Interview: MAKR AN ERIS discuss birth of new album, 'Lilith'
by Diane
January 16, 2025
Minneapolis duo MAKR AN ERIS consists of two veteran music scene multi-talents, Sophia Eris and Mark McGee. Both can DJ, hype, and produce. As true hip-hop aficionados, they’re broadening the genre’s scope with futuristic, yet primal, sounds. In this project, Eris serves as the lead vocalist, singing and rapping her way through rebellious lyrics over MAKR’s intentionally turbulent production and thick beat drops.
The duo has released two short ‘n’ sweet albums in its two-year existence, including this year’s critically acclaimed ME 2. In true hip-hop fashion, each of their songs waves a middle finger in the air to society’s norms. They also juxtapose big ego with humorous self-deprecation. After listening, you might just want to become one of their besties.
.MAKR AN ERIS are The Local Show’s Artist of the Month. They chatted with me about their chemistry, writing process, and upcoming album, Lilith, which they’ll perform at The Current’s 20th Anniversary Party on Saturday, Jan. 25. Eris, who is the longtime DJ and confidant for international superstar Lizzo, also talked about her drive and success in uplifting other artists in the community.
Transcript edited for clarity and length.
Here with MAKR AN ERIS, our Artist of the Month. ... Familiar names, both of you, to The Currents' airwaves. Your latest single "Get In the Water" has been making its rounds on rotation on The Current. You are performing for The Current's 20th Anniversary, so that was another big reason I [thought], ”We got to get them in the studio, hype them up before the big performance!”
Mark McGee: First Avenue.
Sophia Eris: 20 years old, The Current! Wow. Congratulations.
Thank you. And you've been such a big part of our station for such a long time.
SE: Yeah, you guys put me on. I'm so grateful. In the clurb, we all fam.
That's what the kids are saying these days. The clurb, huh? That made it to my text thread recently.
MM: That's like a 2009 term, I think.
SE: I have to show you a TikTok. You should add TikTok later.
I want to bring attention right away to the fact that we all have a connection. We're all mixed blood, and we all come from military families. I'm curious to hear that perspective, and how maybe that brought the two of you together as a team. I mean, of course, like-mindedness.
MM: Yeah, like, we're always the new kid, you know.
SE: Yeah, honestly, I feel like a lot of people that I got to connect with in the Twin Cities weren't from here. I don't know why that is specifically, but it's like we were magnets to each other, I guess. And another way to look at it, too, growing up as a military brat, we learned how to adapt very well. We're very well-rounded in a lot of ways and maybe that's the like-minds that come together in that way. How many times were you the new kid?
MM: Like, five?
SE: I was a new kid 13 times.
Oh, my gosh. You just gotta be adaptive, unbelievable so.
SE: Yeah, but I'm really grateful, though. I think it's one of my favorite blessings, I guess, that I've gotten to experience in my lifetime, is being able to experience that upbringing. Because I do think it well prepped me to be the artist I am now. It's like touring was just so easy.
Yeah! You're used to floating around.
SE: Yeah, it's kind of weird sitting still.
Well, I was gonna say that even, too, with you as a performer — you're DJing constantly and performing constantly ... But I'm almost even curious how you start making decisions about what to do and what not to. Because I gotta imagine there are choices you want to make between what you want to do and then what comes to you. What's that coming to these days?
SE: And that's funny. So after our album release that we had in May, we were kind of in a tunnel vision state for — how long? Like, a year?
MM: Almost a year, yeah.
SE: Yeah, when I was on tour, I'd come back and we’d just be in the studio all the time. But once I was really back, we were just in the studio probably four times a week really honing in this album. And so with that being said, once the release was finally done and the show was finally done, we kind of just took a break and experienced life for a little bit. I reverted back into heavy DJing again, and I just exported in that way. But I felt really inspired in DJing after that, actually. And creatively, our brains were a little fried when it came to music for a second. But the balance of being able to be a DJ and being able to be an artist and a writer and a singer and a rapper and a producer, and having that, I think it is a healthy balance. But it is a lot of just non-stop music, though. And I need a breather. Sometimes I love sitting in silence, and I love driving in silence.
MM: Writing in silence. Or waterfalls, you know.
SE: Yeah, he loves nature.
Me too.
SE: But with that being said, I feel very lucky to be able to have those two avenues of constant creation. If I feel not creative in one way, I can always go to the other. They definitely balance out.
MM: One thing I want to say about DJs, in general, is that DJs are my favorite musicians, because they do constant compositions on the fly. So tapping into a DJ brain, as a producer, I get so much inspiration from that. And it's cool to see it just play out, because it ties into arrangement, ties into songwriting, and just like where it hits. And that's why I love DJs in general.
SE: And it really does help your ear and what you know hits or not — what hits your chest. Because you know what music hits your chest.
MM: You know where that drop hits — pow!
SE: Yeah, so it really helps with the arrangement of your own craft and your own music.
And this record, ME 2 — and your first record MAKR AN ERIS — I love it, stylistically, because it's so authentically the two of you together. Tell me about your stylistic approach, especially with this project.
SE: Well, every song that we created together, we created together. I was in the room when he made all those beats. And we really did make them from the ground up together. And so it's really nice being able to collaborate with a producer in that way. And I know you're an artist too, Diane. But like, you know how easy it is to kind of melt into a song when you're there from the ground up, versus just, like, getting a beat.
MM: Like, here's this — pass it back, pass it back. We work really fast. And I think it almost became a rhythm that we had of, like, "Alright, I'll make this." Sometimes she'll be writing before the beat’s even made. Or I'll be writing a beat, while she's writing lyrics. So it's just back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, really organically and really fast.
SE: And I look at it as also, like, vocals are actually just another part of the beat. So if he's maybe stuck out on a certain moment when he's creating that beat, I'm like, “Oh, I got something. I have a riff.” And it's kind of like another instrument on top of it, and he can just get inspired off of that. So you just kind of layer each other as we go.
One of the things I've always admired about you is your devotion to the community, and your very deep connection with it.
SE: Thank you.
And I feel like you're kind of a cheerleader of so many different types of artists in the Twin Cities. And I know that's very much a part of your identity — being a helper. And tell me more about where that derives and comes from.
SE: I moved here to go to school for music business. And I specifically wanted to be an A&R. I was so fascinated by artist development and artists, discovering artists, and getting them from point A to point Z. I get so inspired by seeing people's gifts. You know what I mean? I do feel like it's connected to one of my purposes in the world. I love helping people shine, you know? Because it makes me light up. So I just love being inspired, like I was saying before. I get so excited when I see people's gifts and people being committed to their purpose. And yeah, I just feel aligned with cheering them on, because we all need support. It takes so much courage to do this job. And so if anyone has the courage to step up and be vulnerable and share their gift, and it's really good, of course, I'm gonna cheer it on. Let's go. Please!
I think of going all the way back to Lizzo ... you were teammate of her, and then she literally took over the world.
SE: I knew that girl was a force of nature. I met her as Lizzo … But I didn't know what she was capable of until probably three weeks into our friendship. And we just met at a block party and bonded over Beyonce. We were, like, besties. We just got drunk and karaoke-d, like, "We're besties now!" But three weeks later, she was like, “Oh yeah, I have a show.” And I was like, yeah, I'll go check it out. And I was like, "Oh! My God! Who? What? Wow!"
MM: That was rapping Lizzo.
SE: No, it was, it was Lizzo-and-the-Larva-Ink Lizzo. So she kind of was in the middle. She kind of sang-rapped, I would say. But rapping Lizzo is my favorite Lizzo, not gonna lie. Lizzobangers? Woah. I think she's my top five best rappers.
Oh my gosh. Well, and I think of the first time I saw GRRRL PARTY ... I was living in Fargo before I came to the Twin Cities. And I remember, I was always like, "Oh! I want to get The Chalice here. I want to get GRRRL PARTY. I remember wanting to get Lizzo so badly to Fargo, because I did some promotion work.
SE: At The Aquarium, huh?
I worked at the newspaper out there. I think I tried a few times, but it never worked out. But when I finally got to see y'all perform, it was at First Avenue, and y'all were throwing tampons into the audience.
SE: Oh that was Manchita.
And I was like, "This is so edgy and so cool."
SE: The girl NWA. And The Chalice was like the Spice Girls. Ugh, I love the Spice Girls. Manchita, I miss her, but just a phenomenal rapper, as Lizzo. It was actually a blessing being able to work with two just amazing MCs, and it definitely made me better. but they're both really intricate and pronounced and skilled in their own separate ways.
MM: With one of the best DJs in the city too.
SE: And Blowtorch. Shout out to Blowy! She taught me how to DJ.
Your journey as an artist keeps on morphing and morphing. Do you ever have envisions of what you're gonna do next, or do you feel like it just ends up coming to you?
SE: Well, as of now — last night we started carving out the tracklist for our next album that we'll be sharing at the birthday party for The Current.
Nice! Can't wait.
SE: We decided we're gonna call it Lilith ... So within Christianity, in the Bible, everyone thinks, actually, that Adam and Eve were the first humans, but it was actually Adam and Lilith. And Lilith actually rebelled against Adam, but they both were created from the ground. Lilith wasn't created from Adam's rib. Adam and Lilith were both created from the ground. And Lilith was getting really frustrated with Adam trying to dominate her, and so she prayed to just be swept away and just leave. She's like, “I'm tired of this.” And Adam was like, "Wait, hold up, where my girl go?" He's like, "God, bring me back, my girl." So God was like, "Okay, angels go back and get Lilith." And angels like, "Yo, you got to go back to Adam." And she said, “No.” And they're like, "Well, if you don't go back, you're going to be demonized." And she's like, "Well, I don't care." And so they demonized her, and in return, God made Eve from Adam's rib. But Lilith was the first, basically, feminist documented. But because she didn't want to be dominated, they demonized her. So that's why it's called Lilith. I went to Catholic schools, by the way, and I never heard of Lilith till I was 25, which is crazy.
This is new for me, too.
SE: Yeah, a lot of people don't know of her. And I'm spiritual now, but it was really fascinating just hearing that story, and understanding that a powerful woman was demonized because she just didn't want to be dominated by a man.
SE: So this album is gonna have live drums in it. It'll be nice to perform, actually, with a live drummer, a lot of the songs. And it's just another kind of step forward — or it's kind of an evolution from the last two projects. We kind of tap into sounds we haven't really tapped in before, but it's still kind of telling a powerful story coming from a woman's perspective. There's a lot of more melody experimentation within this record. And I feel like I'm going to places with my voice I never got to go before ... It's fun. I can't wait to perform them, actually.
MG: BPM is a little higher, a little more harsh, little more in your face, little more riot.
MAKR AN ERIS will perform with Beach Bunny and Bad Bad Hats for The Current’s 20th Anniversary Celebration, Night 2 at First Avenue at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25. More Info and Tickets.
