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Sep 04, 2015 By Mike Hilleary Web Exclusive

Artist Name: Briana Marela

Where: Seattle, WA

Foundation and Formation:

The daughter of a Peruvian father and American mother, Marela grew up listening to a mix of traditional folk music. Though she took up the acoustic guitar and began writing her own songs in high school, it wasn’t until Marela presented and played a four song EP for a senior project that her classmates even became aware of her extracurricular interest. “It’s funny because I was so shy-really, horribly shy,” says Marela. “And I played the songs for my whole class and they just couldn’t believe that it was me.”

Moving to nearby Olympia to attend Evergreen State College, Marela expanded her compositional acumen by studying audio production and music technology. “I think a lot of times when I’m composing I hear more than just the melody or chords. I always hear other sounds that I’m not sure how to make, and I feel like recording and through learning about sampling and synthesis, I’m like, ‘Oh this how you’re able to make those other sounds that kind of help fill in compositions and make them more than what they could be.’”

After self-releasing two small albums, in 2012 Marela was emailed out of the blue by frequent Sigur Rós collaborator and producer Alex Somers, who had been passed some of Marela’s material by one of his friends. Somers offered his services to produce and record an album, leading to what is now Marela’s Jagjaguwar debut, All Around Us, which was recorded in Iceland by Somers.

Reference Points: Sigur Rós, Björk, Julia Holter, and Julianna Barwick.

Sound and Vision:

Releases: All Around Us (Jagjaguwar)

Links:

www.brianamarela.com

www.facebook.com/brianamarelamusic

www.twitter.com/brianamarela

(Also be sure to pick up Under the Radar’s current print issue to read a separate longer article on Briana Marela.)