In this interview feature, we get to know the most radicalist up and coming stars on the planet.    

This time we speak with Marika Hackman.

Whether by design or by nature, Hampshire-born now East London-based singer-songwriter Marika Hackman, has undergone a dramatic artistic change in recent years.

Having released a string of pastoral EPs and her ghostly debut full-length We Slept At Last, Hackman reassessed her songwriting from the bottom up; a pivot which has resulted in a truly sensational second LP.

I’m Not Your Man marks a gutsy and unexpected departure from the haunting fragility of her folk-tinged debut. She’s replaced the oblique metaphors and rural imagery with witty, incisive songwriting and has eschewed previous folksy arrangements for the immediate pleasures of grunge.

On the subject of immediate pleasures, sex and sexuality are (perhaps surprisingly) presented centre-stage on Hackman’s new LP in a bewitching suite of songs that deftly unpacks the familiar issues of love and lust. Highlights include the piercingly ironic lead single ‘Boyfriend’, the seductive dream-pop gem ‘My Lover Cindy’ and the understated, romantic number ‘Cigarette’.

On I’m Not Your Man we find an artist transformed and refreshingly direct, whose art is as intelligent as it is entertaining. We recently caught up with Hackman to learn a little more about this sublime new sound…

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TMR: There’s been a marked change in tone from your earlier (generally more introverted) material to the more dynamic, frequently humorous and at times even ebullient songs on I’m Not Your Man. What brought about this change?

I think it was just a growth in confidence really. I had been playing a more sedate style of music for as long as I could remember and I felt like it was time to challenge myself and have a bit more fun with it. There were a few songs from previous records like ‘Cinnamon’ and ‘Open Wide’ which I always enjoyed playing live more than the quieter stuff, so I think I wanted to carry on in that vein and make something heavier, but also more enjoyable to tour.

TMR: Did the songwriting process change between these records? If so, how?

For the first record I was very disciplined and would be up at seven every day and try to write until at least 6pm. I had just come out of a relationship and moved to London so I think I was keen to just really focus on work and not get distracted. I wrote that record in a couple of months, and I think you can really hear that through the prevailing melancholic tone. I wrote I’m Not Your Man over the space of about two years, so immediately there’s a big difference there. I think because I was focusing less on forcing myself to write and just sitting down when the mood struck, the songs have a bit more energy. I think you can really hear that I just let them flow rather than working them into what my idea of what a ‘Marika Hackman’ song should be. I also had to think about the song arrangements, as they were going to be recorded live with a band, which is something I had never really done before, so that added some extra work pre going into the studio.

TMR: Having said there’s humour and brightness in your music, there’s also, and often at the same time, quite a bit of darkness in there too. ‘Boyfriend’ might be a good example of a song that explores these areas simultaneously, both lyrically and sonically. How did this particular song develop? It covers a lot of ground!

I remember with ‘Boyfriend’ that I was just playing around on my guitar one evening in my room and that opening riff just came out of nowhere. I made a demo that night which had the intro and the chorus but I didn’t have any verses or any lyrics and it stayed that way for another few months. I came back to it and actually stole a verse melody I had written for a song when I was about 19, and then as soon as I had that the lyrics just came, it was bizarre. I normally grapple with lyrics for a long time before I’m happy, but ‘Boyfriend’ was finished that day in a few hours. I remember thinking “where the fuck have these come from and am I ready to be so open about my sexuality?” but I decided to stick with them and I’m glad I did because it gave me the confidence to be lyrically very frank on the rest of the album and I think it’s changed the way I write now. No more shrouding anything in metaphors.



TMR: We can only assume it would’ve been a pleasure having band-of-the-moment, The Big Moon, involved in the recording of your new album. How did this connection come about?

I met them at one of their shows, and there was an immediate friend crush situation, we all just got on really well and started hanging out loads after that. So then, a few months later, I had a bunch of these songs ready to go, all arranged for a full band, but I didn’t have a band. I was talking about it with my management and The Big Moon seemed like they would be the perfect fit. They have such an amazing live energy and for me that’s exactly what I wanted to try and capture on this record. Also the fact that we were friends meant there would be a real sense of fun caught as well. It was amazing, they are amazing.

TMR: Many of the songs on I’m Not Your Man have these great moments of personal eccentricity where we get an insight into the camaraderie of the recording process (you can hear coughs, laughs, screams, in-jokes and so on). How was your experience of recording this album? It sounds like you were having a lot of fun, but were there any challenges too?

The challenges I met were all before we got into the studio, it was just arranging stuff in ways I’d never done before and the fear of stepping into the unknown. But once we were in there it was just so much fun. Charlie is really into capturing the whole room on a recording and not just very slick up close stuff, so that’s why there’s so many bits like that on there. I think that sort of stuff make a record unique and it makes it personal and it makes it real, I really wanted it to feel like you would just be listening to five musicians playing together and have a good time and get swept up in the energy of it. Even on the very stripped back solo acoustic songs there’s still creaks from the chair and other random noises. On ‘I’d Rather Be With Them’ there’s a rumble of thunder which got picked up on the second verse. It’s just capturing a moment rather than crafting something which is trying to be a moment.



TMR: In our experience we’ve seen a lot of singing, dancing and generally high-energy crowds at your recent live shows (something that would’ve been quite difficult to imagine of gigs surrounding your first record). How has touring and playing these new songs live been for you? Have there been any particularly special moments?

It’s just been so much fun, it’s exactly what I wanted and part of the reason I wrote this record was to create a more dynamic live show. I feel like the shows I played before were very much people having their own personal experience whilst watching me perform and I really wanted to start playing shows where there would be a collective experience for everyone in the room, that we’re sharing something rather than being introspective. The first night of our last UK tour was in Birmingham and the crowd were amazing, just so energetic and singing along and giving so much of themselves. It was the first time anyone had reacted like that to my music so I think it will always stick in my memory.

TMR: How and for what reasons did you first get into writing music? Having now released your second record and toured around the world, can you relate to these same motivations now?

I don’t think there were any reasons. I’ve always written music, even when I was a tiny child, it’s just something that feels very normal to me. It’s pretty amazing that I’ve been able to make a career out of it but if I’m honest, I’m still just doing this because it’s something that I would be doing anyway. I will never stop writing songs, even if I’m doing something completely different as a career, it feels as natural as reading a book or watching television to unwind.

TMR: Your new album explores both very personal and very public issues. Often in your music these are actually one and the same. Did you have an ultimate goal you wanted to achieve with this record, personal and/or public?

My goal when writing any music is to just try and write really good songs. In terms of any social/political points, they happen along the way and are just true reflections of how I feel about the world at that time. I never go into writing with a lyrical aim because I think ultimately I would end up with something that felt forced, I just like to channel something and hopefully write in a way which connects to people and makes people feel like their point of view is a shared one. Or to challenge people, that’s also fun.

TMR: What does the rest of 2017 hold for you? 

I’ve got a UK tour coming up in November, which should be lots of fun, and then apart from that I’m just cracking on with album number 3.



I’m Not Your Man is out now and catch Hackman on tour this month.

-Karl Jawara