MARLA MASE is, by far, not your typical musical artist. While the music charts are populated with songs (mainly) about so-called romance, sex and material things, the singer/songwriter/producer wants her music to have MEANING – and she definitely achieved that by tackling the more serious issues of today –issues we should really sit up and take notice of more often.
MARLA MASE’s raw and frank performance earned her a ‘Messenger of Peace’ award by Friends of the UN. She performed at UN’s Global Peace Day in China last September. Her promotion of real-life issues paid off, as she was named one of the top ten acts by Indie Band Blog in 2012. There’s no respite period for MARLA MASE in 2013 as she’s currently developing her (unconventional) multi-media concert entitled Speak.
If you get the chance listen to her music, you’ll come to realise that she’s a true pioneer.
The New Yorker has released a Deluxe edition of her album Speak last month, which features ten tracks from her 2010 album, plus six new tracks including the thought-provoking AnnaRexia, which is a driving force behind StayImperfect project or Love Your Butt campaign. MARLA MASE created this campaign to ‘empower women not only to accept themselves but to love their bodies’. Accompanied with a laid-back traditional reggae beat, AnnaRexia is one of those songs that you can easily get lost in the catchy melody. So if you’re intrigued enough to listen to the song, pay careful attention to the wise message that is offered by this multi-talented artist.
Reggae is just one of the many genres, featured in the album: there’s an infusion of rock, punk, soul, funk and electronica, accompanied with spoken words and poems – and the track Blog display almost of these elements. With a mellow mix of soft rock, soul and a hit of funk, MARLA MASE speaks about ‘post-modern inception of self through space, time and the internet.’ It may sound way out there, but it’s quite a likable song.
Overall this sixteen-track album is bursting with creativity which is backed up with strong, non-sense messages. If this is up your street, have a listen. If not, have a listen anyway. It will make a refreshing change from the sugar-coated pop music of today.
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MARLA MASE