Marika Louise Hackman (born 17 February 1992) is an English vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter. She is considered to fall within the English-folk genre, and is noted for her dark, melancholic lyrics.

As of 2017, Hackman has released three albums: a shorter release, That Iron Taste in 2013; her first full-length album, We Slept at Last in 2015; and her latest release, I'm Not Your Man in 2017. She also released three EPs, Sugar Blind (2013), Deaf Heat (2014) and Wonderland (2016).

Contents 1 Early life 2 Music career 2.1 Early career (2012–2013) 2.2 Debut album: We Slept at Last (2014–2017) 2.3 Second album: I'm Not Your Man (2017) 2.4 Musical style and influences 3 Personal life 4 Discography 4.1 Studio albums 4.2 Extended Plays 4.3 Singles 4.4 Music Videos 5 Awards and nominations 6 References 7 External links Early life

Hackman was born in Hampshire, England and raised in Selborne and Devon.[1][2][3] Her father is Finnish.[4] Her parents met during their work as animators. Hackman watched little television as a child. She and her older brother, Ben, were instead encouraged to find other creative outlets. She is a self-taught guitarist and began learning when she was 12. Her brother is a dance music producer who releases material under the name "Hackman". She received a scholarship to attend Bedales School as a day pupil from ages 11 to 17, where she met and befriended model Cara Delevingne.[5] Together, they formed a short-lived cover band called "The Clementines",[6] with Hackman playing drums and Delevingne playing guitar and singing. Hackman performed at Mulberry's Park Lane launch dinner, celebrating the release of Delevingne's collection in February 2014.[7]

At 18, she moved to Brighton, England, where she studied art foundation for a year and planned on earning a degree in fine arts. Instead, she later chose to pursue music full-time.

Music career Early career (2012–2013) Marika Hackman at Rough Trade

Hackman attended school with English folk singer-songwriter Johnny Flynn, who was instrumental in getting her first record deal with Transgressive; he produced her debut single, "You Come Down", in 2012. A video of Hackman performing was shown to Burberry's Creative Chief Officer and she received a phone call requesting her participation in an upcoming ad campaign. In 2012, she was chosen as one of the new faces for their Spring/Summer eyewear campaign. She appeared in Burberry's online acoustic music series. Two of her songs, "You Come Down" and "Here I Lie", were used in promotional material for the brand. "Here I Lie" was later renamed "Monday Afternoon", and it appears on her debut album.[8]

Hackman's first release was an EP of covers, which was available for digital download in January 2013. One month later, she released her first mini-album, "That Iron Taste", featuring songs of her own composition. The album was released on 25 February 2013 in physical and digital download. The album is produced by Alt-J's Charlie Andrew. In 2013, she toured Australia and Europe as an opening act for Laura Marling, to support the release of "That Iron Taste". The music video for her song "Cannibal" was filmed at Bedales School in March 2013.[9][10] She later released two more EPs, "Sugar Blind" on 9 December 2013 and "Deaf Heat" on 4 April 2014, via iTunes. Both EPs contain songs written by Hackman as well as one cover song. All of Hackman's EPs are available for free streaming on her official website.

Debut album: We Slept at Last (2014–2017)

Hackman began recording her full-length debut album in 2014 with producer Charlie Andrew. She debuted new material from the album, including the songs "Skin" and "Ophelia", while on tour in 2013 with Laura Marling.[11] In late September 2014, the album's title was announced as We Slept at Last and was released on 16 February 2015. The album features 12 new songs written by Hackman and does not feature any material from her previous EPs. Hackman embarked on a headlining solo tour throughout the UK in support of the album in November 2014.[12][13] The album's lead single, "Drown", premiered in mid-October and was officially released on 8 December 2014. Its music video premiered on Hackman's VEVO channel on 24 November 2014. On 17 November 2014, "Drown" was announced as a shortlisted contender for DJ Zane Lowe's "Hottest Record of 2014" on BBC Radio 1. It ranked #89 out of 100 songs.[14][15][13] She also appeared as a featured vocalist on alt-J's song "Warm Foothills", from their second album "This Is All Yours". On 8 January 2015 she premiered the album's second single, "Animal Fear", for DIY Magazine. On 13 January 2015, "Before I Sleep", another track from her debut album, was streamed exclusively on the website Earmilk, as well as her SoundCloud account. Hackman previewed material from the album in the days leading up to its release. The album is available to stream in its entirely on her official SoundCloud account. The deluxe edition of the album includes all of the songs from Hackman's EPs.[16] "Animal Fear" was released as the album's second single on 16 February 2015, the same day as the release of "We Slept at Last".

On 18 February 2015, Hackman played material from her debut album at The Cob Gallery in Camden, London. An art exhibit, featuring the album's artwork of 24 photographs, was displayed during the show. She embarked on a solo headlining tour throughout the UK during March and April 2015. The tour continued with shows throughout Europe during the spring and summer of 2015.[17][18]

Hackman filmed the music video for her third single, "Ophelia", in a desert in March 2015. The video premiered on 13 April 2015 on VEVO. The single was available for digital download on 27 April 2015.[19]

On 25 June 2015, Laura Marling announced that Hackman and Johnny Flynn would join her on tour for a series of concerts in North America during July and August 2015. The concerts would be Hackman's first time performing material in North America. Hackman's fourth single, "Next Year", was released on 14 August 2015.[20]

The album was generally well-received,[21][22] with The Guardian's review rating it four out of five stars, and calling Hackman's work "superbly understated and atmospheric", noting that the "unsettling quality" was a distinguishing factor.[23]

Second album: I'm Not Your Man (2017)

Hackman signed with Sub Pop for her second album, I'm Not Your Man. "Boyfriend", the first single from the album, debuted on Hackman's VEVO channel on 22 February 2017 in the form of a music video.[24] The album features the London band The Big Moon as backing vocalists and instrumentalists.[25] The cover art was designed by Tristan Pigott.[26]

The album was released 2 June 2017. The Guardian's four-star (out of five) review praised Hackman's "sweetly sung cut-glass vocals" and for having "risen from the alt-folk scene".[27] The Observer's review (rating 3/5 stars) called the album "witty, raucous and honest", noting that Hackman, despite a new sound, "keeps the best of her former incarnation", adding to the "balance and variety" of the album.[28] Pitchfork declared the album "bracing" and "darkly funny", "melodically strong" and "full of surprises", giving a rating of 7.5/10.[29]

Musical style and influences

Her style is often described as "English folk" (in the nu folk or indie folk sense), but with a twist: "folk-ish",[30] "brooding folk"[31] "infusing traditionally winding melodies with left-field production and a subtly accented vocal".[3] Hackman herself comments on this type of description by explaining

"I was a fan of the nu-folk scene when I was younger, but I'm trying to take it somewhere different – I'm drawn to the darker, melancholic side of things."[31]

Personal life

Hackman currently resides in the East End of London.[32][33] She was[34] in a relationship with fellow musician Amber Bain (The Japanese House).[35][36]

Discography Studio albums Title Album details Peak chart positions Notes UK[37] We Slept at Last Released: 16 February 2015 Label: Dirty Hit Formats: Vinyl, CD, digital download 60 Track listingNo.TitleLength1."Drown"3:522."Before I Sleep"3:523."Ophelia"3:334."Open Wide"3:215."Skin"3:186."Claude's Girl"2:397."Animal Fear"3:258."In Words"3:509."Monday Afternoon"3:3810."Undone, Undress"3:2611."Next Year"2:3812."Let Me In"3:44