Our first-time intro to any music artist begins with our Artist Profile, where we learn about them and their music, directly from them.
Name: Marie Munroe
CMW Show(s): Wednesday, May 7 @ 7pm – Cameron House – Backroom
Hometown: Oslo, Norway
Music Genre: Pop
Year it all began: 2008
A quick introduction: I come from a small town on the northwest coast of Norway called Aalesund where my grandfather ran the Munroe bakery. I early on moved to Oslo to pursue a career in music. My first record in 2008 called A Killer For This Ache, released on Rune Grammofon – was very much a collage of all the different states of music I had been experiencing since I was a kid. I don’t really relate to it now, but I think it’s fun in the same way I think David Bowies first album London Boy is fun. It’s like he’s all over the place and at the same time so clearly just himself. With my second record, Let’s Let Go in 2011, I had my first radio-listing and was nominated best female artist and best composer for the Norwegian grammys “Spellemannsprisen”. Which also led me to a worldwide record deal with Warner Music Norway where my third album, If We Make It To The Future, was released in 2013. The single, My Man, from this album resulted in my first A-listing on Norwegian radios and also reaching further out of Norway then I’ve managed to get before, and will continue to work for it on my upcoming album this September 2014. The first single is already due this week – on the 9th of may and is called “Like a Drumbeat”. Look for it, guys! <3
What got you into music? My mom used to write down the songs I made before I knew I was making songs. I think it’s fair to say she got me started. It took years before I started singing, though. As a child my voice was a bit darker then the other girls voices, and I was embarrassed by it for a long while. But when I was thirteen a guy overheard me humming, and to my surprise liked it so much he asked me to join his band. We participated in a competition which again led me to be picked up by a norwegian touring agency called Rikskonsertene and I was sent on tour that same year. I’ve never thought of doing something else. I was lucky at first, getting in to the business. For me the rocky part was not to follow what others wanted for me but to trust in my own bad taste when everyone disagreed with me. You can’t be legendary if you do what everyone else does, right?
What are your sources of inspiration? I’m always inspired by other artists work. I love reading, watching movies, listening to music and going to concerts. Sometimes just a word used in a different way, or a way a writer can express or describe something. I have my idols, of course – from different genres and ages, David Bowie, Kate Bush, Kathleen Edwards, Robyn, Kent, Roy Orbison, Roy Harper, Billie Holiday, Broken Bells, Neil Young, Tears for fears, etc.
Dream gig? I would love to know what it feels like to perform in Royal Albert Hall. But not just for the thrill of it, it would have to be because people came to hear the music and because they loved it, or else it would be a bit sad. I think the most important thing is to feel in touch the nerve of the audience, and as long as I can feel that I don’t mind scaling it down.
Your thoughts on Canadian Music Week? I’m really looking forward to performing at CMW. It’s a hotspot, being recognized as one of the premiere events in North America. A great opportunity to reach out to a new audience and catch up on the music scene and the industry that’s so rapidly changing these days.
Interesting points others don’t know about you? I have seven brothers, eat fish each morning for breakfast and I’m writing a fantasy novel.
