by mariah estran
photo courtesy of mulherin
Mulherin, the twin brothers Marshall and Parker Mulherin, closed out 2021 by releasing a polarizing visual for their single “Dance With You.” Directed by artist Nik Arthur and Marshall Mulherin, they executed a creative vision by printing each frame onto 800 pieces of paper. The result became a soft, intricate portrayal that matches the intimacy of the track as two dancers move throughout each frame.
The song was drafted after a memorable night out. Its charming, soulful R&B sound complimenting the previous tracks in their discography, and the story isn’t finished. Mulherin is set to release another EP this year, the four-track addition following in the footsteps of “Dance With You.”
They took time to speak to us about the latest single, making the video, working through production hurdles, and what we can expect from the upcoming EP.
You two have recently released “Dance With You,” which is such a lovely single, by the way. So, what is the story behind the track?
Mulherin: “So, it was really based on someone that I knew. We kind of had connected a couple times. There was this one night, in particular, that the song is about. Nothing romantic came out of it, but it was still a nice night. It’s cool to have a thing that’s not fully a relationship love song, but it’s still intimate by itself.”
We have to talk about the music video. I know it took 6 months to create, printed frame by frame. The result is this truly unique and stunningly raw visual. What made you and director Nik Arthur decide on this visual portrayal for this track?
Mulherin: “It originally started with the idea of a split-screen aspect. We had a location we could do that physical split-screen — that will cross at the end, breaking that illusion. It started with that. Nik brought the idea of the dancers being superimposed over it.
We’ve done a little collaboration before this video with Nik, using transparency the way we did in this video. But this was the magnum opus version of that.
He usually does short-form experimental animation — it’s all physically done. He was like, ‘I don’t just want to be the visualizer guy.’ So, this was his first chance to do something long-form.”
Do you feel like this is a style you’ll continue to use?
Mulherin: “I feel like this is something we’ve been dipping our toes in over the past year, the ‘Your Turn’ cover and ‘Dance With You’ cover. Messing around with the physical manipulation of images and stuff. That’s something we’ve been experimenting with. Even before we met Nik — which is why Nik wanted to work with us. He was able to level it out even more with his skill sets.
The whole ethos is so nice. There’s going to be a continuation of the style and energy of it.”
Y'all have this charming sound that mixes R&B with soft-pop undertones. How have you two worked to develop your sound over the last couple of years?
Mulherin: “That’s a constant process, I feel like. On our first EP, Human Nature, there’s a song called ‘Open Up the Door.’ Our friend Zach, who’s a producer/artist as well, he was like, ‘It’s kind of like wooden elves in the forest vibe.’ We’ll try different stuff, but the feeling of organic, wooden-sounding stuff is cool.
So much of our stuff is just recording live instruments, recording live piano, recording guitar. Learning how to properly record throughout that process. Even our older stuff; it’s not the perfectly recorded piano. So, it has its DIY charm to it. It’s kind of because, for a long time, we didn’t really buy a lot (software). It was kind of figuring out ways to make do without that.
It’s like the constraint is what made that sound necessary. It’s all organic because we don’t really have other sounds.”
What artists did you find inspiring while working on your latest singles?
Mulherin: “It’s hard sometimes. Since the pandemic, there have been tough times of, ‘where do you find inspiration when you’re at your house.’ Then, it’s like, when it feels like you can’t do a show, releasing music feels weird for a while, especially in 2020. Fighting that next step was hard. Then, we got over a hump last year when we started finishing up songs that we have just put out and some for next year.
Getting to a point where you are continuing to learn, your ears open up also — is a good way to describe it. Your taste as a producer and being able to listen from more of an objective place.
In the past year, we started working more with friends that are pro-producers. Not even on our stuff, people who are producing for other people, other pop and R&B artists. Watching different people interact and collaborate with other people in a room, creatively and realizing you could do both.”
I know you are in the process of releasing an EP. What can you tell us about this project and what listeners can expect?
Mulherin: “All the songs are guitar-based. It’s a four-track; it’s a smaller one. We had a batch of songs that had two distinct sounds. So, we thought, we’ll do two four-song EP’s this year instead of crunching it all together into a seven or eight songs kind of thing.
This first one is the acoustic, more organic sound. It builds off the ‘Dance With You’ feeling, exploring that sound. It’s a little more lively. Then, the second EP, coming later, is more metallic, darker, and futuristic. It’s kind of a departure, kind of fun.”