Hey Marcus, thanks for taking the time to talk to us today. Could you tell us a little known fact about yourself?

A little known fact about me is that I’m also a filmmaker. I’ve been screenwriting since high school and this year, my younger brother Aaron Caldwell and I are working on our feature film that is loosely based on our relationship with our father and how we met each other at 16 and 18 years old. Pre-production is in full swing and we are hoping to get funding for it very soon.

You’ve just released ‘Permeate’, which comes across as incredibly personal, so what does this song represent for you at this stage in your life and career?

This song is one that I wrote for my wife so it’s very personal in that regard. I used to write her letters and poems on pieces of paper and either mail them or hand deliver them once we started living together. ‘Permeate’ felt like a return to form in that it’s me talking directly to her and expressing my feelings the only way I know how. I have a few songs in my catalog that are personal but ‘Permeate’ is such an intimate look into my heart and I’m really happy the world can experience the love as well.

What does the standout lyric “I didn’t know I could love this much” mean to you?

So it’s funny, after Bedrooms sent back his recorded verse, we had the majority of the song finished but it was still missing a hook/chorus. I was listening through the song one day and the last two lines of Bedrooms’ verse perfectly summed up the theme of the entire song: “I didn’t know I could love this much.”

And thats such a powerful statement because not only does it feel like a romantic relationship, it could also apply to a parent/child love. ‘Permeate’, at it’s core, is a song about finding the beauty in love, and loving love.

How did your collaboration with FLX come about, and what was it like working with someone based in the UK?

I love FLX! He is truly one of the best Producer/Rapper combinations I’ve ever met. We met through the Retrohash Discord server run by Asher Roth. Asher put out the call to friends and fans to come together during the pandemic in a digital space to collaborate and create. As a collective, we have released 4 group albums and our magnum opus, Asher Roth’s Greenhouse Effect vol 3. Both FLX and Bedrooms are part of that community.

You mentioned discovering the beat on a Discord server run by Asher Roth. How has that kind of digital community shaped your recent creative output?

The Retrohash Discord is such an amazing place for creatives to experiment in a safe and supportive environment. We have people from all over the world as producers, rappers, singers, visual artists, and more. It’s because of this that I’ve been able to work with some phenomenal artists to create my album Unique Mélange (2023), my singles Fly (2024), Til Its Over (2023), The High Price (2023), and two collab EPs with Ireland’s Joey O’Gorman, Weight of the World (2023) and Loose Time (2024). There’s a lot in the vault as well so stay tuned!

How does the music video also represent the song’s themes?

The music video is a work of art in itself. The Cleveland Museum of Art was a big part of my childhood. Being a free air-conditioned museum, we’d spend lots of time there in the summer. I also pay homage to one of my favorite movies of all time, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. The intro to the music video is a direct spoof of the Art Museum scene in Ferris Bueller set to an ambient song from Bedrooms titled “Gate C.” The video was shot by Sam Hodge and Directed and Edited by me.

What’s next for you?

Up next I have a few shows the Cleveland, OH area to finish out the summer as well as our first show in Chicago July 19th. I just released a single with Jean Kong and Dave Zup called “Plan A” and I will be dropping singles (and potentially an EP) every month until the end of this year. That will lead right into next year and I’m really hoping to play a lot of summer festivals.

Follow Marcus Smith on Instagram.