Marques Toliver

​Gifted 24-year-old songsmith Marques Toliver is a heartstring-plucking amalgam of music-school-trained violin shred, the Williamsburg avant-boho vibe of pals like Grizzly Bear and TV On The Radio, and a deep-seated love of contemporary R&B--though, as he tells i-D, "If I had to describe my music I would say it is like Paris in spring." He came up in Brooklyn working at vintage stores and busking in front of the Bedford Cheese Shop, often taking in about $25 an hour via his formidable string-sawing skills. But after a star-making co-sign from chart-topping British sensation Adele, he's increasingly spends more of his days overseas. Though his MySpace still identifies him as "Brooklyn" and his official website allows for the more general "London/New York," Toliver makes no bones about the fact that he's being seen less and less around the Verb Café. "Destiny, time, and music brought me to London," he says. "The UK is my new home."
The VillageVoice
-Christopher Weingarten