At Twenty Years Old , Qudus, Who Performs Under The Moniker Doe Eye, Is Making Noise Fragile, Haunting Noise In The Bay Area Music Scene.

The motivational clich 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 shortly sits upon.

At 20 years of age , Qudus, who performs under the moniker Doe Eye, is making noise fragile, 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 sites.

“Since then, things have occurred 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 stations in the Bay Area. The video for the tune, which debuted online the same day as her EP’s release on Aug. 19, was afterwards featured on the station’s website, together with many other music blogs.

Produced by Steven Murr, you would not know the record was made with small assistance from outside musicians. Qudus is the only vocalist and guitar player heard on the record, with a guest drummer on two tracks. All of the instruments were created digitally by Murr to make a polished, high-quality indie-folk production.

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

“I like to form something out of my emotions,” she revealed. Her feelings range all the way from the bold and defiant lead single to the somber and optimistic dreamscape of “Sea to See”

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

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

That absence of fear and unbending backbone are what set Qudus’ career in motion at a young age.

She’s had a fondness for singing for so long as she can remember, but failed to get serious about playing music until she was in middle college, where she picked up the guitar and learned on her own, she revealed.

“I’m not the greatest guitarist, but I know enough to pen songs off it,” asserted Qudus, who owns 3 guitars, a bass, keyboard and tambourine.

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

Last year, she attempted to write one new song a day. “I did not pressure myself. It did not have to be good. I could not keep it up, but it taught me a lot,” she announced.

She took those “skeletons” of songs to Murr. “He took those ideas and made them bigger,” she announced,writes tagza.com.

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

In the last two weeks of July, she recorded and finished her EP. Right 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 is not playing the waiting game. Instead , she’s pushing forward with her education to further develop her craft.

Next weekend, Qudus packs her life into 4 huge cases and sets for the east coast to visit the Berklee School of Music in Boston. She already plans to assemble a band and tour the coast, and return customarily for spot dates in the Bay Area.

“My career will only improve from here,” she announced. “There’s more songs to come.”

By next summer, she hopes to perform at Live105′s BFD and the Outside Lands holidays, 2 of the biggest music holidays in the Bay Area.

“I think I will make it happen,” she announced.