About
The story so far.......
Sixteen year old Jodie Marie was plucked from the obscurity of rural Wales to embark on a glamorous pop star career in 2012.
And then what?
In 2019 a more worldly young woman sits contemplating how the journey into the star making machinery and back has affected her approach to music.
The UK doesn’t have the regional musical diversity of the USA, but go west to Pembrokeshire where the land ends and there’s nothing but sea until you get to America, and there’s a studio in an old chapel that’s the nearest thing we have to the legendary Muscle Shoals. The studio is near nowhere, set in dramatic coastal countryside that, a long way from London, helps shape the music made there.
There Jodie and partner Owain live and create a music that resonates with the traditional virtues that recall Bonnie Raitt, Etta James or Loretta Lynn. Others listening hear Amy Winehouse or The Black Keys. They collect and use vintage equipment, the same gear that would have graced the recordings of Little Feat or Booker T.
Some good things came from the brush with stardom, particularly the long lasting song writing partnerships with Ed Harcourt and Dan Smith. The journey also helped her find where she wanted to be and the value of authenticity in music. Like soul, it’s either something you have or you don’t.
Jodie has it and isn’t going to let it go again.
Her latest album ’The Answer’ is out now!
Polar Night...
At the beginning of January 2023, Welsh Recording artist Jodie Marie travelled above the Arctic Circle to write new music as part of an artist residency with help from Arts Council Wales International Opportunities Fund.
After a three-day journey to Seiland Island in Norway, Jodie Marie arrived in her cabin, located at the very end of the island road where only a handful of people live in the fjord during this time of year, to stay in the polar darkness, alone, for over three weeks.
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Living 70° North, with almost 24-hour darkness and limited hours of light to make the most of the outdoors, Jodie Marie experienced a new level of isolation. Surrounded by the beautiful landscape, extreme weather conditions and stories of the indigenous Sámi people, she made the most of her time by writing and recording what has now become the 6 track, Polar Night EP.
During her stay, Jodie Marie immersed herself in the local community at the only shop on the island, she sheltered from a hurricane, reminisced of her own home and Welsh heritage, and spent time with Sámi reindeer herders, learning of their culture and history. Jodie Marie spent hours on a mountain top amongst 3000 reindeer, watching the sun rise above the horizon for the first time in 3 months, which you will hear at the end of the final track.
All of these moments inspired songs on her latest EP, Polar Night, and accompanying documentary, 24 days of Polar Night, filmed and directed by Gøril Nilsen, of the band I See Rivers.
"It was truly life changing, I can't put into words how incredible this experience was, so I wrote them into 6 songs. Learning about the indigenous Sami culture, spending time alone in a cabin in the 24 hour darkness does something to you - it sparks creativity in a way I've never experienced before. The inspiration born on Seiland island flows through every word and every sound on this EP and I can't wait to share the magic with you."
We invite you to experience the music, film and watch a live performance from this EP throughout April/May 2023. Keep up to date by subscribing to Jodie's mailing list (on the home page of this website) and you can now pre order Polar Night in CD or Vinyl format via the STORE section. Please note, there is a delay in the vinyl arriving, therefore, it will not be at Jodie Marie HQ until July 2023.
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