INTERVIEW: Marianne Leigh
We catch up with Marianne Leigh, a local pop musician who we first featured in Issue Three! Marianne has just moved to London and is solidifying herself in the music scene. She has performed in multiple underground London venues and alongside a range of local performers. We were excited to see what she’s been up to since our last chat in 2022!
This interview will also be featured with exclusive new content in our upcoming Issue Six! Be sure to keep an eye out for it’s release in August/September…
Rat World: Who are you and what do you do? (Déjà vu!)
Marianne: My name is Marianne and I’m an independent pop/rock recording artist originally from New Zealand, now living in London!
You were interviewed for Rat World Issue Three last year! What’s changed since then?
Marianne: So much! I put out a new single, flew to Wellington to film a music video, I played a sold out tour around New Zealand, I performed on the 5 Minutes of Fame TV Show, I moved to London… and I’m so excited to be back and chatting with you again.
Me too! You have done heaps since we last chatted! So, what has the experience of moving across the world been like? Do you feel this experience has changed or further solidified your musical style?
Marianne: Moving from New Zealand to London was such a pivotal moment for me. For years I had this dream to move overseas and explore this huge music industry, and actually putting this dream into action was the most scary, nerve-wrecking, anxiety-ridden, adrenaline-boosting experience I’ve ever had. And I think I really needed to have it.
Music was my coping mechanism throughout the journey of moving across the world: I wrote songs, journal entries, poems and listened to my favourite playlists over the first few months of living abroad. Now, as the homesickness wears off, I have this collection of artefacts documenting my transition to living and pursuing music in London, and it’s so special to me.
“Music was my coping mechanism throughout the journey of moving across the world: I wrote songs, journal entries, poems and listened to my favourite playlists over the first few months of living abroad”
Over the course of the past six months living here, I’ve been exposed to so many different music styles, gigs, met musicians from all corners of the world, and subsequently grown so much, not only a person but as a songwriter and musician. I think my next song, and my next chapter of music will reflect this journey and this change.
Have you been listening to any underground London based musicians?
Marianne: Yes! And I’ve been lucky enough to meet some of them. My current favourites are Daisy Veacock, Molly Payton, Tom Speight, AmILost, and of course Maisie Peters (though not London-based, she is a UK based artist).
That’s awesome. And you have a new single coming out soon! Can you talk us through the inspiration behind it?
Marianne: ‘I Don’t Care’ holds a mirror to one’s innermost thoughts. The core of the song, buried under upbeat production, is about insecurity. I write from a personal place, so this song was a way to untangle my thoughts surrounding self-comparison and turn them into something digestible. The song lyrics were written about the anxieties and over-thinking tendencies in relationships. Writing my deeply buried fears into the unapologetically fierce pop-punk genre was really important to me.
I began working on the production of the song in Auckland before the big move, with my friend and producer Ryan Cruickshank. After packing up my bags and moving to London, I recorded the vocals at London’s Visconti Studio. A series of late night Zoom calls and mixes sent back and forth sculpted the final product that Emily Wheatcroft-Snape painted the finishing touches on. The creation of ‘I Don’t Care’ was unlike anything I had done before. It was very much a 21st century experience.
From the looks of the ‘I Don’t Care’ promo, it seems like you are still in your coming-of-age vibes (which we talked about in Issue Three haha) - how has moving to London impacted your sense of coming-of-age? Do you feel like you are still in this stage of life?
Marianne: Yes! I remember chatting about the “coming-of-age” time I was going through last year in our interview. This year has been one for a lot of personal and career growth. I kinda threw myself in the deep end with moving to the other side of the world, and although I was so nervous at first, I’ve loved every second of it. I think I’ve come to realise that this “coming-of-age” feeling is the “being in your 20’s and figuring life out as it comes” experience. It’s cool for me because I have these journal entries in the form of songs, not only for me to look back on, but also to share with the other young people and to hopefully provide a soundtrack to their lives and our shared experience. My life is very much “I’m a 20 year old girl moving out for the first time, living in a big city, chasing my dreams on my own” at the moment, and I think my music reflects it.
“My life is very much ‘I’m a 20 year old girl moving out for the first time, living in a big city, chasing my dreams on my own’ at the moment, and I think my music reflects it”
What is the significance of the posters/films behind you in the ‘I Don’t Care’ photos?
Marianne: My photographer for the shoot, Alison Marchant, was actually the first person I met in London! She’s a brilliant singer, recording artist and photographer, and was such a thrill to work with. We decided to decorate my bedroom with posters from our favourite 2000’s films, such as: Mean Girls, Jennifer’s Body, 10 Things I Hate About You, and Clueless, for the single photoshoot. This song is a continuation of the ‘Crazy GF’ era (my last single) which was my first musical experiment in the pop/punk world. ‘Crazy GF’ is a song ridiculing the classic crazy girlfriend trope in the media and an insight into that character’s mind. ‘I Don’t Care’ is a song within that same world, the lyrics reading as the narrator of the song trying to convince themselves they don’t care about someone they very clearly do care about. We also threw in a Taylor Swift ‘All Too Well’ poster to mix in some ‘Hell Hath No Fury Like A Woman Scorned’ inspiration into the mix.
For my style, I took inspiration from the character Jackie from That ‘70s Show. I watched that show growing up, and I loved Jackie’s sassy, fearless personality and hyper-feminine aesthetic which fit our vision for ‘I Don’t Care’.
That’s so cool. I love that you have your personal interests embedded into the photos. Advice for people wanting to follow their dreams and pack up to another country?
Marianne: My advice is to do it!! You can always go back home. I’m so proud of myself for moving to London. I’m still very rose-tinted and starry-eyed by the city. Some days I can’t believe I really did it. I think that for your dreams, you just can’t let fear hold you back.
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