Marika Louise Hackman (born 17 February 1992) is an English vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter. She is considered to fall within the alternative and English- folk genres, and is noted for her dark, melancholic lyrics. Hackman has released a

mini-album A mini-LP or mini-album is a short vinyl record album or LP, usually retailing at a lower price than an album that would be considered full-length. It is distinct from an EP due to containing more tracks and a slightly longer running length. A ...

, ''That Iron Taste'' (2013), and four full-length albums: ''We Slept at Last'' (2015); '' I'm Not Your Man'' (2017); '' Any Human Friend'' (2019) and ''Covers'' (2020). She has also released four EPs: ''Free Covers'' (2012), ''Sugar Blind'' (2013), ''Deaf Heat'' (2014), and ''Wonderland'' (2016).

Early life

Hackman was born in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

, England and raised in Selborne and

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

. Her mother and Finnish father met during their work as animators. Hackman watched little television as a child. She and her older brother, Ben, a dance music producer who releases material under the name "Hackman", were instead encouraged to find other creative outlets. Hackman is a self-taught guitarist and began learning when she was 12. She had lessons in piano from the age of 4, and lessons in the bass guitar and drums from the age of 10. She received a scholarship to attend

Bedales School Bedales School is a co-educational, boarding and day independent school in the village of Steep, near the market town of Petersfield in Hampshire, England. It was founded in 1893 by John Haden Badley in reaction to the limitations of con ...

as a day pupil from ages 11 to 17, where she met and befriended supermodel

Cara Delevingne Cara Jocelyn Delevingne ( ; born 12 August 1992) is an English model and actress. She signed with Storm Management after leaving school in 2009. Delevingne won Model of the Year at the British Fashion Awards in 2012 and 2014. Delevingne sta ...

. Together, they formed a short-lived

cover band A cover band (or covers band) is a band that plays songs recorded by someone else, sometimes mimicking the original as accurately as possible, and sometimes re-interpreting or changing the original. These remade songs are known as cover songs. ...

called "The Clementines", with Hackman playing drums and Delevingne playing guitar and singing. Hackman performed at Mulberry's Park Lane launch dinner, celebrating the release of Delevingne's collection in February 2014. At 18, she moved to

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, England, where she studied art foundation for a year and planned on earning a degree in fine arts. Instead, she later chose to pursue music full-time.

Music career

Early career (2012–2013)

Hackman's first release was an EP of covers, which was available for digital download in October 2012. The following February, she released her first mini-album, ''That Iron Taste'', featuring songs of her own composition. The album was released in physical formats and as a digital download. It was produced by

alt-J Alt-J (stylised as alt-J, real name Δ) are an English indie rock band formed in 2007 in Leeds. Their lineup includes Joe Newman (guitar/lead vocals), Thom Sonny Green (drums), Gus Unger-Hamilton (keyboards/vocals), and formerly Gwilym Sainsbur ...

Charlie Andrew Charles Andrew, (born 1980) is a British record producer, mixer and songwriter. He is best known for his work with indie band Alt-J. In 2013 he was awarded 'Breakthrough Producer of the Year' by his peers at Music Producers Guild awards, in 20 ...

. In 2013, she toured Australia and Europe as an opening act for

Laura Marling Laura Beatrice Marling (born 1 February 1990) is a British folk singer-songwriter. She won the Brit Award for Best British Female Solo Artist at the 2011 Brit Awards and was nominated for the same award at the 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018 Brit ...

, to support the release of ''That Iron Taste''. The music video for her song "Cannibal" was filmed at

in March 2013. She later released two more EPs, ''Sugar Blind'' on 9 December 2013 and ''Deaf Heat'' on 4 April 2014, via iTunes. Both EPs contain songs written by Hackman as well as one cover song.

Debut album: ''We Slept at Last'' (2014–2017)

Hackman began recording her full-length debut album in 2014 with producer

. She debuted new material from the album, including the songs "Skin" and "Ophelia", while on tour in 2013 with

. In late September 2014, the album's title was announced as ''We Slept at Last'' and was released on 16 February 2015. The album features 12 new songs written by Hackman and does not feature any material from her previous EPs. Hackman embarked on a headlining solo tour throughout the UK in support of the album in November 2014. The album's lead single, "Drown", premiered in mid-October and was officially released on 8 December 2014. On 17 November 2014, "Drown" was announced as a shortlisted contender for DJ

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...

's "Hottest Record of 2014" on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance ...

. It ranked No. 89 out of 100 songs. She also appeared as a featured vocalist on

's song "Warm Foothills", from their second album "This Is All Yours". On 8 January 2015 she premiered the album's second single, "Animal Fear", for DIY Magazine. On 13 January 2015, "Before I Sleep", another track from her debut album, was streamed exclusively on the website ''

Earmilk ''EARMILK'', sometimes stylized in all caps, is a North American online music publication. Launched in the late 2000s by Montrey Whittaker, Blake Edwards and Eric DeFazio, ''Earmilk'' publishes on a variety of music genres, often covering hip h ...

'', as well as her

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

account. Hackman previewed material from the album in the days leading up to its release. The album is available to stream in its entirely on her official SoundCloud account, and features a distinctive blue colour scheme. The deluxe edition of the album includes all of the songs from Hackman's EPs. "Animal Fear" was released as the album's second single on 16 February 2015, the same day as the release of ''We Slept at Last''. On 18 February 2015, Hackman played material from her debut album at The Cob Gallery in Camden, London. An art exhibit, featuring the album's artwork of 24 photographs, was displayed during the show. She embarked on a solo headlining tour throughout the UK during March and April 2015. Fenne Lily provided support to Marika during these dates, which were generally well received by the press The tour continued with shows throughout Europe during the spring and summer of 2015. On 25 June 2015,

announced that Hackman and

Johnny Flynn John Patrick Vivian Flynn (born 14 March 1983) is a British actor and singer-songwriter. He has starred as Dylan Witter in the Channel 4 and Netflix television sitcom '' Lovesick'', and portrayed David Bowie in the film '' Stardust''. Flynn ...

would join her on tour for a series of concerts in North America during July and August 2015. The concerts would be Hackman's first time performing material in North America. Hackman's fourth single, "Next Year", was released on 14 August 2015. The album was generally well-received, with ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

''s review rating it four out of five stars, and calling Hackman's work "superbly understated and atmospheric", noting that the "unsettling quality" was a distinguishing factor.

Second album: ''I'm Not Your Man'' (2017)

Hackman signed with

Sub Pop Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the grunge movement. They are oft ...

for her second album, '' I'm Not Your Man''. "Boyfriend", the first single from the album, debuted on Hackman's VEVO channel on 22 February 2017 in the form of a music video. The album features the London band The Big Moon as backing vocalists and instrumentalists. The cover art was designed by Tristan Pigott. The album was released 2 June 2017. ''The Guardian''s four-star (out of five) review praised Hackman's "sweetly sung cut-glass vocals" and for having "risen from the alt-folk scene". The Observer's review (rating 3/5 stars) called the album "witty, raucous and honest", noting that Hackman, despite a new sound, "keeps the best of her former incarnation", adding to the "balance and variety" of the album. ''Pitchfork'' declared the album "bracing" and "darkly funny", "melodically strong" and "full of surprises", giving a rating of 7.5/10.

Third album: ''Any Human Friend'' (2019)

On 23 April 2019, Hackman shared a teaser video with the caption "A _ _ H _ _ _ _ F _ _ _ _ _", hinting at the title of her upcoming third album. The following day, she released the lead single, "I'm Not Where You Are". On 22 May, the album's title was revealed to be '' Any Human Friend'', and it was made available to pre-order. It was released on 9 August 2019. The album was produced by Hackman and David Wrench, and significantly features synthesizers. Hackman has described the lyrical content of the album as "quite sexual" and "blunt, but not offensive". She wanted to write about sexuality in a "unifying and sexy" way, in contrast to sexual lyrics that objectify the subject. The second single from the album, "The One", was released on 13 June 2019. Hackman has described it as "probably the poppiest song I’ve ever written". ''The Guardian'', in a four-star review, observed that, on Hackman's "most accomplished record to date", she "flits between self-reflection and self-loathing" in "glorious songs" characterised by "a general wry frankness". ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' called the album "a singular, extraordinarily horny, and occasionally bleak pop record", about "those quiet moments of reckoning with what it means to be alive, young, and cautiously enamoured of it all", also observing Hackman, with her "coolly unimpressed alto" as "not interested in being coy or mincing words". ''

The Independent ''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 publish ...

s review calls the album "blunt and bold" with a "dark sexual energy" on which "Hackman’s beatific voice sits atop methodically messy instrumentals". For this album cycle, Hackman toured in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States.

Fourth album: ''Covers'' (2020)

This album of covers was produced during Hackman's time in lockdown during the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

pandemic, including songs from

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

The Shins The Shins is an American indie rock band formed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1996. The band is the project of singer-songwriter James Mercer, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes. The band's cu ...

, and

Elliott Smith Steven Paul Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003), known professionally as Elliott Smith, was an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived much of hi ...

. Released on 13 November 2020, the album was noted by NME in its four-star review to be "intimate and inventive", representing "soothing familiarity with the excitement of the new". Hackman "straddles the line between... well-known tunes and something fresher", the reviewer observing that "the results are gorgeous".

Personal life

Hackman currently resides in the

East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

of London. She was in a four-year relationship with musician Amber Bain until 2018.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Promotional singles

Guest appearances

Music videos

As lead artist

As featured artist

Guest appearances

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Website

Primary Talent Profile

Sub Pop Records Artist Profile

Transgressive Records Publishing Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hackman, Marika 1992 births Living people English women singer-songwriters English folk singers English women guitarists English guitarists People educated at Bedales School English people of Finnish descent Lesbian musicians LGBT singers from the United Kingdom LGBT songwriters LGBT musicians from England Dirty Hit artists 21st-century English women singers 21st-century English singers People from Selborne 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people Virgin EMI Records artists