Catching Up with Marika Hackman: Big Sigh, U.S Tour & everything in between

Multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter Marika Hackman is currently on tour in the U.S. for the first time in five years! With Art School Girlfriend as support, this tour will hit almost all major cities and run through the first week of October. Our founder, Cher Dunn, caught up with Marika to chat about tour and her new album Big Sigh.

MLIS: Rumor has it you’re gearing up for Manchester Psych Fest AND preparing for a tour in the States. How are you feeling about it?

Marika Hackman: “I’ve been touring around the U.K. and Europe earlier this year, and played some festivals. Manchester Psych Fest is this Saturday, and then I’ve got rehearsals on Sunday, and then we are flying out this Wednesday so it feels exciting! I’m looking forward to it a lot. It’s like a proper adventure, you know? Touring the US, because it’s just so big.”

Do you get the chance to explore much while you’re on tour?

MH: “Normally, the last couple of times I’ve toured in North America, it’s been just driving in a van all day, getting to the venue, playing the show, then driving off to the next show. It’s like you see the place, but you’re just seeing it from a car window. This time, though, we’ve got an RV to sleep in, so most of the driving will be done overnight. That means for the first time, we can go exploring during the day and really hang out in the cities we’re visiting. That’s why I’m so excited this time around—I’m actually going to be able to properly see these places for once.”

What are you most looking forward to now that you’ll have more time to explore?

MH: “I think when we’re in the cities, it’s going to be mainly dive bars and food. But on some of the longer drives through the countryside, we’ll be looking for good hiking spots or lakes. I’m definitely going to be on the lookout for swimming pools in every city… and we were even talking about finding tennis courts to keep active. Like, play some tennis, then have a nice lunch—it’ll make it feel a bit more normal. We’re all in our thirties now, so sitting around drinking beers for hours isn’t as exciting anymore.”

Let’s talk about your new album, Big Sigh. How are you feeling about bringing it live to your U.S fans?

MH: “It’s kind of like the apex of the whole experience of being a musician. Writing the song is amazing, that’s the best feeling. But when you get to go through the process in the studio, sit on it for a while, and then finally perform it live for people who’ve already connected with it, it’s a really magical feeling. I love playing ‘Blood’—I feel very connected to that song when I sing it, and it really shifts the energy of the room. And ‘Hanging’ is also a favorite because of the huge dynamic shift at the end. It’s so rewarding to see everyone dancing, crying, snogging, all of it!”

You played almost all the instruments on Big Sigh except for the strings. Which instrument inspired you the most during the writing process?

MH: “Yeah, I think the piano was the big factor in this record. It feels different from my other albums. I was quite piano-led this time—even if I wrote a few verses or chord progressions on the guitar, I’d transpose it to the piano and build from there. The piano gave me a different perspective, and it gave me confidence to write instrumentals. With the guitar, I’m used to it accompanying my voice, but with the piano, it’s always been more instinctive for me. It was really nice to accept that as equally valid and just create without pressure.”

When you were writing Big Sigh, did the lyrics or the music come first?

MH: “It’s hard to call. Usually, I’ll be playing something and a melody comes to me, and as I come up with the melody, I have to sing something. So, the words just kind of hop into my head. A lot of the time, that first line sticks and dictates where the song goes. But after that, it could take me weeks to then sit with the song and turn it into something else. ‘No Caffeine‘ took a while for me to write the lyrics for that but even then when I first wrote the chorus, the ‘we only had the night’ line was already in there and ‘and now we’re doing it all the time’. There’s always fragments that were there when the kind of ‘lighting bolt’ struck.”

Your songwriting is raw, heart-wrenchingly real storytelling. Is there ever a point in the writing process when you surprise yourself writing lyrics? Do you ever feel like you’re telling on yourself?

MH: (laughs) “Yeah, that does happen. I have to be brave, really, because that will happen, and then I’ll be like, ‘I can’t not put that in now,’ because it’s always the lines I love as well. So I kind of have to stick with them. I mean, there was more of that on Any Human Friend because it was so raunchy, and your brain goes, ‘Oh shit, my Mum and Dad are going to listen to this.’ But with Big Sigh, there are lines that are a bit more devastating, about past relationships, and you sometimes worry, ‘Are all of my exes going to be listening to this and reading into it?’ And it’s like, ‘Nah, you know what, it doesn’t matter. It captures a moment, and it is what it is.’ What I wanted with this record was all about connection, really. A really honest connection—being frank and open without sassing it up, while keeping it level.