Marlene shows her “Sweet” side with an angelic summer EP
Marlene is a musical bb angel originally from Sweden who sings with so much soul!
Debuting her new EP “Sweet”, she sings about love and life, along to super catchy beats and harmonies. Her music video for one of her tracks “next to Me” is giving us summer vibes and some major fashion inspo!
Tell us about your new EP “Sweet”!
“Sweet” is an eight-track long EP filled with different scenarios about love in different phases. Love for life, yourself and that new person.
The past three years have been very turbulent and real for me. I broke up with someone after a four-year relationship but I also found new love on the same day, haha. True story, actually!
So that was totally overwhelming and I didn’t expect that at all. I thought I would have at least five years to spend on myself and my music before I’d find someone I liked, but then I just ran into this amazing person. It was love like I’ve never felt it before. As cheesy as it might be I just couldn’t help but write a lot of songs about it… some of them ended up on this EP.
What kind of topics do you cover?
I wrote “Beautiful Life” when I really wanted to break free from everything and do things for myself, so that’s the “breaking free song” haha.
Then “Sweet” is about when you’re finally out of it and you feel good about life and yourself again.
I wrote “Don’t You Worry” when I had become that special person for someone, and someone had become that special person for me. It’s a way of saying “you’re with me now and everything will be ok”, you know.
“Next to Me,” “New Love,” “Aurora” and “All I Want” are all about falling in love with someone, and about those first days or months when everything’s new and you know too little about this person. But you still know that all you wanna do is to be with him or her. I played a lot with that scene of waking up next to someone after the first night together, in a new bed that feels like home and where you feel safe. Like you’ve made it through a rough and dark winter and then you wake up to the first day of spring and you realize you’ve made it through.
How does this EP venture from your previous music? Do you explore new territory or sounds?
I’ve developed a lot since my last EP and I’m trying really hard to be more minimalistic in general than I was before. I’ve learned a lot about letting music breathe and to let it have some air.
I want my voice to have the main role. I’ve been super inspired by dance music the past years, like the UK underground scene with two-step and other 90’s vibes. I’ve also been super inspired by gospel music and older soul music.
I have so much more to explore though! I’m not there yet. I just want to write new music and go even deeper into sounds and mixtures between genres… And I wanna produce even more myself.
Where are you from and how has that influenced who you are?
I’m raised in a small town in Sweden called Jönköping, which is also called “Sweden’s Jerusalem” as there are a lot of churches and Christian people living there. My grandpa was a pastor and I went to church a lot when I was younger.
My family and I have always been singing a lot together and played instruments, both in church and at home. We’re that type of family where everyone each picks one harmony and we sing before dinner so, it’s really too much sometimes haha. But I think it has affected me and my music a lot to always have people singing along in harmonies to whatever music there was playing in the background everyday.
I also think that growing up in a small city where no one was really cool or famous or anything shaped me too. I’ve always been a little goofy, haha. We were always out biking or picking flowers in the woods all days and didn’t really care about anything else, if you know what I mean.
Who are some off your musical inspirations?
Drake. He always brings new and fresh sounds that no one expects. I’m inspired by Solange, Kanye West, Frank Ocean, Janet Jackson, Niki & The Dove, Jhené Aiko and Ariana Grande to mention a few. “In Common” by Alicia Keys has also been one of those songs I wish I’d written and was the song I listened to the most in 2016 according to Spotify, I’ve been super inspired by how minimalistic it is.
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Who are your style icons?
Well, I don’t really have any to be honest, but who doesn’t love Solange! She is always super playful with clothes and has that perfect mixture of being minimalistic but also over the top at the same time. She makes fashion fun and that’s exactly how I want it to be.
Who do you hope to collab with in the future?
I’d love to write music with Blood Orange. I think he’s amazing. His songwriting is so special… I want to write something with Calvin Harris too and Drake of course!
Are you planning to tour?
Yes, I’m planning on touring in Sweden in the fall. Can’t wait to tour in the US though!
Where can we find you and your tunes!?
My instagram is @marlene4ever !
My album “Sweet” is out now on Spotify.
Photography: Zoe Jackson
Interview: Maddie Cordoba
