On the 4th of July Jodie Marie will release her debut single ‘Single Blank Canvas’, followed by her first London show on the 6th of July at St Bernard’s Church. She played her debut show in Cardiff last night to a packed out crowd at Ten Feet Tall which coincides with the release of this beautiful video for ‘Single Blank Canvas’ directed by Tom Beard, the man behind all the amazing Florence and The Machine videos.
In a landscape of vacuous pop, Jodie Marie is that rarest of things: a refreshingly pure talent with a collection of deeply personal songs that manage to genuinely affect the listener.
Her voice is that of a classic artist and her unique tone and phrasing is impossible to compare. Whilst the quality and substance of the songs bring to mind greats such as Carole King and Joni Mitchell, her style is truly original within this classic framework of writing. And the emotional depth of her writing belies her mere 19 years of age.
Raised in Narberth in Wales, isolated and disinterested in the pop charts which she is destined to top, Jodie Marie was brought up on a diet of blues and Bonnie Raitt, leading her to a soulful and genuine signature sound.
Discovered by Transgressive Management (the team behind Johnny Flynn, Foals and The Noisettes) when Toby L’s father was on a trip back to his hometown of Wales and loudly talking about his son’s involvement in the music industry was instructed by the landlady to check out the local plumber’s daughter’s music.
She was soon in the studio with Bernard Butler (Duffy, Suede) and Ed Harcourt (Paloma Faith) crafting a debut album comprised of single take songs, recorded live with lush string overdubs in Konk studios (owned by Ray Davies). Signed to Decca to relaunch the classic Verve label, she follows a strong lineage of artists, from Nina Simone and Billie Holliday to the Velvet Underground and is set to transcend trends and convention with her heartfelt debut album released later in the year. The debut single “Single Blank Canvas” is a small glimpse into the expansive world of this new original voice.
Augmented by soft country guitars, “Single Blank Canvas” is built around Jodie’s crystalline and utterly compelling voice that builds from the first spiralling note to the most understated of climaxes.
