Mara Carlyle (born 1974 or 1975) is an English singer-songwriter, producer, and arranger who also plays the

musical saw A musical saw, also called a singing saw, is a hand saw used as a musical instrument. Capable of continuous glissando (portamento), the sound creates an ethereal tone, very similar to the theremin. The musical saw is classified as a plaque f ...

and the

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

. She was raised in

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

, England and now lives in London.

Career

Carlyle's first recorded appearance was on the

Plaid Plaid () may refer to: Fabric * Full plaid, a cloth made with a tartan pattern, wrapped around the waist, cast over the shoulder and fastened at the front * A synonym for tartan in North America * A plaid shirt, typically of flannel and worn du ...

album ''Not For Threes'' (Warp Records, 1997). She subsequently sang on Plaid's next two albums, '' Rest Proof Clockwork'' (1999) and ''

Double Figure ''Double Figure'' is the fourth studio album by British electronic music duo Plaid. It was released on Warp in 2001. It peaked at number 29 on the UK Independent Albums Chart. Critical reception At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average sc ...

'' (2001). Having sung on

Matthew Herbert Matthew Herbert (born 1972), also known as Herbert, Doctor Rockit, Radio Boy, Mr. Vertigo, Transformer, and Wishmountain, is a British electronic musician. He often takes sounds from everyday items to produce electronic music. Career Mat ...

's big band album '' Goodbye Swingtime'' (2003), Carlyle signed to Herbert's label,

Accidental Records Matthew Herbert (born 1972), also known as Herbert, Doctor Rockit, Radio Boy, Mr. Vertigo, Transformer, and Wishmountain, is a British electronic musician. He often takes sounds from everyday items to produce electronic music. Career Mat ...

. Her debut album '' The Lovely'' was released in July 2004. It consisted mostly of original compositions, as well as a few reworkings of pieces of classical music, recorded at Carlyle's home. "I Blame You Not" is an English-language version of

Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

's "' Ich grolle nicht". Another track, "Pianni", was featured in the

IKEA IKEA (; ) is a Dutch multinational conglomerate based in the Netherlands that designs and sells , kitchen appliances, decoration, home accessories, and various other goods and home services. Started in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA has been t ...

"Happy Inside" television commercial in which 100 cats are let loose in the retailer's

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

store. In May 2005 Carlyle released an EP, ''I Blame Dido'', containing "I Blame You Not" and a version of

Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer. Purcell's style of Baroque music was uniquely English, although it incorporated Italian and French elements. Generally considered among the greatest E ...

's "

Dido's Lament Dido's Lament is the aria "When I am laid in earth" from the opera ''Dido and Aeneas'' by Henry Purcell (libretto by Nahum Tate). It is included in many classical music textbooks on account of its exemplary use of the passus duriusculus in t ...

". After receiving critical acclaim for ''The Lovely'', Carlyle signed to

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

in 2007. She recorded her second album in London with producer Dan Carey (who has worked with

The Kills The Kills are an English-American rock duo formed by American singer Alison "VV" Mosshart and English guitarist Jamie "Hotel" Hince. They are signed to Domino Records. Their first four albums, '' Keep On Your Mean Side'', ''No Wow'', ''Midni ...

and with

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...

). The album was scheduled for release in June 2008, but was shelved during the restructuring that affected EMI after the label was bought by

private equity firm A private equity firm is an investment management company that provides financial backing and makes investments in the private equity of startup or operating companies through a variety of loosely affiliated investment strategies including leve ...

, Terra Firma. Carlyle described this as a period of limbo, in which the album "continues to languish pointlessly, like a pirated ship off the coast of Somalia". December 2008 saw the release of ''Classist'', a collaboration with composer

Max de Wardener Max de Wardener is a British composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist known for his scores for film and television and his work in jazz, classical, world and electronic music. Career Since graduating from York University and the Guildhall Scho ...

under the name "Max de Mara". Carlyle contributed four tracks adapted from

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

, Purcell,

Walford Davies Sir Henry Walford Davies (6 September 1869 – 11 March 1941) was an English composer, organist, and educator who held the title Master of the King's Music from 1934 until 1941. He served with the Royal Air Force during the First World War, dur ...

and

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (, also , , ; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario of the Romantic period. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera '' ...

. The album was a limited edition of 333 copies available through

Stanley Donwood Dan Rickwood (born 29 October 1968), known professionally as Stanley Donwood, is an English artist and writer. Since 1994, he has created all the artwork for the rock band Radiohead with their singer Thom Yorke, plus Yorke's other projects. He ...

's Six Inch Records. After protracted legal negotiations with EMI, Carlyle regained the rights to the album, originally called ''Nuzzle'', and changed the title to '' Floreat'', meaning "Let it flourish". ''Floreat'' was released in August 2011 to critical acclaim. ''

The Independent on Sunday ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

'' declared it "a classic". The album is an eclectic collection across 10 tracks, ranging from the delicate orchestration of "Bowlface en Provence", through the near hip-hop style of "Away with those self loving lads" culminating in the piano led jazz ballard "The Devil and me". The album was written and arranged by Carlyle, with lyrics that, at times, deliberately sit at odds to their polite framing, such as on "Pearl". Hot Chip producer Dan Carey provided an overall pop flourish. In 2013 she provided vocals, and appeared in the video for the song "She Burns" by the co-founder of

Hot Chip Hot Chip are an English synthpop band formed in London in 1995. The group consists of multi-instrumentalists Alexis Taylor, Joe Goddard, Al Doyle, Owen Clarke, and Felix Martin. They are occasionally joined by former member Rob Smoughton for ...

, Joe Goddard. In 2014 she joined the presenting team of the

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

programme ''

Late Junction ''Late Junction'' is a music programme broadcast weekly on Friday nights by BBC Radio 3. Billed as "Experimental music for adventurous listeners.", the programme has a wide musical scope. It is not uncommon to hear medieval ballads juxtaposed wit ...

''. Also in late 2014, Carlyle supported

Goldfrapp Goldfrapp are an English electronic music duo from London, formed in 1999. The duo consists of Alison Goldfrapp (vocals, synthesiser) and Will Gregory (synthesiser). Despite favourable reviews and a short-listing for the Mercury Prize, their ...

at their concert of 18 November at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

, London, England. In May 2015, Carlyle played her first headline concert for over two years at

Rich Mix Rich Mix is a charity that offers cinema and cross-arts centre that is located in the East End of London, located in Shoreditch in the Borough of Tower Hamlets, East London, England. Once a vast leather factory, 62,000-square-foot building was t ...

Shoreditch Shoreditch is a district in the East End of London in England, and forms the southern part of the London Borough of Hackney. Neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets are also perceived as part of the area. In the 16th century, Shoreditch was an impor ...

, London, and delivered a two-hour setlist of 17 songs, including numbers from "The Lovely" and "Floreat", and covers of "He Makes My Day", originally by Robert Palmer, "It Don't Bother Me" by

Bert Jansch Herbert Jansch (3 November 1943 – 5 October 2011) was a Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle. He was born in Glasgow and came to prominence in London in the 1960s as an acoustic guitarist and singer-songwriter ...

and "Ex Factor", originally by

Lauryn Hill Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. She is often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, as well as being one of the most influential musicians of her generation. ...

. She also showcased a new song, tentatively titled 'Murderous Me' from her upcoming, as yet untitled, 3rd album. The band consisted of Mara Carlyle on vocals, ukulele and musical saw, Tom Herbert on double bass, Dan Teper on accordion, Liam Byrne on

viola da gamba The viol (), viola da gamba (), or informally gamba, is any one of a family of bowed, fretted, and stringed instruments with hollow wooden bodies and pegboxes where the tension on the strings can be increased or decreased to adjust the pitc ...

and James McVinnie on piano. Support artist was cellist Laura Moody. In December 2015, Carlyle teamed up with

KT Tunstall Kate Victoria "KT" Tunstall (born 23 June 1975) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician. She first gained attention with a 2004 live solo performance of her song " Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on '' Later... with Jools Holland''. Th ...

and

, to provide a live soundtrack to Frank Borzage's 1927 romantic silent classic 7th Heaven at the BFI London Southbank. In 2016, Carlyle collaborated with Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay, from French Electro House outfit Justice, on their 3rd Album "Woman". Seen as a tribute to femininity, the 10 track album is a romantic, amatory, disco opus on which Carlyle assumed the role of 'Vibe Editor' and produced the choral and orchestral sessions with the London Contemporary Orchestra. She contributed vocals on several tracks, along with musical saw on the album standout track "Chorus", described as a Morricone/Queen mash-up. In 2018, during the Woman Worldwide tour, the duo released a remix version of the album, recording the tracks in a similar way that they are performed during their live stage show. Entitled 'Woman Worldwide' the album went on to win the Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic album in 2019 In April 2017 she made a documentary programme to examine the life and vocal magnificence of her beloved Ella Fitzgerald for

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

to mark the centenary of her birth, entitled "

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

: A Glorious Noise".Mara Carlyle
"Ella Fitzgerald: A Glorious Noise"

, April 2017. As well as singing, and playing the ukulele, Carlyle is an exponent of the

which is a common instrument in Russian folk music and American

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

. The instrument features on both of her albums to date, most notably in "Saw Song" from ''Floreat''.

Discography

* '' The Lovely'' ( Accidental, 2004) * '' Floreat'' (Ancient & Modern, 2011)

References

External links

Official website

Interview
in ''The Guardian'', 20 May 2005 {{DEFAULTSORT:Carlyle, Mara 1970s births Living people 21st-century English women singers 21st-century English singers British ukulele players English women singer-songwriters Musicians from Shropshire