Mariella on How Vulnerability is Her Superpower on New EP (Interview)

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Mariella is an independent soulful songbird sharing raw, angelic-sounding indie pop that we can’t get enough of. This London-based artist has been prolifically writing, recording, and performing her deeply personal music for years. With a sound that will appeal to fans of Lianne La Havas or Ego Ella May, she has dropped her debut EP – ‘Deeper Than You‘. This four-track project is a diaristic deep dive into her relationships and anxieties. Unfiltered and ultra-relatable, we caught up with this promising songstress to celebrate her newfound success.

I want to give you the opportunity to introduce yourself to the people.

I’m Mariella, I make soulful, R&B, (and) indie music. I was going to say pop as well, but that’s a lot to take in! I’m based in London, I’m from Kent, and I have just released my debut EP, which is called ‘Deeper Than You‘.

I’m sure you get this from a lot of fans, but you want to hug you when you hear this EP. It’s so vulnerable and open, and that is throughout all your music. This EP kind of feels like a bit of a turning point – do you feel that?

For sure. I definitely feel from day one my music has all been about me, my personal experiences, and my stories. But, I feel this EP in particular takes a bit more of a deep dive – pardon the pun – into more of my world and my vision and how I see and interact with the world. Feelings, emotions, and day-to-day relationships in life that come up, essentially.

It’s called ‘Deeper Than You‘. What does that mean to you, and why that title?

So that title actually comes from the first line of the last song, which came out with the project. The line is: ‘I know I think a little deeper than you.’. When I wrote that line, I was reflecting on coming to the end of this relationship, a romantic relationship with someone. I was thinking about how I felt so deeply affected by that and how I process emotions really deeply. (I was) reflecting on why I feel that way, so I kind of wanted to call the project that because I felt like it really summarised me as a person and me as an artist. When I write music, it comes from the depths of how I’m feeling, and sometimes that can be quite isolating. I often feel that other people can just go about their day and move on, and it takes me a lot longer to process things. So yeah, it embodies me essentially.

‘Passing By’ is probably my favourite song from the project. It’s getting so much love, so I kind of wanted to give another answer, but…

I think that’s my favorite as well. I feel like that song in particular when I wrote it, it felt really, really special. There was just something about it, you know. I instantly knew that line was gonna summarise the EP. I just felt like it was all very natural. It is funny because when the project came out, you know, I released ‘Deja Vu’ as a single back in September, and I hadn’t listened to it for a while. I put it on, and I was like, ‘This is actually a really great song!’. I kind of remind myself that actually, this music is wonderful and I’m really proud of it. You move on very quickly when you’re often creating and releasing music regularly.

Yeah – I’m sure you’re not even on to the next thing, but you will be soon, and we’re still digesting (this EP).

Oh, I’m definitely on to the next thing. I’m already writing the next project. I already know what the next single will be and when it will come out. As an artist, you’re always working six months ahead, I would say.

With this EP, as much as it’s amazing, it’s also made me go back to some of your earlier work as well. I’ve been jamming ‘Clueless‘ quite a lot.

I love that!

Do you find that you’re growing as an artist, but you still have that appreciation for all your music thus far, and that it’s built you to where you are?

Definitely. I think that as an artist, you’ll always look back on your work. I think we can all be quite self-critical as well, right? When you’re creating stuff and you put it out, it’s very reminiscent of the moment in time that you’ve created it. You’re always evolving and getting better, so there are definitely times where I look back at the songs and I think ‘I’d do that a bit differently now.’. However, saying that, there’s so much appreciation. That had to happen in order for me to get to where I am. Actually, I look back on all of those songs, and I think that was a real turning point in my songwriting, or that was a really pivotal moment. I worked with this producer, and that was a special bond that we had – that kind of thing. Everything has its place within your career, you know?

You’ve had so much success from this project so far. You were gracing the front cover of Spotify’s Fresh Finds UK and Ireland, and you’ve hit over a million streams. You’re getting a lot of support from Radio One, who I know have supported you a lot. As a fully independent artist and as a young woman in this industry doing it solo, how has it been for you?

It’s been amazing. I feel like when you’re starting out, you don’t know what to expect. I only started releasing music in October 2022, and it took me quite a while to kind of get the confidence to do it. Seeing all that support organically, knowing that I don’t have a manager, no label, no publisher, it feels really overwhelming, but in a good way. It’s exciting and it’s been great. I don’t know how it’s happened. I have no secret to it, apart from a lot of hard work. There’s a lot of admin that goes into releasing music. It’s not just putting music out there on Spotify and being done with it, it’s a lot of editorial pitching. I’d send radio emails out; I don’t really work with a plugger, I do that all myself. Just building relationships, going to gigs, (and) meeting people. A lot of that is building the foundation of successful campaigns and just part of being an artist in this particular day and age, which is tough, you know?

There’s so much that goes into it. I noticed that you do a lot of your own marketing on TikTok. How have you found that experience of like, intro-ing yourself over and over? Do you feel like you’re coming to terms with who you are as an artist through this?

Definitely. I actually think that doing that on TikTok helped me understand how people took in my music. Because for me, when I write it and I release it, I’m doing this as a sort of therapy to myself. I’m writing all these songs about my life, and I’m making music that I love. But then, when you release it and start to put it out there on TikTok and stuff, that’s when you see what people love about it. I put out a song before this EP, that was a pivotal moment on TikTok, and I think that that really opened my eyes that people connect with the lyrics. People connect with the vulnerability that comes with my music and what I put into it.

TikTok is a really funny one. It’s a tough one at times, but I do find that on TikTok, the strategy is always looking for new people. It’s growing an audience there. Instagram is kind of like your existing people who are already listening to your music and already follow you for a reason, whereas TikTok is much more personable. It’s always looking for more people to grow with, that kind of thing.

I’m sure there are people reading right now who haven’t heard your music or don’t know you. How would you pitch yourself?

I’m a soulful songwriter. I always start with that because I do feel like a lot of my music is quite genre-bending, where I kind of go in between. But, I write music about my experiences through a softer lens and how I deal with anxiety, relationships; just life in general. A lot of emotions that we all actually go through, but we kind of find it difficult to put into words. To be honest, that’s kind of what I write music about.

I’ll say to the reading, it is soft girl era music. This luscious, angelic voice and its sort of therapy when you listen to it. Do you feel like, as an independent artist, we’re moving away from needing big label support? Do you fly the flag for it?

I definitely think so. From my perspective, never say never, but I think that there’s a time and a place for a big label to come into your career. I think there is so much that you can do as an independent artist before you get to that point. I also think that what is important to note is that labels will only really come to you now once you have those foundations that you’ve built by yourself. So I think it’s so important to grow, you know, who you are as an artist first, release the music, find the people, play the gigs, do all of that. So, when a manager or label comes to you and they say ‘This is what we want to do’ – you’ve already got such a strong leg to stand on. It’s very, very easy to be like, ‘Wow, this is so cool. Oh my god, let’s do this,’, but I think you just have to be really smart about it. Have those foundations ready.

You left school as a teen to pursue music. How did you even have the confidence to go, ‘You know what, I’m actually going to give this music thing a try’? Was it people in your inner circle?

You know what, no one knew. My family knew that I enjoyed singing, I was always singing around the house and stuff, but I didn’t tell any of my friends. I was a bedroom singer. The turning point was when I was in Year 11. I would have been like fifteen or sixteen, and school was very academic for me, and I had really lost the spark. I knew that I wanted to be something, I wanted to do something creative, and I knew I loved singing. I’m just very blessed that my family never stood in the way of me doing what I wanted to do, in a good way. It was never like ‘You have to become a doctor,’ and that is a privilege. I thought, well, I have quite a big dream and maybe it could work. Also, when you’re that age, you have much less fear around like taking big leaps.

That’s such a pivotal time, your teenage years. Who were you listening to? Who was your inspirations musically around that time that made you think ‘I could do it like they do it’?

I know this might be really cliche, but I loved Adele. I remember learning her songs on piano. She probably would have done her ‘21‘ album then, or maybe ‘25‘? I thought she was so amazing, and she’s this girl from Tottenham. You started to see artists that really came from such a normal background. It’s not a super cool answer, but I loved Adele so much.

Am I right in thinking you went to BIMM, the British and Irish Modern Music Institute?

Yeah, I went to BIMM, which was in Brighton. I did a one-year course there for vocals, but hadn’t written any music at this point. I did a little bit of piano at school when I wanted to pursue music more. Then I picked up the guitar during this time, and that’s when I started to listen to more influences. Then I went on to do a songwriting degree for three years.

How did that shape you into the songwriter you are now?

I thought it was quite an amazing experience, to be honest. I think it was the first time that I was plucked out of living in Maidstone, which is where I’m from. There’s a music scene there, but it’s not like I was surrounded by young musicians. So, (being) plucked out of that and put in Brighton, which is such a diverse, multicultural place, with lots of music going on, lots of students, it was this amazing place full of colour. I met a lot of new people there, started to listen to more like folky stuff, indie stuff, soul, neo-soul, there was so much music around. That was the real early stages of my songwriting.

When I hear your music, I get real Sabrina Claudio vibes, I’m hearing Ego Ella May in there, or Olivia Dean. You’re quite a hybrid artist. Tell me who your inspirations are. Are there any that might surprise us?

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before, but when I was in my first year of songwriting, I lived in a house with four other people, and there were two guys. One guy next door to me was really into Americana music. We ended up being in a band later on, but that kind of stuff was really cool to me at the time. I loved Bonnie Raitt, who everyone will know for ‘I Can’t Make You Love Me‘, but she has a lot more country Americana stuff where she plays a guitar. That kind of goes back to why I picked up guitar. There’s a guy called J.J. Cale. This is so random, but he has a song called ‘Magnolia‘ and that’s one of my favourite songs ever. So that kind of genre, although you don’t hear it in my music, it’s more the songwriting that I love. It’s very specific and older 70s references, but (this music) was definitely a pivotal point of my development.

You’ve done a lot of solo work. Are you looking for collaboration? Is that something that you’re looking into, and who would be sort of your dream collab?

I’m definitely open to it. I’ve been mostly focused on building up my own EPs, singles, and songs because I haven’t really released that much yet. One of my dream collabs would be an artist called Joesef. He is a Glaswegian singer-songwriter, but a lot of his music is quite retro soul with indie influences. He put out an album, I think it was like two years ago now, but its one of those albums that moves me so much. He’d be my dream collab. But I’m pretty sure he doesn’t do collaboration, so I’ll have to think of someone else! [Laughs]

I guess you probably have a songwriter bucket list?

Yes. There’s a guy called Matt Hales who writes with Lianne La Havas, and she is my idol. But he’s written all of her albums. He did the Olivia Dean album, the last one. He would be a massive songwriter that I’d love to work with.

You’ve opened for artists like I Am Roze, whom I just love, and is another artist who has helped people feel seen and is vulnerable. What was that experience like? That was your first sold-out show, wasn’t it?

Okay, I can’t take all the credit because that was Roze’s show, and they had already sold it out [laughs]. But I will take a little bit of credit. I actually met Roze on TikTok, which is so funny. That’s how people meet each other these days. I was on a TikTok live. I think ‘Go Slow‘ just came out, and they joined, and then we started chatting from there. Roze moved from the States to the UK, and we were going to do a session together, didn’t happen, but we ended up just being friends after. I’d been to one of their shows before, and then they asked me to open, and I was like, obviously yes. It was amazing. It was so great. I love that venue as well, Seven Jazz Quarters. Roze’s audience were so beautiful, so lovely. They were so quiet. They just listened to every lyric, and I met so many lovely people. It was honestly wonderful. I think my favorite thing is to open (up) for other people at this point.

(Live performance) is definitely a little slower than I’d like it to be. That’s a big goal for me. I want to do more live stuff. I’m quite a nervous performer, which is probably a bit surprising considering I can yap for England. But I do get a little bit nervous going on stage. So the more that I do it, the more confident I get. The last show was the Roze show, and I was really happy with it. It’s a transition from being a bedroom singer and not doing any shows to then suddenly getting on a stage. It can be quite daunting.

You’re very into lyricism. This EP kind of feels like a diary, as there’s a lot of introspection going on. How does it feel when you get comments on how your songs are so personal that fans say ‘This helped me get through my experience with my ex’ – does that really resonate?

It’s so wild to me. It’s indescribable. I’m writing a song about an experience that, in the moment, I feel completely isolated about. I think when you’re upset about something, emotional about something, (or) feeling deeply about something, you honestly think that I’m the only person in the world that’s ever felt this way. Slightly delusional. When people say ‘This really resonated with me’, and it’s someone who knows nothing about my personal life and lives thousands of miles away, I can’t even put into words how it feels. It’s probably the most rewarding thing for me. My music is also looking for connection with other people. It stems from, like I just mentioned, a sort of loneliness that can sometimes come with overwhelming emotions. So when other people say ‘I really relate to this song, I really relate to you.’, it’s that spark of connection that makes me feel comforted in a way.

In terms of your songwriting process, are you one who likes to write with others, or do you write completely by yourself?

It varies, although I do tend to write ideas alone. Sometimes that’ll just be because I’m not in the studio for a couple of weeks, or I’ll go into the studio with the guys and we’ll just start playing. We’ve been doing that a lot more recently because I’m more comfortable now. I’ve been working with them for like eighteen months or so. I can be very precious about my songs. If I think about writing with other songwriters, that’s kind of a different story. I haven’t delved into that too much yet. That’s something I’m open to, but it’s still something I’m very protective about. It’s something that I have to develop and get a bit more experienced with because I do find, admittedly, very difficult to start writing lyrics about something really personal with someone that I don’t know. When I write with the producers, it’s a bit different. We’ve got a really strong friendship now, and I just feel a lot more comfortable. But with other songwriters, if you plonked me in a room with someone that I never met before, I’d find that a bit difficult. But I think that just takes time and experience doing it.

I’ve got a fun little way to wrap up. I’ll say the start of a sentence, and I want you to complete it. Outside of music, I’m really interested and passionate about…

Oh my god, why did I want to say dogs? [laughs] I should have said cats, actually. I love cats more, but I’ve been thinking about getting a dog. Oh, I love cats so much. They’re just so easy, and they’ve got their boundaries, and I’m like, I respect you.

My dream venue to perform at is…

The Royal Albert Hall. I saw Cleo Sol there, and it just changed my life. Just imagine having a live orchestra behind you. It’d be so amazing. That’s the dream.

The best place that I’ve ever traveled to is…

I want to say Seville. I’m going back there in a few weeks, and I went there two years ago. It’s so beautiful. The food is good, it’s so warm, it’s just so good.

The best thing about my fans is…

Oh, they’re all so sweet. They’re so sweet. They make me feel so special, and they’re just so kind and everything they say is just so delicate. Oh, I just love them. They’re so cute.

Then shameless self promo, the reason I’m the one to watch is…

Because I’ll make you feel something. You’ll listen to my music and you’ll feel something.

What’s next for Mariella, and where do you see yourself in these next couple of months and years to come?

I’m going to release another project, hopefully by the end of this year, if not very early next year. There’s a lot more music to come from me. The next release is actually much sooner than that, but I won’t say any more. I want to do more live stuff. I’m going to do a headline show, just TBC on when. I would love in the next year or two be a tour support for someone in the UK and Europe. I feel like an album’s a bit of time away, so maybe two or three more EPs and then maybe an album by then. People keep asking me already about an album. It’s definitely in the future, but I’m just not sure when. Who knows, so much can change so quickly, so it might be sooner than we all think.

Plus, your debut album is such a monumental moment not just in your career but for your life, isn’t it?

Yeah, exactly, and I feel like I need to live a bit more and get some more experiences and heartbreaks under my belt.

Mariella is on Instagram, X, and TikTok. Read more artist interviews here and stream Mariella’s top tracks below.

About The Author