Q&A: What Marlaena Moore loves
Credit: Bea Scharf-Pierzchala
Singer-songwriter Marlaena Moore’s latest release Because You Love Everything is an album I have been waiting for since its announcement this past September. My admiration for Moore stems from her ability to combine emotional lyrics through layers of her signature lo-fi grunge-pop.
Today, she followed up the release with a music video for “Empties”. Driven by an insatiable creative spark, Marlaena steered the creative vision for the "Empties" video with her DIY appraoch - taking on editing, set design, and costume design herself. She also teamed up with collaborator Annie MacLeod of Marontate—whose film expertise helped in achieving the shots, Julia Hill of Shunk, who contributed inventive overhead projector ideas, and Scott ‘Monty’ Munro of Preoccupations, who provided steady support throughout the process. The video pays homage to silent film classics resulting in a visually rich, evocative piece that draws references from vintage film techniques with a fresh, experimental edge.
In this collection of deeply personal songs on Because You Love Everything, the Montréal-based singer-songwriter captivates listeners through her hauntingly evocative songwriting, exploring themes of self-discovery, creativity, and perseverance. Working alongside Monty Munro, Moore pushes the boundaries of her signature sound on this recent release, taking listeners on a sonically introspective journey.
After shedding many tears after listening to this album, I had the opportunity to chat with Moore about the release of Because You Love Everything and discover some of the things that she loves.
REVERIE: What made you want to become a musician? What drives your passion for music?
As long as I can remember, I've wanted to be a singer and have been writing songs since I was little. Getting to make music encompasses so much that I love; writing, singing, performing. My brain has been trained to start writing songs when I'm trying to sort out how I'm feeling, I can be a little detached from my inner world sometimes. I also have always loved being on stage, that has definitely kept me going.
R: Congratulations on your album, Because You Love Everything! What are some of the things Marlaena Moore loves?
A lot of stuff I love is pretty universal, like watching movies, hanging out with friends, eating delicious food. I am addicted to thrifting as well. I really love doing stuff and stretching my creative limbs as much as I can. I really love dancing and want to take a sexy dance class so I can properly learn how to shake my ass. Not to be a total loser nerd girl but, life rules man.
R: What were some of your musical influences that inspired this release? What did your creative process like?
Me and my partner Scott [Monty Munroe] found ourselves accidentally living in his parents basement in Calgary when the pandemic happened, it was literally right when my last album got released and like most people at the time, I fell into a deep depression. We were lucky enough to be living on CERB and had endless time on our hands so Monty encouraged me to write new songs. We rented some recording equipment from Long & McQuade and got to work. It was the first time in my creative life that I was writing and recording at the same time and going into a session with half-baked ideas. During this time we would go for long walks around Fish Creek Park and I found a lot of the landscape to be very eerie and interesting. I was also playing a lot of Stardew Valley that has a really beautiful synth score. I was also listening to a lot of Bjork, Kate Bush, and Fleetwood Mac at the time as well.
R: One of my favourite tracks from your release is “Running on Empty,” what do you do when you feel like you’re running on empty?
I have learned that I need to actually schedule a "nothing day." I'm a busy gal and I like it that way but there are times I look at the week ahead and go "oh dear what have I done..." so I started writing in my schedule, "do nothing" which makes it feel valuable. I'm very introverted, despite being an openly goofy girl, if I'm too tired and don't get enough alone time I get super irritable and need a good cry.
R: What are some of your favourite music venues and bands in Montréal?
My all time favourite venue in Montréal (maybe the world?) is La Sala Rossa, I feel so lucky that I got to do the album release there, truly such a magical night. I'm very excited about Ribbon Skirt, amazing song writing and was lucky enough to work with them in the studio. Same goes for Sasha Cay, stunning songwriting and brilliant ideas. If I can go off and name a bunch, I have to shout out Knitting, Amery, Girl with Dream, Marontate, Fraud Perry, Clay Pigeon, Thanya Iyer, Wood Andrews, Prism Shores... man I'm getting overwhelmed because there's actually too many to name!
You can listen to Marlaena Moore's new album Because You Love Everything on all streaming platforms and check out the new video for “Empties” down below. Marlaena Moore will also be on tour in Canada this April, supporting indie-rock luminaries Land of Talk.