Hiya Mara Liddle, thanks for joining us in the virtual RGM lounge today. Grab a brew and take a seat.
Thanks for having me!
What was life like for you before you got into music?
I’ve always been a performer. I started dancing when I was 3 and doing shows with my dance schools. When I grew up I started to have singing lessons there too. I always knew I wanted to perform, and my family have always been super supportive of it.
What’s the live music scene like in Stoke on Trent right now? Anyone we should be looking out for (bar you, of course)?
It’s really great to be fair! It’s a nice little community with loads of local opportunities (I’m headlining our local music festival later this month which is super exciting). There’s loads of people from Stoke with really great music careers too – Lissy Taylor, The Crystal Teardrop, Formal Sppeedwear.
It seems like being a social media curator has become added to the many jobs of a musician, how do you feel about this?
I don’t mind it. I’m unfortunately very chronically online anyway, and I do think it’s a good way to express creativity. I don’t enjoy doing the analytics side of things, but creating the content itself is kind of fun!
How do you manage engagement on your socials?
I just post and post and hope for the best. There’s actually such a lovely and supportive community of other small artists that I’ve found on TikTok, so that’s really refreshing and a great way to network with people that I normally wouldn’t be able to meet.
What’s your view on the Music industry today?
It’s tough. I feel like it’s definitely a numbers game, which is unfortunate. It’s really hard to break through, because the opportunities are only really there for the people who have already broken through, and being from a small city there isn’t really much you can do to build a fan base except depend on social media.
Where do you feel you currently sit within the music industry?
I’m breaking through. I have some great opportunities coming my way and I’m so excited about what the future holds.
Whats the biggest thing you have learned recently as you progress with your music?
I am learning to be more sure of myself, more confident and assertive. It can be really hard to say no to people, or to reject them (or risk facing rejection yourself!) but sometimes that’s what you have to do.
What was your best experience on stage?
Opening for The Lottery Winners was so much fun. The stage was HUGE and I had so much room to run around and dance.
What was your worst experience on stage?
Back when I was at my dance school a fire alarm went off while I was singing onstage and everyone had to evacuate the theatre. When we were let back in again I got a big cheer though, which was nice.
Tell us something about you that you think people would be surprised about.
I’ve never been abroad before! So if anyone wants to book me for an international tour…..
I hear you have new music. What can you tell us about it?
It’s called SWEET TALK and it’s all about realising that you’ve been waiting for things to happen for you when you could just be going out and making things happen yourself. It’s a bit more drum and bass and maybe more intense than my other stuff, but honestly people are gonna love it.
What was the recording process like?
We decided that we were going to try and make an “album” in a month. In the end I think it only took us 2 or 3 weeks. It’ll never be released as an album, but maybe you’ll see a couple more songs from this project.
What was the biggest learning curve in writing the new tunes?
I learned to not overthink things. We were going it so quickly that some of the songs I was just like “this will have to do” and then it ended up sounding amazing.
Would you change anything now it’s finished?
I don’t think so. I really love it, and it’s such a gritty, emotional song that I think any imperfections would just add to that vibe.
Is there anything else you would like to share with the world?
Be confident. I love you !
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