Queer Brit singer-songwriter Marika Hackman releases first album in four years
UK-based singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Marika Hackman releases her self-produced new album, Big Sigh.
The album is out now, following the previously shared singles “No Caffeine,” “Slime,” and “Hanging” comes album-closer “The Yellow Mile.”
Big Sigh, Marika Hackman’s first album in four years, is the “hardest record” Marika has ever made and is, as its title suggests, a release of sorts. With the release of her 2019 album Any Human Friend, Marika felt liberated and began embracing her queer identity and sexuality in a big way. But lockdown in 2020 soon left her stifled and isolated, unable to craft a fully formed song, and wondering if she’d ever write again. After a hard-fought journey back from a lengthy creative dry spell, Marika brings us Big Sigh, which she co-produced with Sam Petts-Davies (Thom Yorke, Warpaint) and long-term collaborator Charlie Andrew (Alt-J). She also performed every element of the record, save for the brass and strings.
“Marika Hackman has a knack for capturing the paradoxically beautiful and excruciating experience of yearning. Her songs are layered with pain and pleasure” —Stereogum
Big Sigh finds Marika venturing into fresh terrain, with a constant tug between organic instrumentation and the harsher dynamics of synthetic distortion. It’s like walking into an abandoned industrial wasteland covered in poison ivy, with a blend of sadness, stress and lust, but mostly — and crucially — relief.
One of the many highlights on Big Sigh, and the final track written for the record, “The Yellow Mile” is Marika at her most authentic and intimate. The song finds Marika wanting to feel small again, as she explains, “I wanted to go back to my roots as a songwriter, me and a guitar, crafted, very immediate.” The track arrives alongside an unsettling video co-directed by Marika and Nàtalia Pàges that sees Marika being buried alive.
Big Sigh is available to order now. Marika has announced a January instore tour which will be followed by a headline UK and EU tour.
UK / EU Headline Dates
March 12 – Glasgow, Scotland @ Oran Mor
March 14 – Manchester, England @ Gorilla
March 15 – Leeds, England @ The Wardrobe
March 16 – Newcastle upon Tyne, England @ The Cluny
March 18 – Brighton, England @ Concorde 2
March 19 – Birmingham, England @ Castle & Falcon
March 20 – Bristol, England @ Strange Brew
March 21 – London, England @ Hackney Church
April 8 – Brussels, Belgium @ Botanique
April 9 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Tolhuistuin
April 11 – Berlin, Germany @ Hole44
April 12 – Hamburg, Germany @ Molotow
April 14 – Cologne, Germany @ Artheater
April 15 – Paris, France @ Petit Bain
Order Big Sigh here. Follow Marika on social media: Instagram | Twitter
