Features : Houston singer/songwriter Marie releases single inspired by classic rock band

HOUSTON, Texas. — Singer/songwriter Nastasia “Marie” McKenzie was born decades after legendary Canadian rock band “Rush” was in its prime, but music lives forever and one of Rush’s biggest hits from 1979 inspired her to create her debut single “RUSH Pause.”

“The one I think inspired me the most was ‘The Spirit of Radio,’ Marie, who uses her middle name as her artist label, said.

“They have a beginning to the song for ‘Spirit of Radio’ where instead of just bringing in the lyrics, they have an introduction of instruments,” Marie added. “So you hear a drum, you hear a guitar and they bring in what they have to say with it. That inspired the pause at the beginning of ‘RUSH Pause,’ that calming alarm sound letting you know that something is going to happen. The alarm sound comes in at the beginning, it’s kind of frightening but it makes you aware, then the beat comes in and it leads you into what’s going to be said. 

“So their edge and the way they just pushed it, I thought they took the song to a different level musically. I thought it was executed perfectly. So I wanted to make this song. I wanted it to have the same flow of ‘The Spirit of Radio’ by the band Rush”.

Marie said she wrote the song in November 2022.

“This is my first single under my artist’s name,” Marie said. “As far as a message, I think it’s just about being aware where you are at mentally, where you’re at spiritually. When I wrote the song I wrote the song right before Thanksgiving break when I was 23, right before my 24th birthday, and I had a lot going on. I wanted to see my family at the time, I had been away from them for quite some time. It was my first time living alone and when I heard the beat I just started going, my pen couldn't stop.”

Marie said she has loved performing, singing and dancing from childhood.

“It’s been something that’s always been a part of me, an appreciation of the arts overall,” she said. Professionally, it was me just realizing, not to say I'm not good at anything else, but this was something that came naturally. It was something I didn’t have to force. When it came to write a song finding a beat, when it came down to getting in the booth and recording, I knew what needed to be done.”

She said she’s inspired by her every day life, which lends her music and originality that she hopes her fans can appreciate.

“It’s the originality that captures you and all I want to be, first and foremost is authentic and original,” Marie said. “I want to come out authentic and original to anyone who hears my music. I also want them to understand that I'm not producing music from the point of view of someone who’s not living a regular, everyday life. I live in a regular, every day life, by that I mean I clock in on a clock five or six days out of the week, I work and I do my music part time for right now. I want people to know that I’m real and original and what they hear is my life, my story. It’s everyday emotions from living the life I live.”

Marie said ‘RUSH Pause’ is just the beginning of what she plans to be a project, either an EP or full album, for release in the summer of 2023.

Please follow Marie on the following social media and streaming platforms:

Soundcloud
Instagram
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