MARVIN x Eyedress: Going viral and signing to a major label were once what the Filipino alt-pop artist dreamed of. He’s having more fun doing things his own way.
Photo by Jayson Palacio
Eyedress never imagined he would have a viral hit, especially one that would go on to feature in more than a million TikTok videos. But that’s exactly what happened for the Filipino artist in early 2020 following the release of the infectiously angsty “Jealous,” the previous fall.
Alongside expanding his fanbase, the success led to a major label deal. However, signing with RCA turned out to be a mixed blessing. “I forgot how it felt to make what I wanted,” Eyedress reflects in a candid conversation this October. “I was like, if this is how music is going to be… that wasn’t the reason I started. Music has always been an outlet for me to be real and honest.”
After the release of the album Stoner on RCA this April, he had an epiphany. “I was like, ‘Damn, didn’t I blow up because I was doing what I wanted to do?’” He left the label, and today likens the relationship to “client work.” “They want you to be a hit-making machine,” he laughs, “but they don’t really see that these things take time. And it’s hard to gauge what the kids are gonna pick up, so to even make music with them in mind is not necessarily a good thing either.”
Read the full feature in MARVIN Issue 18. Click HERE to purchase.
