Billie Marten Interview

We’re excited to share our interview with Yorkshire's Billie Marten. Marten delivers another heartfelt masterpiece with her highly anticipated album, Drop Cherries.

The talented singer/songwriter’s newest release is overflowing with emotion and authenticity. Drop Cherries is without a doubt a testament to Martens' artistry and ability to connect with her audience on a profound level. Martens' raw and honest lyricism shines through in Drop Cherries, allowing listeners to glimpse into her personal journey of self-discovery and growth. This album serves as a continuation of Martens' musical evolution, showcasing her unwavering talent and unwavering dedication to her craft.

Don't miss the chance to experience Marten’s music for yourself. Drop Cherries is now available on all major streaming platforms. We recently had the privilege of interviewing Billie for 1824. Catch the exclusive interview below! (Special thanks to 1824 for this opportunity!)

Born Loser Mag: Hey, hey so I think for me something that drew me to your music is that you have such strong imagery in your songwriting. In a previous press release you said

“Imagine stamping blood-red cherries onto a clean, cream carpet and tell me that’s not how love feels”

So my question for you is did you have that image in mind before working on the album, and were you inspired by that image? Or did that image come after you had already begun working on the album?

Billie Marten: The image was very much stolen from a friend as you’ve probably read in the press release. It was a big conversation that he and I were having about impactful relationships. I hadn’t felt, or heard, or envisioned something that encapsulated the album until he mentioned the phrase, well, “dropping cherries” I suppose he said. For some reason my brain just went “drop cherries that's it, I’ve got it.” Then I wrote it down and then the song came later. The song Drop Cherries is right at the end of the album. It was written just a couple of weeks before we went into the studio. It was always one for me that just creeps/makes its way in whether I like it or not. It just felt like the perfect amalgamation of all the things you feel when in a relationship such as that. Just the fact that this guy, the narrator of the story would do absolutely anything for his partner and that included going to Ikea and buying a cream carpet and some cherries.

Speaking of imagery, I’ve noticed that there's a recurring use of dirt and earth. The first thing that comes to mind is the album cover for your previous album “Flora Fauna”, but also a few lyrics from a couple of your latest singles

This Is How We Move:

I got what I was asking for

And I dug myself right up

The earth was pouring on my brow

Nothing But Mine:

I have faith in our love

Wash my mouth

Empty out

All the dirt that you found

So I guess my question is, is the use of that specific image intentional OR AM I JUST READING WAY INTO EVERYTHING?

I love that so much! This is the best bit about releasing an album is someone finding threads that you hadn’t even discussed or thought about. There are layers within layers on an album and I love finding those out for myself. And you’re right! There’s always reference to dirt. I think I like the image of being reborn. One of those lyrics is kind of a nod to a Smiths lyric that Jeff Buckley also covered-

(Me interrupting) I love Jeff Buckley! Yeah, yeah. I know what cover you’re talking about!

Yeah it’s like “Oh mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head.” Thats very much the saddest moment of the song so I kind of wanted to repaint that idea and see it as past tense, you know? Everything was falling on me, I was covered in this thing that I couldn’t get rid of. And now I feel very much clean. Just reframing ideas that were stuck in my head, I guess.

Thats really cool! And my last question. In your music video for “This is how we move”, at the 2:10 mark there is a shot of a baby in the recording studio being recorded by a microphone. What’s the story behind that? What was being recorded, and what track is that featured on??

Very well observed, again! That baby is named Ariana, and she was born two and a half weeks before we went into the studio. Her mom Emma plays all the harp pieces, and clarinet, and bass clarinet. So while she was doing that I was holding this baby on my chest and we were kind of breathing together and she would fall asleep and she made this tiny, tiny little snoring sound that we managed to record. And you know, we compressed the shit out of it because it’s so very small, but I can’t remember where we put it. But I will tell you now that it is in there and one day I will find it!

Sounds good! Thats it for me. Thank you so much for taking the time to do this.

Thank you