Marlon Williams’ music is pure sly charisma, a genre-bending hodgepodge of clever wordplay and slick harmonies. The Kiwi singer grew up singing in a cathedral choir, but his father, a Maori punk singer, introduced him to country music as a teenager. By 17, he was already playing in a band with his high school friends (and science teacher) — gigging at festivals, winning awards and touring with Justin Townes Earle in New Zealand. After he met country singer Delaney Davidson, the two started performing as a duo with a country bent. In 2013, he began to perform solo, and fans all over Australia and New Zealand devoured his debut solo album. Now touring the United States through June, Williams gives us a glimpse into the inner workings of his music.

Hometown and homebase: Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand

Describe your music to someone who's never heard you before.

Sad singing over country, soul, folk, blues and/or alternative genres tempered by mild humor.

How did you begin playing music?

I started my musical career by snapping a violin bow at age 5. My dad was a musician and my mum always had music playing in the house.

Do you remember the first song you ever wrote?

It was called "That Girl Should Not be Alone," and it was about a German exchange student whom I had a thing for. It failed to woo her, and it failed to stand up as a song.

Who are your biggest musical influences?

I guess I like to see myself as a crooner in the tradition of Elvis, Roy Orbison, Jim Reeves. But of course, I was born in 1990 and am informed by everything that’s happened since then.

Does being from New Zealand influence your music a lot?

New Zealand is about as organic a place as you can find in today’s world. Music has the space to breathe and grow of its own volition, relatively free from the goings-on of the world at large.

Who would you love to collaborate with?

I'd love to do a collab with someone like New York “associative sounds” producer Hot Sugar. Something hi-fi and electronic but beautifully dirty at the same time.

You've also performed with country artist Delaney Davidson as half of a duo. Why go solo on this album?

I wanted to do something of my own. Delaney’s been producing albums and touring the world pretty much nonstop for 12 years, and that’s always what I wanted to do too.

What's the craziest thing that’s happened to you as a musician so far?

The craziest thing that’s happened is the particular, delicate set of cosmic circumstances that conspired to allow life to exist. Earth sits perfectly in what is known as the Goldilocks zone, a band of orbit so distanced from the sun as to be not too hot, not too cold. Crazy, eh?

Why is your album self titled? What does it mean?

It's in keeping with the openness of the album. It gives nothing away except my name, again.

If you were a hashtag, what would you be?

#doooosh or #boooosh.

Do you have an awesome Myspace-related story as a musician?

We ended up getting to play support for a fantastic band called The Septembers all the way from Auckland, and it's all thanks to Myspace.