Marika Hackman

Marika Hackman
Marika Hackman on the cover of her "Free Covers" EP
Background information
Birth name	Marika Louise Hackman
Born	(1992-02-17) 17 February 1992 Hampshire, England
Origin	London, England
Genres	Folk rock, Alternative rock
Occupation(s)	singer-songwriter
Instruments	vocals, guitar, bass, drums,
Years active	2012 (2012) – present
Labels	Transgressive, Dirty Hit
Associated acts	Johnny Flynn, Charlie Andrew, Sivu, alt-J, Laura Marling
Website	marikahackman.com

Marika Louise Hackman (born 17 February 1992) is an English vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter.

Early life

Hackman was born in Hampshire, England and raised in Selborne and Devon.^[1][2][3] Her father is Finnish.^[4] Her parents met during their work as animators. Hackman watched little television as a child. She and her older brother, Ben, were instead encouraged to find other creative outlets. She is a self-taught guitarist and began learning when she was 12. Her brother is a dance music producer who releases material under the name, "Hackman". She received a scholarship to attend Bedales School as a day pupil, from ages 11 to 17, where she met and befriended model Cara Delevingne.^[5] Together, they formed a short-lived band, performing cover songs, where Hackman played drums and Delevingne played guitar and sang. Hackman performed at Mulberry's Park Lane launch dinner celebrating the release of Delevingne's collection in February 2014.^[6]

At 18, she moved to Brighton, England, where she studied art foundation for a year and planned on earning a degree in fine arts. Instead, she later chose to pursue music full-time. She currently resides in the East End of London.^[7][7][8]

Music career

Early career (2012-2013)

English folk singer-songwriter Johnny Flynn attended school with Hackman and was instrumental in getting her first record deal with Transgressive; he produced her debut single, "You Come Down" in 2012. A video of Hackman performing was shown to Burberry's Creative Chief Officer and she received a phone call requesting her participation in an upcoming ad campaign. In 2012, she was chosen as one of the new faces for their Spring/Summer eyewear campaign. She appeared in Burberry's online acoustic music series. Two of her songs, "You Come Down" and "Here I Lie", were used in promotional material for the brand. "Here I Lie" was later renamed "Monday Afternoon", and it appears on her debut album.^[9]

Hackman's first release was an EP of covers, which was available for digital download in January 2013. One month later, she released her first mini-album, "That Iron Taste", featuring songs of her own composition. The album was released on 25 February 2013 in physical and digital download.The album is produced by Alt-J's Charlie Andrew. In 2013, she toured Australia and Europe as an opening act for Laura Marling, to support the release of "That Iron Taste". The music video for her song, "Cannibal", was filmed at Bedales School in March 2013.^[10][11] She later released two more EPs: "Sugar Blind" on 9 December 2013 and "Deaf Heat" on 4 April 2014 via iTunes. Both EPs contain songs written by Hackman as well as one cover song. All of Hackman's EPs are available for free streaming on her official website.

Debut album: We Slept at Last (2014 to present)

Hackman began recording her full-length debut album in 2014 with producer, Charlie Andrew. She debuted new material from the album, including the songs, "Skin" and "Ophelia" while on tour in 2013 with Laura Marling.^[12] In late September 2014, the album's title was announced as "We Slept At Last" and was released on 16 February 2015. The album features 12 new songs written by Hackman and does not feature any material from her previous EPs. Hackman embarked on a headlining solo tour throughout the UK in support of the album in November 2014.^[13][14] The album's lead single, "Drown", premiered in mid-October and was officially released on 8 December 2014. Its music video premiered on Hackman's VEVO channel on 24 November 2014. On 17 November 2014, "Drown" was announced as a shortlisted contender for DJ Zane Lowe's "Hottest Record of 2014" on BBC Radio 1. It ranked #89 out of 100 songs.^[15][16][17] She also appeared as a featured vocalist on alt-J's song, "Warm Foothills", from their second album, "This Is All Yours". On 8 January 2015 she premiered the album's second single, "Animal Fear", for DIY Magazine. On 13 January 2015, "Before I Sleep", another track from her debut album, was streamed exclusively on the website, EarMilk, as well as her Soundcloud account. Hackman previewed material from the album in the days leading up to its release. The album is available to stream in its entirely on her official Soundcloud account. The deluxe edition of the album includes all of Hackman's songs from her EPs.^[18]

"Animal Fear" was released as the album's second single on February 16, 2015, the same day as the release of "We Slept at Last".

On 18 February 2015, Hackman played material from her debut album at The Cob Gallery in Camden, London. An art exhibit, featuring the album's artwork of 24 photographs, was displayed during the show. She embarked on a solo headlining tour throughout the UK during March and April 2015. The tour continued with shows throughout Europe during the spring and summer of 2015. ^[19][20]

Hackman filmed the music video for her third single, "Ophelia", in a desert in March 2015. The video premiered on April 13, 2015 on VEVO. The single was available for digital download on April 27, 2015.^[21]

On June 25, 2015, Laura Marling announced that Hackman and Johnny Flynn would join her on tour for a series of concerts in North America during July and August 2015. The concerts will be Hackman's first time performing material in North America. Hackman's fourth single, "Next Year", will be released on August 14, 2015.^[22]

The album was generally popularly received,^[23][24] with the Guardian's review rating it four out of five stars, and calling Hackman's work "superbly understated and atmospheric", noting that the "unsettling quality" was a distinguishing factor.^[25]

Musical style and influences

Her style is often described as "English folk" (in the nu folk or indie folk sense), but with a twist: "folk-ish",^[26] "brooding folk"^[27] "infusing traditionally winding melodies with leftfield production and a subtly accented vocal".^[3] Hackman herself comments on this type of description by explaining

"I was a fan of the nu-folk scene when I was younger, but I'm trying to take it somewhere different – I'm drawn to the darker, melancholic side of things."^[27]

Discography

Studio album

Extended Plays

Singles

• "You Come Down" (debut single; 2012)
• "Bath is Black" (2013)
• "Drown" (2014)
• "Animal Fear" (2015)
• "Ophelia" (2015)
• "Next Year" (2015)

Music Videos

• "You Come Down" (2012)
• "Cannibal" (2013)
• "Bath is Black" (2013)
• "Drown" (2014)
• "Animal Fear" (2015)
• "Ophelia" (2015)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

• Website
• Primary Talent Profile
• Dirty Hit Record Label Profile