Hannah Marks Releases A Musical Sanctuary for Healing and Solace in 'Outsider, Outlier'
Hannah Marks has released her empowering full-length debut album Outsider, Outlier. Hannah Marks' unapologetic debut album masterfully blends jazz and rock over ten dynamic tracks that thoughtfully explore the human condition.
A well-known rising bassist and jazz musician in New York City, the project allows Marks to present a new side of her versatile, dynamic artistry. Outsider, Outlier documents Marks’ search for belonging, love and empowerment through examining key relationships in her life. Musically, radical tempo and stylistic changes represent the tumultuous nature of unhealthy relationships and ensuing bouts of anxiety. Marks uses elements of campy musical cliches and musical theater-like melodies to poke fun at her emotions, treat them with playful energy, and create a safe yet cathartic space to process her feelings. Using both the electric and double bass, the album documents her struggle to trust in herself and others – ultimately ending on a hopeful note with the lyric, “What scares you first will help you grow.”
The recording is a testament to her resiliency during a tumultuous time, during which she took a deep creative dive into her artistic mission and purpose. The intimate collection allows Marks to reflect on the difficult moments and relationships in her life and proudly celebrate how far she's come, and how they've made her who she is today.
“Composed in my early twenties, Outsider, Outlier is a manifesto on how to empower yourself by breaking free from harmful relationships,” Marks says. “The girl that experienced these events was innocent, lonely and heartbroken, only to emerge a secure, loved and whole woman.”
Blending her deep-rooted jazz education and her love of rock music and her influences, the project carries a sound all its own alongside acclaimed musicians.
Marks continues, “Throughout the process of writing this album, I embraced the grunge and experimental rock music I grew up loving but had always set aside in favor of my ‘serious’ jazz pursuits. I chose not to abandon my jazz background, instead gathering a group of accomplished improvisors to bring a free, daring spirit to the music.”
“I'll Ask Anyway” reflects the tumultuous time period in which it was written as Marks was in the midst of lockdown in her childhood bedroom in Iowa. When writing it, Marks explains, “I dreamt of my new love and battled uncertainties about the future. The folky, ethereal quality of this song reflects the wide open plains and lush greenery of the Heartland.” Despite some melancholic undertones, there is a newfound sense of hope for the future and a healthy relationship ahead that shines through Marks' vocals. Marks adds, “‘I’ll Ask Anyway’ closes a chapter on heartbreak and rejection, hoping that a wholesome, secure love could be waiting for me around the corner.”
Last month, Marks released the gritty, angst-filled “(I Wanna Be Ur) 90s Dream Girl,” capturing the essence of being a teenage girl, desperate to be seen and desired by her peers. When writing the song, Marks took a deep dive into her personal archive from high school – text messages, Facebook posts, diaries and concert photos to channel this phase of her life and get appropriately into character.
The track's inspiration is pulled partly from the bustling 2000s DIY rock scene of Des Moines. Marks says, “I was always on the fringe of that scene, attending shows at the grungy yet legendary dive bar Vaudeville Mews, never able to work my way into playing with the young (mostly) men that made up the scene.” Making this track finally allowed her to lean into her early influences and let go of any internal or external judgment. Marks continues, “It is transformative as it was truly the first time I allowed myself to embrace the rock influences that I set aside for years in order to further a career in jazz.”
Now, with her debut project out in the world, Marks brings listeners into her layered, expansive sonic universe with a deeply personal debut album that is a culmination of her talent, lived experiences, and wide breadth of musical knowledge.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Thank you for talking to Unpublished Magazine. Our readers would love to get to know you and your music more. For any readers who aren’t familiar with you, what inspires your creative persona and style?
[HANNAH]: My current album Outsider, Outlier is inspired by my love of punk and noise rock and free improvisation. I'm mostly a jazz bassist, and this album was a way of fusing my love for rock n’ roll with my jazz background.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What artists inspire you, either lyrically or instrumentally?
[HANNAH]: I was listening to a lot of Becca Stevens when I wrote this album. Esperanza Spalding because Esperanza is such a musical chameleon. I find her very inspiring. Some specific songs on this album were influenced by some contemporary classical writers like Kate Soper, and also grunge and heavy rock soundscaping from the Melvins, Jesus Lizard, and Sonic Youth.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Say if someone hasn’t heard of your music yet, which song would you introduce to them that best encapsulates your sound?
[HANNAH]: The first track off the album which is called “(I Wanna B Ur) 90s Dreamgirl” is really fun and one of the most lighthearted songs on the album. There’s some dark material on there, but I think Dreamgirl is a good intro to the project.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Your debut album Outsider, Outlier just released and a huge congratulations is in order. What was the inspiration behind the project?
[HANNAH]: We chatted about my musical inspiration of trying to fuse genres together. Personally, it was influenced mostly by my time in college at Indiana University. I dealt with some pretty rough things there like losing some friends and I was in an abusive relationship that I got out of when I moved to New York in 2018. A lot of this project was reflecting on those events and healing through the songwriting process and lyric writing process. The songs in the last half of the album are about me finding hope for the future and entering a more healed space.
[UNPUBLISHED]: I would love to know more about the creative process behind Outsider, Outlier. How did you go through this experience and how did it affect the process of creating your music?
[HANNAH]: I started writing this music in college and I didn't have an album in mind yet. I was composing and I was a jazz studies major, so just like writing content. The first song that I wrote that I think really encapsulates this project was “Outsider, Outlier.” That was for a classical composition class and I was trying to write with more angular melodies, and so I think that carried through it. I ended up writing the bulk of the album during the pandemic when I was in quarantine or lockdown. I had a lot of time to process things and start figuring out what the theme of the album was and what I still need to work through and pulling that together. I spent a lot of time writing lyrics and doing some free journaling, finding themes within that and then pulling those lyrics into compositions for the record.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What is something you absolutely need in your space when you’re feeling a creative spark hitting you?
[HANNAH]: I love to light incense or some sage. I haven't been writing lately because I've just been busy with the album, but usually it's dimming the lights. I like to sit on the floor and write lyrics. One of the processes I use for songwriting is like physically cutting up pieces of paper with lyric fragments and trying to organize them on a piece of cardboard from my recycling bin. I like the tactile-ness of it.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Alongside the “I’ll Ask Anyways” single there’s an accompanying music video. What was the inspiration behind the video and how was your experience filming it?
[HANNAH]: It was awesome. I worked with Cyrus Stowe. He's a filmmaker and director in New York and I sent him the album and I had a couple of singles in mind and he picked the one that spoke to him the most which was “I’ll Ask Anyways” and ran wild with the concept. I was hands off in that process and it was cool because I experienced so many surprises when I saw the final product. His inspiration was to create these vignettes this day in the life of a woman moving through New York and capturing the interactions she has. I love that it was something separate from my concept and intention behind the song and he really ran with his interpretation.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What is your favorite song from Outsider, Outlier and why do you love it? Is there a certain lyric or message that stands out to you the most?
[HANNAH]: Probably again, going to shout out “(I Wanna B Ur) 90s Dreamgirl.” That one if we're talking about the story of the album and the timeline, this is the one that's earliest in my journey. It's written from the perspective of my high school self, like 15 years old. It's really how this musical journey began. I had all these crushes on these guys that played in these little DIY garage rock bands in Des Moines, Iowa and I went to all their shows and I listened to the music they told me to check out. I don't know if it sounds a little cliche, but it really informed my musical taste. That exposure to the music was huge and really informed it going forward. That song is very fun and very light hearted, but it also discusses the themes of being a woman and not getting to play with these men and not being on stage with them and you have these conflicted feelings of I really want to play in your band, but I also like you and there's a lot of teenage angst in that.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What was the hardest song for you to write?
[HANNAH]: There is a suite of three songs on the album. “Shadow Woman,” “Fairytale” and “No Way Out.” Those are the songs that deal with the material of going through my abusive relationship and those were very intense to write like, I was out of the relationship when I was reading them, but I almost had to re-traumatize myself to write them, which I think some people might say that's not the healthiest thing but ultimately it led me to process the emotions surrounding them. “Shadow Woman,” I started writing in college where I was realizing why am I just following this guy around and living in a shadow? This is not what I want. “Fairytale” is when you’re in this really unhealthy zone and you’re trapped. “No Way Out” is after things settle and you have to reconcile with how broken you feel and it illustrates how broken down I felt at the end.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Did you have any breakthroughs or lessons while creating Outsider, Outlier?
[HANNAH]: So many breakthroughs. I am grateful for the time I had during the pandemic to deal with all of this. I'm really proud of all the work that I did personally and musically. I think writing this helped me in combination with therapy and a lot of other things that helped me deal with that portion of my life and wrap it up. When I listen to this album now, I just feel pain and sadness for my younger self but I also feel removed from it in a really healthy way. I think this album really encapsulated that time in my life and I'm glad I can release it and then I don't have to worry about it anymore.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What message or emotions do you hope listeners can take away from the album?
[HANNAH]: I hope they feel empowered. I think there's a huge range of emotions in this project. There's anger and sadness and frustration. But then also a lot of hope and vulnerability and like a sense of being settled within oneself more towards the end of the album, so I think the album really takes you through like a whole journey.
[UNPUBLISHED]: How are you feeling in this current era of your career and what does the rest of the year look like for you that you would love to share with Unpublished?
[HANNAH]: I have mixed feelings all the time about my career. I'm pretty hard on myself, so I struggle with always wanting more, so I'm working on trying to be more present and happy with where I'm at and I'm very proud of myself for this release. I have a gig at a small jazz club in the village with my jazz quartet, which is probably the next project I'll be pushing, and then I have a three week long residency at MacDowell in New Hampshire, which is an artist residency where I'll just get to compose and reconfigure, recover after this release and figure out what's next.
