‘Breathe Easy.’ Hopefully my fans feel that way too!”
The influences Mree cites include mostly non-mainstream artists, such as Jónsi, Sigur Rós, Bon Iver, and Hammock. “Their music never ceases to inspire me,” she adds.
Mree’s touring schedule is somewhat limited by her present circumstances, but she still is anxious to get out there whenever possible. “I try to get out and perform as much as I can, and I’d like to continue to do so in the future,” she says. “Being as though I’m still in high school, managing schoolwork, my music, and performances can be quite challenging. However, I managed around 12 to 15 shows last year and hope to manage more this year.”
With her unusual performing method of being a solo artist and incorporating technology, through the loops, to expand the sound she emanates, there might occasionally be some “technical difficulties,” as they say. “I love using my looping pedal at live shows since one of my favorite things in the world are harmonies, and using it lets me add as many as many as I want,” Mree says. “During one performance though, I was in the middle of singing a song and I pressed on the pedal to add harmonies. Little did I know that I forgot to erase the old harmonies I added during sound-check and they started playing! It was embarrassing but funny at the same time. My fans and I just laughed it off and I started over.”
The future seems extremely bright for the young singer, and Mree seems confident in her current path and the road that it is leading her on. “I’m very grateful to have the support and following I already have and I hope that it continues to increase,” she says. “My goal is to continue on this path I’m on and stay true to myself, my musical tastes, and ideas as I grow and improve.”
And the somewhat unusual name? “It’s actually quite funny,” she laughs. “At school, people would always call out the name ‘Brie,’ short for Brianna, and it sounded like they were saying ‘Marie.’ I wondered what my name would be like if I shortened it, but Mrie looked odd so I decided on Mree.”
You can get contact information, show dates, pictures, music, and regular updates on my Mree’s website, at mreemusic.com, and facebook.com/mreemusic.
