Conversations on Community and Musical Exploration with Murkury

Authored by Alyssa Barnhill

North Carolina’s Asheville is an unparalleled jewel nestled on the East coast of the United States. Stretching from the Atlantic coast to the rolling Appalachian mountains, The state stands separated from the busy upper east coast by sprawling, mineral-rich hills and a warm blanket of Red Magnolias and Dogwood trees, and the city likewise feels like an enclave nestled in the deep woods. Over the past few years, the Asheville music community has become a hotbed for psychedelic and low-end centric electronic music One such producer, Alec Seifart is making waves not only through his Murkury project, but through his work with multidisciplinary organization The Undergrowth in the local Asheville scene in tandem.

Named after the god of commerce, eloquence, and divination, Murkury’s catalog hits the sweet spot between low-slung, weighty bass music and more free-flowing, meditative experiences; beyond just his dance-centric DJ sets, Alec has been recognized for his distinct “sound baths”, both within and separate from his traditional performances. Taking his musical and communal efforts both on and off the stage into account, The Rust Music was delighted to have an opportunity to speak with Alec about where his Mukury project began, his experience with The Undergrowth, and the total vision for his musical journey.

Alyssa : Where does the Murkury project ultimately begin? In Ashville?

Alec: I am currently based in Asheville, NC, right outside the city, but the Murkury project started in Boone, NC; a couple of hours deeper into western North Carolina, the heart of the Appalachian mountains. I have always been drawn to these mountains. Something about the landscape really resonates with me. I love Colorado and the west coast, those mountains are really awesome, but the rolling hills and just how calm everything is — How lush it is. So, I definitely attribute my surroundings to putting me in an external environment that led me to explore the frequencies that I have. I feel like, with the Murkury project, they went hand and hand somehow.

Alyssa : Are you from Boone originally?

Alec : I am from Charlotte originally. I grew up in there, but moved to Boone to go to college. That's where I started DJing house parties and stuff like that. I've always been drawn to the art of DJing and was doing that for several years before I started to produce. Then it became time to finally making some edits and bootlegs for live shows, and I have never stopped doing that. I feel like there’s two sides of me that are playing back and forth: There's the serious side that does the more emotionally driven art, the stuff that makes me cry in the studio. Then there's a side of me that just wants to turn up in the club. I was able to explore both of those angles in that college town. The environment gave me the setting to dive deep into more psychedelic and spiritual modes of thought. It just suited me. I felt comfortable in those kinds of depths, but then you could switch to bopping around the town. It was within arms reach of Asheville and we went to shows at the Orange Peel back in the day, so college was very foundational. 

Alyssa: So when did you start the Undergrowth?

Alec: After college, I spent an extra year in Boone and I got the bug to move to a bigger city to do venues. So I moved to Asheville, but had trouble finding anyone that would book me or where to get into the scene and meet people. There were a few people that gave me opportunities but they were few and far between. Because they were like, “Have you played a venue yet?”

“No, I haven't.”

“Well we can't let you play at the venue.”  Everyone gets to that point.. I found that there were other artists that were in the same predicament in Asheville. I thought to myself, “What if we created an entity where it could help put people on and it didn't even matter if you'd played or whatever?” It would just be a resource. Maybe it could give someone a step in the right direction, or sharing some sample packs or tunes, or connecting with people — Collaborating.

Alyssa: It seems like it's worked though, right? I see a lot of The Undergrowth talent on lineups. You have gotten some ground under you now.

Alec: It's definitely been wild to see. The growth of everyone and how it's sort of interwoven through our musical journeys. It's gonna be interesting to see where it goes from here because, for me, I am one of the co-founders, but I am the only one that’s still active. More or less every artist on there is on their journey right now. Nobody is necessarily signed with or defined by The Undergrowth. It's just a tool in everyone's tool belt for them to use, or for promoters to utilize. We want to get all these artists together and apply the Undergrowth concept. I will say the longer I've been steering the ship, I have noticed that running a collective can be tough because you get so attached to people. You get so interwoven with everyone. People will come to me with their situations, to help me or to sort of to do the right thing.

Alyssa: Yeah, the interpersonal connections can make things tough. 

Alec: I have so much on my plate with just Murkury that I am getting to a place that I might not be as active with the operations of The Undergrowth, but I will be preserving it and utilizing it as best as I can to help the other artists that I can, but my goal…I think that right now, I can do almost everything that I want to do, particularly by focusing inward on myself and my mental health and just kind of letting everything like come from that corner. When you spend so much time being a community resource, you end up pouring out more from your cup…It's possible to get to a point when you are pouring from an empty cup, right?

Alyssa: Absolutely. 

Alec: My main goal with Murkury is to get to the point where I can curate entire lineups — That's the dream, right? To get to the point where you can put the homies on. It’s the best thing I get to do in this industry. It's very rare right now. There have been some occasions where I get to call up some homies and ask them, “Hey, what are you doing on this day?”  

Then ask them if they “want to do this thang”, here’s how much they might be able to get, that kind of stuff. Making those kinds of calls has been the best. I just want to keep going towards that goal. I feel like I maybe haven't given the Murkury project as much of a shot as I could. I feel like I am just starting to begin to tap into that, and if I give more of my focus to that, maybe people will listen to me when I say, “You should book Mcwavy, you should book Pathwey, or Audiogoblin.” That's where I am at right now. 

Alyssa: In 2022, I got to see you in Canada at Shambhala, and again at the Black Box here in Denver. How’d you feel your Canada experience?

Alec: This year has been crazy. Sometimes you find yourself in a situation you could have only hoped for. Shambhala was something I had as like a bucket list thing. Maybe eventually in like 10 years, or something like that, I'll hit that mark. It was very unexpected. I was trying to do the best I can for that set. You get there and it really becomes set in stone. You get to one hill and you always end up at a valley of another. 

Alyssa: One completed challenge to another. The set was incredible, man. What did you like most about it?

Alec: It was during the day at like 5 or 6pm, but it was PERFECT. It was a perfect time for us. We were just lucky to be there at all. But it definitely hit me that I have so much more to grow. A very literal unlimited amount of doors you can open. So it's not really about the destination. 

Alyssa : What made you start to lean towards more meditative, pensive music?

Alec: The short story is that it basically comes from a place of trying to heal my own trauma. I was in the backseat of a car wreck, 2015. Glass busted out of the window across from me and ruptured my globe and destroyed the retina on my right eye. They did emergency surgery on me. They were able to save my eye. I went back for a second surgery. In the second surgery they woke me up because apparently I sort of freaked out waking up the first time. The second time they woke me up and said, “Hey, just to let you know everything went fine. You are on surgical ketamine. Let it wear off, ease up.” 

Alyssa: That stuff is intense. 

Alec: Yeah. I was like, “alright.” They brought me back to the hotel that the hospital owns and I happened to have my computer with me. I opened up Ableton, still had the bandages on my eyes, but I could see out of my right eye. Ever since I started producing, if I am going through something, if I just need to destress, I would turn on a loop of sub bass and I would put headphones on. I’d just keep that loop going for hours, and in that situation, sitting with all the pain and emotions and stuff, things just started to happen. 30 minutes, later I had “Singularity”. All of the other meditations, originals, and edits since then have kind of come from that catalyst. My eye has healed so much since then and I’m incredibly grateful for that experience, modern medicine, my family and friends, and music. I would love to see what other producers are doing with this concept and hope it becomes more present in the culture.

Alyssa: There is definitely something about what you’ve tapped into with that direction that has a tangible effect.

Alec: People ask me whether or not the frequencies are intentional or like 432hz and that kind of stuff, but all frequencies are relative. All of them are sacred, and so none of them are some type of duality. I feel like I just go by my ear and do what feels good to me, and what the song is trying to say to me. If it needs this thing or that — More pulsation on the sub, or something else entirely. Essentially, all a sound bath is, in my little world, like an ambient song with no drums but with sub bass throughout the whole song, or at least most of it. Having the mantras and that style of sampling and instrumentation overtop. Take it to a new place. 

Alyssa: I was at a sound bath you did in 2021 at Infrasound. It was intense, powerful. I think it is a beautiful way to begin your sets.

Alec: That's good to hear. I am really glad people resonate with them. For years, I never shared them. I never really let anyone listen to them. I was insecure about, you know, you go to a show and it's all about dancing and getting hype and whatever. Those were so personal to me, and then something happened. I feel like some of my roommates and girlfriend at the time were encouraging me to do it, to release them. I definitely want to work on more of them. I have some in the works right now but I just want to see more producers experiment with that style. Some people come up to me after shows and get upset if I don’t do one! 

Alyssa: I can imagine some people need that at times. I wish more people would explore this sound, too.

Alec: Yeah, because I know they could take it further. Or think differently about it than I would. That's what I love about this music. 

Alyssa: You recently released that Retrograde vinyl. How was that process? Self-producing and releasing a vinyl is hard work.

Alec: Absolutely. I have been able to fund that vinyl completely through NFT sales. I didn't have to do a fundraiser type thing or crowd funding type thing for this one. Hopefully I can take some of the proceeds from this and put it towards another record I am working on. Keep going with the limited vinyl. I am very excited about Retrograde. 

Alyssa: What’s on the horizon for Murkury?

Alec: A lot of collaborations with regional artists here in the south east, too many to name honestly. I am going to be stepping up the release rate this year. I have already got another EP in the works. 

Even with his recent release of the Retrograde EP in early January, Murkury has no plans to slow down in 2023. In April alone, he is scheduled for Quasar Festival in Page, TX, UnKnown pHestival in Nashville, TN, and Wub N’ Dub in Willard, NC. He’s also recently been signed to Denver’s own Sub.Mission, putting him in the field amongst a roster of notable contemporaries. Wielding his own project in one hand, and the reigns of an artistic collective in the other, he’s managed to find a balance that has put him on track to cement a personal legacy and impact in a community that has buoyed his creativity and well-being. We’re keeping our ears to the ground for more exciting news about projects and performances from Murkury and his crew at The Undergrowth, and we highly encourage our fans to do the same.

FOLLOW Murkury: SoundCloud / BandCamp / Official / The Undergrowth