Mareux is the dark electronic project of Los Angeles musician and producer Aryan Ashtiani. Emerging in the early 2010s, he developed a sound shaped by darkwave, post-punk, synthpop and electronic club music, combining brooding synthesizers, restrained vocals and romantic, nocturnal atmospheres.
Ashtiani began learning guitar during childhood before moving into electronic production. Early influences included European dance music, the post-punk revival and the dark electronic sound of artists such as TR/ST. He adopted the name Mareux because it resembled an invented French surname and released his first EP, Decade, in 2013.
After temporarily stepping away from music to pursue work in healthcare, Mareux returned with the Predestiny EP in 2020. The release included tracks such as “Cold Summer,” “Roses” and “Gopnik,” further defining his combination of coldwave electronics, minimal rhythms and melancholic songwriting.
Mareux achieved international recognition when his 2015 cover of The Cure’s “The Perfect Girl” became widely popular online in 2021. Its success introduced his music to a much larger audience and led to an official music video featuring Violet Chachki. The track became closely associated with the renewed global interest in darkwave, gothic imagery and post-punk-inspired electronic music.
In 2023, Mareux performed at Coachella and released his debut studio album, Lovers From the Past, through Warner Records. The album expanded his sound with stronger gothic rock, industrial and cinematic elements while retaining the romantic melancholy of his earlier work. Songs including “Night Vision,” “Glass,” “Little Lies” and the title track explored obsession, isolation, desire and emotional collapse.
His second album, Nonstop Romance, followed in 2025. Compared with the darker mood of his debut, the record introduced brighter club production, Italo disco, techno and dance-pop influences while preserving Mareux’s characteristic emotional tension. The album demonstrated a broader and more playful approach to electronic music without abandoning the darkwave identity that established his career.
Through atmospheric production, understated vocals and a visual style influenced by underground club culture, vintage cinema and gothic fashion, Mareux has become one of the most visible contemporary artists associated with the modern darkwave revival.
