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Too Much Superficiality, More Depth Please! | Billie Marten in Interview
It hasn’t been long since we reported on singer-songwriter Billie Marten (here’s the link to the article). But this young woman just has so much charm and potential – or so we’ve heard. Of course, we wanted to see for ourselves. In an interview.
Fresh on the Move
The English-born artist is only 20 and has just finished her second tour of North America and the UK a few days ago. Now, for the first time, we were able to have a chat with her. Over the phone. So, just the four ears. Sadly not face to face. But at least you’ve got a pair of eyes staring intently at you from our cover image.
A Seasoned Pro
Her debut album “Writing of Blues and Yellows” was released in 2016. Back then she still lived in picturesque Yorkshire, but now she’s based in London, the capital. There, she works as a waitress and created twelve unique tracks for her new album “Feeding Seahorses By Hand”. Her songs came to life in just two weeks – with help from producer Ethan John, who’s worked with the likes of Kings of Leon and Rufus Wainwright.
In Conversation: Billie Marten
Your second studio album came about from incomplete diary entries. Did you piece together different thoughts to write the lyrics?
The process is always fairly fragmentary. I’ve never sat down and said to myself: right, now I’m going to write a song for my album. Instead, I’ve found little breaks in my daily routine to do it. I think over the years I’ve always jotted down random thoughts, and eventually they turned into songs.
It’s as if we’re all stuck in this round, perfect world and becoming ever more superficial and tolerant.
Is it difficult to overcome the hurdle of revealing personal thoughts from your own diary?
Some thoughts just flow out as you’re writing. Sometimes I wake up the next day and don’t quite identify with them one hundred percent anymore. But I think the thoughts still stay relevant, even if you don’t think so at the time. However, some of the songs on my new album are more recent and relate to other people. They’re a bit more everyday and informative, rather than reflective.
In your song “Boxes” you sing about social issues. Do you bring up these topics to process them for yourself, or do you want to change something?
No, my songs aren’t meant to actively change anything. But I do often feel a certain sense of anxiety when I think about our society. I have the bad habit of looking at the world from a broader, existential perspective. It’s as if we’re all stuck in this round, perfect world, getting more and more superficial and tolerant. That just makes me a bit uneasy, and the best thing I can do is get these thoughts down on paper. Expressing them verbally afterwards, singing about them, helps too.
When did you start making music?
My dad taught me to play guitar when I was seven or eight, and I wrote my first song a year later. Back then I wrote about things I saw in the living room. I tried to turn observations into words and chords. It wasn’t professional, but I’ve always been very observant from the start.
Do you still make music with your dad and your family?
Sadly my dad is ill, so he can’t play guitar anymore, which is very sad. I often go home and play him something or show him new songs I’ve written. My parents are really keen to hear my new music. They know me best and can tell me like no one else what’s good and what’s just a bit silly. *laughs*
My parents know me best and can tell me like no one else what’s good and what’s just a bit silly.
Your last tour only just ended a few days ago – what were your impressions?
Yes, and now I’ve got this dreadful cold *laughs*. I liked it, though it was a bit chaotic. We toured America in May. Then went straight onto the UK tour. Now, I just want a bit of rest. I’m tired of starting my day at 2am to jump in a car, only to wake up in a new city. But I don’t want to complain, I loved it!
You posted videos on YouTube when you were just nine. Did you ever believe, back then, that strangers would watch your videos?
Not at all. It was my mum’s idea to upload those videos. Back then it was basically the only way to do it. I remember coming home from school in the afternoons and checking the view count. The first video we did, I was 12. It got a quarter of a million views within a few weeks. Back then, I didn’t quite understand what was happening.
There’s far too little praise among people and far too much judgement.
When did you decide on the stage name Billie Marten?
When I started doing gigs, no-one could pronounce my surname. So I changed it. I wanted something simple and short. Since my dad’s and my favourite musician is John Martyn, going in that direction made sense. I just switched the ‘y’ for an ‘e’, and that was it: Billie Marten.
You moved from picturesque Yorkshire to bustling London. How did that affect your music?
It took me a while to get used to everything. Suddenly you’re part of something much bigger. Yorkshire has 15,000 inhabitants, London with six million is a different world, of course. You really have to carve out your own home, and that takes some time. I think actually, because of it, I write less here.
Everyone has this need for nature and the peace that comes with it.
Even so, your songs radiate calm. Is music your way of staying serene in such a hectic place?
Yes, I think so. In my opinion, everyone has this need for nature and the peace that it brings. That’s also why we talk about the weather so much. As long as I go for a walk and get my daily dose of nature, I keep my inner calm. I love gardening, just because I know it’s good for me.
You sing a lot about self-doubt. Does singing about these things help you?
Oh yes, I love self-doubt! *laughs* When I sit down to write songs, I don’t think much of myself. That sounds a bit sad, but it’s not at all. Whenever I listen to it in hindsight, I can always look past those doubts a bit more and keep growing. But I think it’s a pretty universal feeling to think you’re not good enough. There’s so much competition in this world. We’re constantly labelled or judged. There’s far too little praise among people, and far too much judgement.
Do you notice judgement or negativity on social media?
I’ve got a story about that. At a show in America, there wasn’t much money so it was just me and my drummer. But he didn’t have a full kit with him. We weren’t very loud. Someone tweeted: can someone please stop this dreadful, boring music? I really don’t understand why some people feel the need to be so active with their negative opinions online. *laughs*
I really don’t understand why some people feel the need to be so active with their negative opinions online.
Is there anyone you’d like to collaborate with?
I think it would be cool to collab with a rapper one day. Maybe Kanye West or Kendrick Lamar or the like. But at the moment I’m quite into classical compositions. The “Penguin Café Orchestra” or Chilly Gonzales, for example, really inspire me.
I’ve heard you’d quite like to have alpacas. Isn’t it time you got one? Or do you have other plans?
As soon as I have my own garden, or maybe even a few fields, then I’ll be growing tomatoes and stroking my alpacas *laughs*. But I think, for now, I’ll keep writing songs. Before this interview, I just started a new one. And my next goal: to tour Europe.
Keep writing then! Thanks for the chat.
Here’s the link to Billie’s new album.
Photos: © Katie Silvester