After originally making her mark as part of indie project Highland Kites, US artist Mar Lamar is now breaking out on her own with her shimmering debut solo single 'Someone To Blame'.
Exploring a wonderfully rich and alluring dream-pop aesthetic for her initial offering, 'Someone To Blame' makes for a beautifully warm and inviting introduction to her sound so far. With her wistful vocal style layered across a wondrous production from start to finish, she is kicking things off with a wildly enjoyable opening number here.
So with the new single available to stream now, we sat down with her to find out more about her origins and what has been inspiring her most over the years.
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What was the first instrument you fell in love with?
I fell in love with the piano when I was a little girl. My mom was a professional player as a teen, and we always had beautiful pianos in the house that I would mess around with. I was always drawn to it more than any other instrument.
What kind of music did you love when you were younger?
The first music I fell in love was from a big case of CDs that my dad had. I must have been 7 or 8, and it’s the first real memory I have of forming a solid opinion on what I like and didn’t like musically. I would rummage through his 70+ CDs and just listen to them front to back, over and over. My favourites were Guns and Roses, Tracy Chapman, James Taylor, and funnily enough Kenny Loggins “return to Pooh corner” had such an impact on me. I still consider it the soundtrack of my childhood and love playing it for my 1 & 3 year old daughters.
As a pre-teen/teen I fell heavily into the alternative scene. I remember doing chores to save up the money to ride my bike to Barnes and Noble and buy Foo Fighters “the colour and the shape”. It’s still one of my favourite albums to this day. Smashing Pumpkins is another band that altered my brain chemistry and sticks with me to this day!
What was the first album you remember owning?
Foo Fighters - Colour and the Shape (unless you count me stealing my dad’s Tracy Chapman album)
What is the one song you wished you could have written yourself?
Ooh. Smashing Pumpkins “Muzzle”. There’s just something about that song…
Do you have any habits or rituals you go through when trying to write new music?
There are a few things that help me write. One of them is walks in nature before I with no devices playing in my ears. The second is putting any distractions out of my writing area (my phone). Third is just showing up. I just have to be willing to go through the process of writing the bad stuff before I get to something I consider good. When I write something that gives me chills, I know I got there.
Who are your favourite artists you have found yourself listening to at the moment?
The National, Sharon Van Etten, Bon Iver’s new record is great, I’ve recently been on a First Aide Kit kick, and I constantly go back to both Boy Genius albums.
If you could open a show for anyone in the world, who would it be?
I’ve dreamed about opening for Sharon Van Etten or The National. I feel like my music would work. It would be surreal!
What do you find is the most rewarding part about being a musician?
The creative process. How wild is it that we can create something from nothing? I try to reflect on that part of it. That no matter the numbers, or where I am at on my journey as a creative person, I have this ability and the freedom to say what I believe, put it in musical form and share it with other human beings. When I’m in the process of making a song it feels spiritual, the normal noisiness of my mind calms, and the inspiration flows. It’s quite something, and I’ll never fail appreciate that I get to do this.
And what is the most frustrating part?
I think my tendency to overthink, especially when it comes to the marketing part of the process. I’ve done a lot of work to get over myself when it comes to my marketing and posting more, and telling people about my music. Our egos can really get in the way of us being willing to share our art as much as we actually need to to get in front of people who want to hear it. I’ve had to overcome (and am still overcoming) the metal blocks I have when it comes to feeling “cringey” or “uncool” for actually sharing my work!
And what is the best piece of advice you have received as a musician?
A friend of mine (and successful musician) a while back told me to never count on my art for income, to make what I want to make, and make money other ways. He said to just keep myself free to focus on finding myself as an artist, experimenting and becoming better, and to not “change my art for the market”. This helped me stay on a path of remaining true to who I am as a musician and writer.
On the production side, a friend of mine and wonderful producer once told me that every instrument, every vocal part is saying something specific. Don’t just add parts for the sake of adding things. Ask yourself “what is this part saying? What is is contributing to song emotionally?” That really helped me with how I write and arrange my music. If there’s a lot going on - it’s for a reason! Otherwise I remove parts before I add to make sure we’re staying true to the heart of the song and not just throwing in the kitchen sink.
Otherwise the advice to write a lot of songs, and never stop learning, improving, and pushing yourself creatively has been so important in my journey!
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Mar Lamar's debut single 'Someone To Blame' is out now. Check it out in the player below.