LA-based singer songwriter Marina Allen may be a new name on the UK scene, but with the release of her debut Candlepower (reviewed here), I have a feeling we’ll be hearing much more from her in the future.
The album was released in early June on Fire Records, and Folk Radio UK got the chance to have a chat to talk about the challenges of songwriting, her eclectic influences, and the LA music scene.
“Well, I grew up in New Jersey on the East Coast until I was about 10,” opens Marina, “and then my family moved to California, to the San Francisco Bay Area. I actually went back east too, for school, when I was like 18. I lived in Brooklyn for a couple of years, and then I moved back to Los Angeles, four years ago.”
With a childhood filled with song, an interest fostered by her family and close community, Marina always knew where her future career path lay: “I grew up singing. I grew up singing in churches, mainly. My family wasn’t religious, but it was a community thing. That was like, my early childhood, and then just in choirs and school choirs. Music, and singing specifically, was always my thing, I guess.”
Marina possesses a striking voice, at times a little reminiscent of Karen Carpenter, Joni Mitchell, and Laura Nyro. Still, there is a maturity and willingness to experiment in Marina’s vocals and writing that is very much her own. “I have fun cherry-picking influences,” she says, “that’s kind of how I learned how to sing. Later on, I took a more formal approach, but when I was very young, that’s how I learned how to sing. It was just listening to Judy Garland and pretending that I was her, you know, and singing and kind of embodying her. I mean, as much as you know, an eight-year-old could do that! But, so yeah, I would go through phases, like I went through a big Bonnie Raitt phase and I went through a big Emmylou Harris phase, and yeah, Joni Mitchell, obviously, and I’m a huge Roaches fan. Basically, I just love singers who sing, who really sing, and I felt really connected to that and wanted so badly to have the courage to do that. I’m totally inspired by all these women. Later, I got really into Meredith Monk and more experimental music and Yoko Ono. I’m on a huge Yoko Ono kick right now.”
Marina’s eclectic tastes ensure a wealth of influences and a rich musical landscape to draw inspiration from: “Everything’s fair game, you can take so many lessons from so many people. A couple of years ago, I was like fully on a Kate Bush thing, and, you know, you kind of have to be obsessive and a little deranged, to be so into the music and to just keep playing the same song over and over and over again, and just trying to match it, hearing their textures and their voice, and really trying to mimic it.”
Marina possesses a knowing, mature yet fragile voice. It balances beautifully between the confident and the anxious and is one which she has taken time to foster: “I don’t think of myself as trying to mimic a particular person when I’m writing my own music,” she says, “but I love how Joni Mitchell, you know, the way that she does this little lick or trill or her vibrato or whatever it is, like, that’s so amazing. You know, I think that’s how people get inspired by other people. You’re always sharpening that and there’s so much information that I feel I can learn from other singers. So, I’m kind of always taking notes and putting it in my back pocket and seeing how I can recontextualize it I guess.”
Marina’s debit, Candlepower, is released on independent label Fire Records. Known for ‘psychedelic pop’, the label has an impressive and exciting history. Marina’s story has an almost fairy-tale narrative regarding how it came to be released, with her only coming to the label’s attention at the end of 2020. “It sort of happened overnight, a little bit.” Marina explains, “I mean, the way that it stumbled into place. I had this kind of laser focus about sending it off and just honouring the work, honouring the album, and just honouring myself in a way and I was like, you know what, I’m just gonna send it out and see what happens and that will give me information as to, wherever it lands basically, I’m going to accept that. Just kind of having a really open mind about where it goes from there. I sent it to a small label called Maple Death Records, and I guess someone from that label also works at Fire Records or knew someone, and so he sent it to James [Nicholls], the owner of Fire, and then James sent me an email the next morning and so I woke up to this amazing email that was the answer to all my dreams! It was just, we want to sign you basically, we want to give you a three-album record deal, and it all happened really quickly! It felt like one of the most amazing moments in my life. It was very surprising and surreal and I feel very lucky that it that it all happened.”
It’s been an exciting ride for Marina, and she has been impressed by Fire Records, their support and faith in her vision. “The way Fire heard the songs is exactly how you hear them,” she says, “so, basically the book was closed on it, it was alive, and they were going to take it or leave it. James totally saw that immediately, and said that in the first email, like, we don’t want to change a thing. It just made me trust them fully, because they trusted me and so it felt so good that they were like, who you are how you are right now is what we want. We just want to support you, and I think that was the best thing that you could hear from that situation. So, it was all really nice and good.”
With the album’s ride still a whirlwind, from receiving the email from James to having the record released, Candlepower’s story is one Marina is still joyfully digesting: “It feels so nice! It feels like it’s a relief, basically, and was very pent up for very for a long time! I don’t know if I would have said that a week ago, even, but just having it out in the world, I feel so much more connected to who I am today. It’s like a present moment, rather than festering. So yeah, it feels nice, feels good!”
There is no such thing as an overnight success, of course. For Marina, this has been a long time coming: “It seems like, you know, I’m coming out of thin air, but it’s the magic of the debut and being on a label and all that kind of thing that fluffs it up a lot, but to me, it’s been very gruelling, long journey to this moment! My stepmom always says the willingness comes from the pain, and there’s something really beautiful in that. It just became so hard not to have music out there that I feel like that’s sort of what drove Candlepower in a lot of ways.”
The title of the album relates to an old term for luminous intensity. It’s a name that had fortuitous serendipity for Marina: “I didn’t even know that term existed because it’s so archaic, but I coined the term to reference the inner flame or the inner flicker, and I named it while the songs were evolving. I had so many more songs than what’s on the album, but as I was sifting through which ones felt right for this particular purpose ‘candlepower’ just became a mantra in a way and a way to project a more ambitious attitude onto the album; a sort of North Star, and I think it encompasses a lot of the themes on the record, which is basically the whole conceit of the thing is that you have your candlepower. Your spirit is deserving of attention, essentially, in the crudest terms, and the songs are expressions, or different tones of that.”
Candlepower is an entirely personal record, with songs and themes relating to events in Marina’s own life, including songs about the individuals she’s met through her time in LA. The album opens with the sweet ‘Oh, Louise’. Inspired by a real person, it’s perhaps one of the most timeless on the album, with a distinctly easy listening but funky vibe. Marina tells us more: “That song I wrote about a particular person who was really inspiring to me as a performer. Her name’s Lousie [Chicoine], and she’s in this great band, an LA band, called Banny Grove, and she’s kind of like the DIY fairy godmother of my world! When I first moved to LA I was surprised by the tone of the scene, of how what seems really popular and what’s being asked of the performer is a very intense, emotional vulnerability. Very one-dimensional in terms of how it relates to just expressing how sad you are, basically, and the sorrow of your life, and all that stuff, and I can definitely relate to that, and go there for sure.”
The influence of Lousie, though, provided an alternative avenue for Marina to explore. “I think what was so inspiring about Lousie, was that her project is kind of the exact opposite of that, it’s about being vulnerable in a really sincere way and expressing joy, and innocence and wonder, things that to me feel actually harder to share in a sincere way. It’s like your child self, basically, and that’s harder, you’re more protective of it. So, I was really taken by her courage to do that, and the song is about her, and how I’ve created this mythical character. Remembering those aspects of myself, and longing to share those, so it kind of goes in and out of the pain of feeling separate from that, but also embodying that as well.”
For any new artist, especially one who explores their personal lives in their song-writing so wholeheartedly, offering these songs to an audience can be terrifying, something Marina was extremely aware of in sending the record to Fire: “I think I was probably scared. I was scared the whole time, I’m still scared, you know, but it was exciting, and it was kind of exploring fear in a way of, you know, self-affirmation, rather than hiding and keeping the flame hidden and secret and dim. It was hurting so much that sort of exposing it and giving it oxygen and letting other people you know, celebrate, and start burning their candle, felt really invigorating, and, like, okay, this keeps feeling good. So, I’m just gonna keep going, you know, rather than listen to the bad voice in my head saying, ‘no, keep it keep it in the cave’, so, that’s the story.”
One of the most evocative tracks on the album, the sublime ‘Original Goodness’, is a case in point. So raw was it that it very nearly didn’t make it onto the album. “It’s about a very, very personal relationship and just accepting. Accepting the way that distance feels. I didn’t really think I would ever share it because it felt so personal and private, and I was sort of embarrassed by its simplicity in a way, but, whenever I share the song people really like it. So, I kind of was like, I’m just gonna, I’m gonna put it on there and see, you know, but, yeah, I think I was hesitant. That was probably the one that I was the most hesitant about putting on. That one’s probably the most tender.”
Marina’s distinctive, knowing voice is only one part of her appeal. As a talented songwriter, it’s clear writing is her first love, and one that helps her makes sense of the world, “I love talking about song-writing!” she says, “For me, it’s just such a relief, that I have this tool, because otherwise I’d be so lost. I mean, everyone has their way, and I’m just so, so grateful that it calls to me, and that I have a way to cope with the world, basically, in this way. It’s also just such a relief, because who knows how successful I’ll be or whatever, but I know, deep inside of me that I’m gonna be writing songs forever, no matter if anyone’s listening to it, it’s just a part of me. It’s like, the perfect way to understand and also express yourself. It’s deep listening, but it’s also exploring self-expression. So, I guess that’s like the candle power of song writing, or the fire of song writing for me. And then from there, I feel like the second tier of that idea is just that it’s fun, it’s playful. It’s a way to play, and a way to, you know, show all the things that you’re thinking about in a concise way you want to say it.”
As a writer, Marina is conscious that she is still developing but has been exploring storytelling through song since a young age: “I didn’t start writing my own songs until maybe I was like, 16 or 17. I don’t even know if you would like really consider them songs. But um, yeah, like half-half songs, sort of ideas or writing my own melodies. I have memories of writing earlier than that. I always think of it this way that little kids are always sort of singing songs, and I just never stopped doing. It just felt very organic and natural.”
The power of a successful song can often be felt in its cathartic release and exploration of the self, aspects which Marina unreservedly and sincerely is driven to explore: “There’s so many times when I feel misunderstood, and then you just get to really share all of what is going on behind the scenes, so yeah, that to me, I just deeply relate to that kind of problem solving, I guess. It’s just really fun, I just feel grateful, very grateful that I have found it.”
Marina has a particular way to approach a song in terms of her writing, and one which she credits to a particular mentor, “I had this amazing guitar teacher,” she says, “he’s an amazing musician. His name’s Chris Wiseman, and he has this cult following. I was really lucky enough to work with him, study with him, basically, and one time he told me the thing that I think about all the time in song-writing. His approach is, you’re basically capturing a mood, you’re capturing where you are in that moment. If you can hone that, basically stretch it, and expand it, and push it, that is a successful song. I don’t know if those were the direct words, he said, but that’s how I think of it now. So, that’s kind of what I like doing. I want to say this kind of thing in it. I’m listening for, what is this song really asking? Rather than I think what’s it like, and being intuitive with it, rather than pushing your own agenda on to it. Whenever I do that, the song doesn’t work, because I have all these ideas for it, but it’s not built that way, because that’s not where it’s coming from. That’s just my approach. I’m sure people have their own way, but for me, it feels like, everything’s fair game, in terms of an exchange with the song, I guess.”
At the heart of Marina’s writing is the concept of ‘magical theatric’, an almost spiritual element at the heart of her music and identity. “I think that’s everything,” Marina explains, “I think that’s the most important thing, you know. It’s that kind of little nugget I’m constantly trying to shine and keep precious, keep lit, keep refining and approximating and I think to me, that is the sharpening of that. When you’re doing that, or when I’m doing that, I feel the closest to myself. It’s like there’s two worlds. There’s the reality of myself, and then there’s this magic fantasy creative world that runs side by side. It’s just very spirit oriented or just heart centric.”
The album was recorded in LA, which also meant Marina could make valuable use of the local music scene, gathering a talented bunch of musicians and friends to help her complete her vision: “I have these really amazing, talented musicians. All of my friends in LA are musicians, and it was a community effort. A lot was just dictating kind what I wanted and working on through that, I guess, in collaboration. Luckily, everyone is very savvy and elevated, so it was really easy to do that. The musicianship was never really a concern, because the level of my friends’ talent is higher than mine! So, I was very lucky!”
A key figure to help was the producer Ben Varian who she engaged in crafting her sound: “I recorded it in a bunch of different studios, and the main collaborator, and the person who really helped define candlepower was this great musician and friend named Ben Varian, who really helped with a lot of it, and definitely understood my sensibilities and knew what I was going for. He’s so talented, and added a lot to it, too. It’s really important to collaborate with people that you trust on an intuitive level. So, yeah, I just feel really lucky. I think once I gave it to him, because he mixed it, and helped with instrumentation and ideas here and there, I think once I handed it over, it felt more self-affirming, in a way.”
A useful example of how the two explore different sounds can be heard in the hypnotic spoken word ‘Believer’: “I didn’t really know if it was going to work or not.” Marina admits, “At the time, I was listening to a lot of Fiona Apple, she’s really great. She’s an amazing lyricist, obviously, but she’s also just really good at kind of spitting out things, and I kind of just wanted to see to just try on that kind of song-writing, I guess. Just super wordy, and almost like, I’m rapping in a way. I wrote it during the pandemic. I wrote it, probably last June, so that’s one of the youngest songs on the album. Then Ben Varian really elevated the song to how you hear it and added a lot of the arrangement. I kind of just wanted it to be as if you’re swimming in the dark, you know, but it’s not scary! Like you’re uncovering things as you’re going. It’s definitely a little trip, and I wanted to encourage that feeling. So, it was definitely a very different mode of exploration than ‘Original Goodness’, but it was equally as gratifying. It was fun to explore a different aspect of me.”
In the time of Covid-19, releasing any new music is difficult, touring even more so, Marina though, is still hopeful to be able to showcase Candlepower via a live performance soon: “I want to do a proper release, at a venue. I may do that, to kick off the UK tour, that’s the thought.” In the meantime, plans are well ahead for the UK tour, in November, with stops in London, Edinburgh, and Bristol, amongst other cities. As Marina notes, it’ll be a stripped-back affair: “It’s not going to be a full band. I think it’s going to be me and pianists. It’s going to be really fun, but it’s not going to be what you hear on the album really. I’m excited. I am excited to drum up some players! I haven’t been able to really exercise a lot of ideas in that regard. So, that’ll be exciting to see how it will all unfold!”
Until then, Marina is busy working on new material for her next album at home in LA, a city and community she still finds incredibly inspiring: “It’s such a fruitful place for community, and truly people being excited about helping you make something. This whole album, I paid on my own just through a waitressing gig and all my friends either charged me close to nothing, or nothing, so in that way it was completely DIY, and it was extremely generous, and speaks to the spirit of the community who are really just real musicians, really just real people who want to make music. I feel really grateful to have found that in LA, there really is that heart here.”
Candlepower is out now on Fire Records. Order it here: https://fire-records.lnk.to/MarinaAllenCPID
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Bandcamp
Photo Credit: Eve Neuhart (top main image) | Kristy Benjamin (inset images)