Life on Mars - Taking Off with Singer/Songwriter Annah Marcelle

By: Annah Marcelle, Singer-Songwriter
April 25, 2024

Introduction

Hey everybody, it's Annah Marcelle! My new song "Mars" is due out next week and I'm so excited to tell you more about it and what went into making it. "Mars" is the first track off of my concept EP titled "Aftermath". I had the chance to do an interview with Decent Music PR this week and I thought it would be fun to share that with y'all here.

How would you describe Mars to someone at a dinner party who’s never heard of you?

I’ve always thought the idea of people wanting to go to Mars was intriguing and crazy. That would definitely be out of my comfort zone! It made me realize that leaving your life behind to go to Mars is a lot like losing yourself and your identity for a person or relationship. I connected these two themes in the song because in a way they are very similar. For someone who is going to go to Mars, it might sound cool in the moment, but when you finally get there you might realize all of the good things that you miss back on Earth, and maybe Earth isn’t so bad after all. The ending of the song kind of contradicts this narrative, but it ends with a theme of contentment. Being on Mars may be pretty cool, but you left behind a whole life to be there.

Tell me about Mars. What’s it about? What was the process for writing and producing it?

Mars was written in January 2023 and was the first song that was produced on the 'Aftermath' EP. The entire EP was recorded in Nashville last summer and I've been working with my producer Kara Greskovic to fine tune each song. High metaphor songs like Mars are always pretty easy for me to write because every line is pretty much a metaphor, simile, or analogy. It’s fun to be able to link together two themes and find all of the similarities. My favorite line from the song is “I didn’t realize, even how hard you try up here, you can’t breathe.” I feel that it perfectly encapsulates the meaning behind the whole song. Something so crucial to humans, like breathing, is something that is easily forgotten because of how love-bombed or blindsided we can be in relationships. We forget to be who we are, and instead change ourselves for someone else.

What are you most proud of in your musical journey to date? What keeps you making music?

There are a lot of songs that I’ve written and only I have heard that I am very proud of, maybe even more than the songs I’ve released or that I am going to release. There is nothing better than the satisfaction you feel after completing a song and feeling like it’s some of your best work, which is a big reason that keeps me writing. Writing a song is like a painting, after you’re done painting it, you admire it and it just makes you want to paint another one.

Who are your fans?

My fans are 100% online right now, as I haven’t been performing in a public setting. I don’t get to talk to as many of them as I’d like to, but most of them are regular people just like me who are going through the same trials in life and find comfort in my songs. One thing I’ve noticed that touches me deeply is when I earn a new fan because of a particular song and its meaning to them. They’re always the first to react to new music when it comes out and they support me unconditionally. It is an amazing feeling.

What’s your ideal press headline 12 months from now? In which publication? Why?

I fell in love with songwriting because it enables me to cope with my own personal conflicts and relationships in a productive and artistic way. I would continue to do it indefinitely even if no one listened because it’s so therapeutic. At the same time, I’m a college student and I’m thinking a lot about what I want to do for a career. It would be amazing if I could somehow make a career out of songwriting. I’d love to be well-known for my storytelling and recognized for my unique sound melodically, emotionally, and instrumentally. So I guess the next steps would be to progressively produce better and better songs, find and nurture my target audience, and measure success by reaching an impressive number of streams. An exciting headline would be something like “Viral Talent Annah Marcelle Signs with [fill in the blank] Records” on Billboard!

What is the one key strength that makes you stand out amongst your peers?

I believe that my ability to write songs alone and give my producer a clear vision of what I want, whether that is a demo or just specific ideas, is something that sets me apart from other artists. I am able to do a lot of the work on my own. I compose all of the melodies, harmonies, rhythms, lyrics, etc. Of course, I wouldn’t be where I am today alone, but I certainly wouldn’t be anywhere if I wasn’t able to write music in the way that I can.

If you were to completely start over again from day one, what would you do differently?

To be completely honest, I wouldn’t choose to do anything differently. Every song that I’ve written and put out has happened at the right time. Even the mistakes that I’ve made along the way have taught me things that have made me a better musician. For example, very early in my career, I put out an album (that is not longer out there :)) that to me now wasn’t a good representation of my abilities; However, if I hadn’t made those songs I wouldn’t know as much about production as a do because those are the only songs that I ever released where I was the sole producer.

Annah Marcelle, Singer-Songwriter, Performing Artist

Annah Marcelle is an aspiring musical artist with more than a dozen original songs on digital streaming platforms. She has been writing and recording music since the age of 16 and has worked closely with several up-and-coming music producers.