Edinburgh-based singer-songwriter, musician, & producer Marky Wildtype is making waves through a personal drawing craft that depicts a variety of genres & expressive lyrics that showcase the creative artist behind the music.
Not long ago, Marky unveiled the new single, “The Hole”, which follows the previous release, “Tell Me Again”, & showcases a
distinctly different side of the forthcoming second album. Inspired by Sarah Polley’s 2011 film Take This Waltz. It carries a diverse vibe to the previous single.
Marky has kindly taken the time to speak with Fierce & Fabulous Revolution regarding the release of “The Hole” & the inspiration behind it. You can find the full interview below.
Hey Marky, thank you for this interview. Can you start by introducing yourself to readers who might be unfamiliar with your music?
Marky: Hello! I’m Marky Wildtype, I’m a songwriter and producer from Edinburgh. My background is playing in rock bands, but my tastes are pretty diverse, so (with some prompting from a songwriter friend) I decided to just write with no agenda and see what happened. Eventually, that turned into my first solo album (bruising words and bitter pills), which ended up being quite acoustic-based. I had a lot of fun making it though, all super DIY, playing most of the instruments, recording and mixing it all myself. And through doing that, it turned out there were more directions I wanted to explore so I kept on writing and made another one! It’s been a bit of a tough old time too, both in my life and in the wider world, so I ended up having plenty that I needed to express.
When did you first discover your passion for music?
Marky: My mum always used to play music around the house when I was little, lots of 60s music and particularly The Beatles, so all that stuff is imprinted on my brain from before I even really knew what music was. My brother got into a lot of 60s music when he was a teenager too, so it was everywhere in my house. I think that’s probably at the core of my melodic sensibilities, unconsciously or consciously. As for playing music myself, I took piano lessons when I was young, but didn’t really enjoy playing much. It wasn’t until I picked up a guitar around 12 or 13 that I really started to be fascinated with the sounds I could make, and also to see it as a means of expression.
How would you currently describe your musical style?
Marky: I’m not sure really… It’s very song-led. Every song has to have a core hook of some kind, something that sticks in my head during the writing process. And I absolutely love vocal harmonies. Beyond that, it just goes wherever the song wants to go. As I said, I’ve stopped restricting myself to a particular sound, so there are elements of pop, rock, alternative, acoustic, electronic etc. Even a touch of emo (I refuse to apologise for my love of MCR!)! It’s fun exploring sounds like that, but I realise it’s unhelpful for categorisation, which might be shooting myself in the foot a bit!
You recently released the new single “The Hole”, what inspired you to create this song?
Marky: The initial spark came from a 2011 Sarah Polley film called Take This Waltz, which is amazing, but pretty devastating. It also articulated something that I don’t think I’d seen expressed as well before, and that really rang true for me – this idea that there’s something… missing in our fundamental nature as humans. We can’t quite cope with our place in the world/universe, trying to find meaning in it all, and with the knowledge that death is inevitable. And it’s our attempts to plug that gap, or distract ourselves from it that leads us to often quite self-destructive behaviour. Sounds cheerful, right?
Did you always plan to release “The Hole” as a single?
Marky: It was always in contention, but it’s actually been a bit of a struggle to decide on singles. I’m really attached to all the songs on the album and it’s also quite hard to know which best represents the whole. Being entirely DIY, the choice of singles feels like a big, high-pressure decision. But then again, I have pretty low expectations for the same reason, so I’m really just stressing myself out unnecessarily!
What does this song personally mean to you?
Marky: I think music is what I use to fill the hole, so it’s really just me swimming about in that concept, trying to be OK with it. Some days I am, others… not so much!
What message would you like listeners to take from this song?
Marky: It would be nice if my attempts to make sense of and articulate these ideas sparked something in listeners, the same way the film did with me. It’s comforting to know someone else feels these things, even if they are hard. Also, I hope they find it catchy and sticks in their heads!
Do you have any further releases planned that you can currently tell us about?
Marky: I will be releasing at least one, possibly two more singles before the album comes out. Again, I’m struggling with exactly which ones to put out and in what order, but I’m sure that one of them will be ‘Place of Peace’, which is a bit of a piano-led epic that means a lot to me. And the album, ‘If Destroyed Still True’ will be out in a couple of months. I’ve worked so, so hard on this stuff, over such a long time, I can’t wait for people to hear it.
What advice would you offer someone looking to pursue a career within the music industry?
Marky: You’ve got to love it. There are various paths you can take if you want a career in the music industry, but not many of those are really paths of creativity. If you want to be a creative person, first and foremost do it because you love it and because you just HAVE to. Also, be as self-reliant as you can, or find a small core of like-minded people and support each other. The odds of ‘success’, whatever that might mean, are small, so you’ve got to enjoy the process.
Finally, is there a message that you would like to share with the readers of Fierce & Fabulous Revolution?
Marky: Keep loving music and seeking out new voices. It’s all about connection in the end. This is how we reach our hands out to you, and your listening is how you reach back, and that’s a beautiful thing.
You can check out “The Hole” on Spotify below or on more platforms here.
Marky Wildtype: Instagram / X (Twitter).
Fierce & Fabulous Revolution 