Brokechella Arts & Music Festival: An interview with Madison from MRK

The Brokechella Arts & Music Festival is coming on April 18^th.  During Brokechella’s media day, I got to interview Madison from MRK and Gabrielle Wortman from Smoke Season.  Today, I’m posting my write-up on MRK.  Come back tomorrow and you can read my interview with Gabrielle.

Photo courtesy of Brokechella. Photography
by Department 4.

MRK (Madison René Knapp) will be playing on the cARTel Indoor stage.  Her early childhood was spent in Arkansas.  She moved around from there, but has spent the last seven years in Los Angeles.  She spent time in bands such as Horse & Buggy and One High Five, but is now making music as MRK.  She describes her music as alternative pop.  Our short conversation spanned a number of interests.

Her music video for River of Blood (see below video).   A major theme throughout is the self.  The video is filled with symbolism exploring the self and we got to discuss a few of those symbols.  Flowers and the color red explore this concept.  “Flowers represent the innocence of the life while red is the expression of self.  We see this alchemy of experience and innocence creating a full self.   We also have a scene of hands dipped into a watermelon, pulling out an egg.  This represents the fertile side of femininity, a kind of birth.  Reconciling innocence and experience really aren't that different.  The world often describes women as either virginal or whores.  These boxes just doesn't hold true.”

Literature.  Madison appreciates 19^th century literature, the Victorian era.  She loves that this “seemingly mundane, polite society really contains layers of meaning if one only dwells on it.”

Los Angeles vs Arkansas.  “Los Angeles is over-all more broad in its thinking, more expansive in terms of culture and lifestyles.  Those in Arkansas are polite and neighborly.”

What does she do when she isn't creating music.  She’s into herbal remedies.  Tarot card readings.  Astrology.  Crystals.  Spiritually minded practices.

Her current release is Blood, put out by Records Ad Nauseam. 

Her upcoming project is a video for 27, which will be released by LA Records.  If the video is anything like River of Blood, you’ll get to spend hours exploring the layers of meaning.

Note:  I took hand notes.  I apologize if I misrepresent anything that Madison said during her interview.  All comments are paraphrased to some degree.