Melancholic music to match your melancholic soul. With a deliberately minimal chord progression, Marble’s debut single red room can be described by its heavy sound with a post rock aesthetic, the intense vocal delivery and the rich, soul-stirring and full of detuned elements arrangement. Read our interview with the artist below.
Describe your sound in 3 words
Dark, dissonant, dreamy
Tell us a few things about your new song red room and your upcoming debut LP. What is the story behind it?
I (Matthew) wrote “red room” about an experience I had with someone very dear to me. This person told me that they had been thinking of ending their life. I remember sitting in a packed room and feeling like I was completely out of my body. For some reason, I was really aware of everything going on around me and all of my senses were heightened. I wrote about this experience for over a year, struggling to process it. It wasn’t until much later that this song emerged. This is a song about hope and love just as much as it’s a song about depression and sadness. I hope anyone who hears this song is reminded of the people who are most important to them and how much they love them. Tell them.
Our upcoming LP is called “the shadow in me”. The album begins with a sort of spiritual reckoning; a breaking down of evangelical christian ideals with the realization that nothing is certain, and there’s strange joy in that. The chorus is hopeful, “as the tower falls, I’ll take what I need” (Track #1, The Tower). The album examines themes of spirituality, religion, death, the meaning of dreams, mental health, and loneliness. It’s unashamedly vulnerable, earnest, and surrendering. In a few words from the album, “See ahead the life and death, welcome both of them in.” (Track #12, Deadwood).
The LP was mixed by Brandon Eggleston (Wye Oak, Modest Mouse, The Mountain Goats, Dandy Warhols, etc), produced by Jonah Cohen, and mastered by Ed Brooks (REM, Death Cab for Cutie, Minus the Bear, Fleet Foxes, Pearl Jam, etc).
MARBLE recorded the vast majority of the single/album in our basement studio. In the worst parts of the pandemic, we had to shift from relying on others to learning how to record ourselves. During this time, our lives shifted dramatically, changing us, and giving these songs new meaning and depth.
Many of our songs were written before but greatly evolved and transformed into what they are today throughout the recording process.
Your music has a melancholic touch. Why does melancholy feel so good?
Melancholy is self-indulgent, a release. It’s like crying at yourself in the mirror. or eating chocolate cake in the bathtub. As beings of language, we question our own existence; and that is true for everyone. Melancholy music expresses that part of ourselves that is just out of reach.
There’s so much beauty in feeling all the human emotions, and that’s why we don’t hold back. By unlocking the melancholy, we also reveal joy, despair, and openness.
You recorded your album mostly in your basement studio. What piece of your studio (analog or digital) is your favorite?
I (Matthew) have to go with the simplest answer here, it has to be our UA interface. That thing opened up so many worlds for us while we were tracking. From the Luna software, to the countless incredible plugins, to the hardware itself. This was a piece of gear that you instantly notice the improvement in your sound and it wasn’t incremental. I think a close 2nd place is our Neumann Mic that we used to track vocals. Full disclosure, we bought it intending to return it after tracking (shout out to Guitar Center’s return policy!) but once we tried it out, we couldn’t let it go. It was another piece of gear where we saw immediate positive changes in the mix.
Artists and people who have influenced and inspired you?
So many! Emma Ruth Rundle, As Cities Burn, Chelsea Wolfe, O’Brother, King Woman, Big Thief, Wolf Alice, Great Grandpa, St. Vincent, Radiohead, The National, The War on Drugs, etc. Tell me when to stop…
If red room was a film, which film would that be?
Let the Right One In (Matthew’s choice) Only Lovers Left Alive (Chantel’s choice)
What advice would you give to your younger self?
You’re not weird, they’re boring
Your biggest fear?
Sharks
Thank you!
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