MARLON FUNAKI SIGNS WITH WARNER RECORDS AND SHARES LUSHLY SOULFUL SINGLE “LET YOU IN”

Buzzing singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Marlon Funaki has signed to Warner Records worldwide. At just 24, Funaki has been steadily growing his audience since he began releasing music six years ago from his own hand-built home studio in Redlands, California. His Japanese and Mexican American heritage informs his musical and cultural perspective, shaping a sound that reflects his deep and disparate influences.

Funaki formally introduced himself in 2020 with his independently released debut single “Get Out of My Face,” kicking off a string of striking works self-written, recorded, mixed, and produced by himself — music that feels both expansive and deeply personal, free from stylistic limitations yet clearly cohesive, timeless and also undeniably fresh.

To celebrate the announcement, Funaki has just released his Warner Records debut single “Let You In”. The warm, groove-rich vibe plays like an expansion of the laidback yet lush sound his ever-expanding base has come to love. Funaki has been electrifying audiences from coast to coast with his enthralling live shows, guitar and vocal prowess, with DIY compositions that freely blend indie rock, psychedelia, soulful R&B, jazz, Americana and pillowy shoegaze influences into something completely new and singular. The video was filmed and directed by Ryder Schwartz for Frontseat Media.

“Let You In” immediately drops the listener into Funaki’s immersive, sonically sensual world in a velvety mix of drums, bass, hand percussion, and humming keyboards. The soulful track is as inviting as it is deceptively complex yet memorably melodic, as the guitars sweep through the mix. Funaki sinks lyrically deeper into a disorienting romance, delicately chanting, “No I cannot find a reason not to stay / No I will not find a reason to keep your number saved / No I will not find a reason to play this game / Until I find you, oh you don’t know the way.”

The accompanying video for “Let You In,” directed by Ryder Schwartz (The Frights, Saint Luna), leans into the mystery, opening on Funaki in a waiting room wearing his signature white cowboy hat and boots. As the clock strikes 12 and he heads into the studio and just as he does on this and all his recordings, he’s playing each of the various parts and vocals, layering the stems into complete songs. The clock strikes 12 again — his time is up, or perhaps he’d stepped out of time entirely, and he passes the next sonic traveler in the waiting room on his way out.

Funaki’s musical journey was funded by busking on the streets of Redlands, California. He soon found work at his local Guitar Center eventually saving up enough money to purchase instruments and recording equipment, mastering multiple self-taught skills. Playing local house parties led to self-promoted warehouse shows that would propel Funaki and his band of friends onto the national club scene due to word of mouth fueled by his first self-financed independent releases: The Universal Language EP in 2020, followed by his debut album Monterey Village in 2022.

By 2025, he won the coveted “Artist on the Rise” slot for the prestigious Luck Reunion Festival held at Willie Nelson’s Luck Ranch in Spicewood, Texas. The next day, he dropped his fittingly titled Overdue EP. Before 2025 was out, he’d toured with country heavyweight Billy Currington and U.K. indie darlings Palace, by then surpassing 1.2 million monthly Spotify listeners. Around the same time, Funaki sat down with SoundCloud Stories to discuss some of the key moments in an already dizzying career and filmed a pivotal Audiotree.TV Session with his band.

Funaki is already hard at work writing and recording new music and will make his U.K. debut at indie-centric Great Escape Festival in May of this year. Click HERE for more information.

Marlon Funaki Live Dates 2026:

Mar 21 – Okeechobee, FL @ Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival

May 13 -16 – Brighton, England @ The Great Escape Festival

Follow Marlon Funaki:

Share this:

Related