Today we’d like to introduce you to Marilaine.
Hi Marilaine, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
From a young age, I have always been very involved with music and the arts. I started off in theater, and then eventually transitioned into playing in rock bands at the age of ten. I wrote music and performed in several different groups. For most of my childhood, I took on the role as a guitarist, but I found that despite my love of playing instruments, I felt more at home as a singer and writer, so I began to transition into projects were I could take on the role of lead singer. Now a-days, I have been performing as a solo act, focusing on writing conceptual music with storylines and characters, as writing stories has always been another passion of mine that until recently, I have mainly pursued on the side. Now, I’m trying to combine both of my skill sets to create something unique and authentic to me.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The music industry in general is not an easy road, especially not in the independent music world. In some ways, it’s easier than ever, considering that anyone anywhere can create and release their own music without the need for major record labels. However, that creates it’s own set of challenges, as it means that everyone is on their own to try and figure out the “right” way to boost their career. Truthfully, I’m not so sure there is a right or wrong answer, as it seems that something different works best for everyone. In all honesty, I think it’s all about trial and error, and figuring out how to create music and art that speaks to other people and is authentic to who you are as a person, and finding the strategies that work for you, even if it’s not the “correct” way of doing things.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am an independent alternative rock artist, who mainly specializes in conceptual storylines. At the moment, my current music tells individual stories per song, but a full concept album is currently in the works. I have always had a passion for creating characters, writing stories, and bringing them to life through music and art, and I’m excited to be able to lean more into that with this new project. In general, for both my currently released songs and my new projects, I like to tell stories with dark themes and grim undertones, but are still whimsical and hold themes of hope for a better future, whether it’s for the world as a whole or in a more personal sense. Out of all my currently released songs, I am most proud of my song “Headlines”, which was the first song I released as a solo artist. It’s all about the cycle of the “satanic panic” and how certain rockstars and musicians are blamed by the media for all of the troubles of the younger generations. It’s somewhat satirical, but gets more serious as it goes on, starting off from the perspective of the media demonizing this unnamed artist, and ending with the perspective of the youth who are able to find solace in that artist’s music. I actually recently recorded a new version of the song that is going to go on the concept album, and I’m super excited to put it out!
Any big plans?
Big changes are coming soon! At the moment, I am mainly focused on writing and recording my concept album, which should hopefully be done by next year! Without spoiling too much, I am very excited to go in a much more film/story driven direction with this album, and take all of the things I have learned in this last year and apply it to my project. I feel like this next batch of songs are the most authentic I have ever been, despite most of the songs being from the perspective of/about fictional characters. I also have another big project that I am super excited about, as this one has been in the works for nearly four years now–I’m excited to enter my “writer era”!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.marilainemusic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealmarilaine/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MARILAINEMUSIC?mibextid=wwXIfr&mibextid=wwXIfr
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheRealMarilaine
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4gePUkxuOyf5uPvagjzMiG?si=ZME6ZOUsRaioliI8BIwx-Q
Image Credits
Erin Russell
