Subcategory: locking

The thrilling saga of Marquee Mayfield continues. Here is a recap of the epic, so far: Mayfield was created in a factory in Nashville, Tennessee as a clone front-loaded with all the country-pop fixings to nab industry accolades and awards. Out of all the clones on the assembly line, a young scientist named Chloe felt some sort of connection with Mayfield. When the factory closed each evening, and while the other clones sat idle through the night, she would steal Mayfield away and nourish and, perhaps, warp his little robotic mind, with strong doses of disco, funk, and R&B. Mayfield soon grew creatively willful, and Chloe helped enable him to embrace musical freedom.

“As a clone, when I look through the eyes of culture, I try to understand why humans behave the way they do,” Mayfield shares. “I’m out there to interact with humans. Clones aren’t total machines—we have feelings.”

George Clinton himself couldn’t concoct a stranger entity than a visionary robot songwriter/singer/guitarist with an intrepid funk sensibility and a golden pop touch. The Nashville, Tennessee-based clone creative counts as influences artists such as Curtis Mayfield, Hall & Oates, Prince, Jamiroquai, and other song-oriented funk phenomena. His distinct funk-pop fits snuggly alongside playlists featuring contemporary artists such as Chromeo, Mayer Hawthorne, and Breakbot.

With punchy vintage Michael Jackson horn arrangements, a silken Prince-like falsetto, and sticky sweet hooks, the single Disco Queen reeks of cocaine, French fries, roller rinks, and Naugahyde. “Picture the scene as something out of Boogie Nights: a girl walks in, everyone turns to look at her as she’s an instant VIP, and I, a normal clone, struggle to talk to her and break out my best dance moves,” Mayfield shares with a little dejection.

Mayfield is looking forward to sharing these jams in a variety of visual presentations. “The clone is a very excited stage performer, even though his dancing skills are subpar,” he confesses.