Turn on the Lights: Indie-Rock Singer Doe Eye is Ready for the Spotlight

The motivational cliché for aspiring artists is “the sky’s the limit,” but for Union City singer-songwriter Maryam Qudus, the sky may simply become a view from the ladder of success she soon sits upon.

At 20 years old, Qudus, who performs under the moniker Doe Eye, is already making noise — delicate, haunting noise — in the Bay Area music scene.

She released her debut EP, Run Run Run, last month to high praise from indie music blogs and websites.

“Since then, things have happened very fast,” she said. “The response has been amazing.”

Her lead single, “I Hate You,” has started receiving spins on Live105, the leading rock radio station in the Bay Area. The video for the song, which debuted online the same day as her EP’s release on Aug. 19, was subsequently featured on the station’s website, along with dozens of other music blogs.

Produced by Steven Murr, you wouldn’t know that the record was made with little assistance from outside musicians. Qudus is the only vocalist and guitarist heard on the record, with a guest drummer on two tracks. All other instruments were created digitally by Murr to make a polished, high-quality indie-folk production.

In its brevity, the four-track EP reveals Qudus’s vulnerabilities, hopes and desires, wrapped in her alluring vocals that even make the words “I hate you” sound seductive.

“I like to create something out of my emotions,” she said. Her emotions range from the bold and defiant lead single to the somber and hopeful dreamscape of “Sea to See”

“The scars on my feet / It’s the strength I will keep / Through the ugly and beauty that lies ahead,” she sings on “Sea to See.”

“It’s about being held back and wanting to let go of things you’re afraid of, taking chances and not being afraid of doing something because you’d get hurt,” she said of the song.

That lack of fear and unbending determination are what set Qudus’ career in motion at an early age.

She’s had a passion for singing for as long as she can remember, but didn’t get serious about playing music until she was in middle school, where she picked up the guitar and learned on her own, she said.

“I’m not the greatest guitarist, but I know enough to write songs off it,” said Qudus, who owns three guitars, a bass, keyboard and tambourine.

Determined to make a career of music, she started paying for her own voice lessons at 16 after getting a part-time job. “Every dollar I made went to that,” she said.

Last year, she attempted to write one new song a day. “I didn’t pressure myself. It didn’t have to be good. I couldn’t keep it up, but it taught me a lot,” she said.

She took those “skeletons” of songs to Murr. “He took those concepts and made them bigger,” she said.

The last two months have been the “craziest” for her, she said.

In the last two weeks of July, she recorded and completed her EP. Shortly after, director Adrien Colon filmed the noire-like black-and-white video for her single

While she’s excited for the opportunities that may come from her recent exposure, she isn’t playing the waiting game. Instead, she’s pushing forward with her education to further develop her craft.

This weekend, Qudus packs her life into four large suitcases and sets for the east coast to attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston. She already plans to assemble a band and tour the coast, and return routinely for spot dates in the Bay Area.

“My career will only get better from here,” she said. “There’s a lot more songs to come.”

By next summer, she hopes to perform at Live105’s BFD and the Outside Lands festivals, two of the largest music festivals in the Bay Area.

“I think I can make it happen,” she said.

Download Qudus’ new EP on iTunes here. Visit her online fan page here.