Marta Palombo
Photo credit: Jackson Campbell // Makeup: Abby Pearl Beauty.
Marta Palombo is an Artist, a story-teller, a writer, a poet, a singer. She recently released her single “Sketches” and it’s a beautiful and emotional record that explores a moment in Marta’s life where everything seemed uncertain.
Marta Palombo is an authentic artist who’s not afraid to write about important and personal stories.
“I’m constantly inspired by the world around me – the smallest objects or actions can spark inspiration and become a song, just because they came at the perfect time. Art doesn’t always have to be about big, loud, life-changing things; it can be about the quiet days spent over a mug of tea, too,” says Palombo.
“Sketches” is off her upcoming project “The Quarantine Tapes” to be released later this year.
“Sketches” is now available worldwide :)
Introduce yourself - what's your story?
Hi! My name is Marta Palombo. I love flowers and cats and books and drinking tea on rainy days. I’ve been writing music for as long as I can remember, and music is my passion, my purpose, my one true love. I’ve found the most fulfillment in writing slow songs, bittersweet songs, and songs about the complexities of life and love — and so far, a whole lot of people have responded to them. I’m currently in the process of releasing singles as part of a project called "The Quarantine Tapes," and "Sketches" (the very first one) is out now!
What did you grow up listening to?
The first artist I remember consciously falling in love with was Taylor Swift when I was in elementary school. The way she strung together words and stories was magical to me, and it still is. I also listened to a lot of symphonic metal because my uncle is a huge fan of rock and metal, and his passion for it was infectious. He spent lots of time helping me find the exact shade of metal I loved, and symphonic metal bands like Epica, Kamelot, and Within Temptation helped me understand the nuances and contrasts of music — screaming can mix with operatic sopranos, electric guitars and headbanging can weave into a full orchestra. And as I grew up, studied music, and dedicated myself to my school choirs, I surrounded myself with the beauty of classical music. All of these influences combined really helped to shape my view on creating my own music: I focus on telling stories and surrounding the words I write with the best, most evocative instrumental I can, no matter what genre it pulls from.
Growing up, what were your favorite songs to sing along to?
You may as well insert the entire "Fearless" album by our good friend T Swift in this answer…my very first solo pop performance was singing "Love Story" at my sixth grade talent show. I practiced with a mop since I didn’t have a mic stand at home.
When did you start writing songs? What made you want to write in the first place?
I’ve been writing songs for as long as I can remember. I used to make up melodies all the time, and eventually I started adding words here and there. To be honest, I thought it was something that everyone did, but it was only once I got to high school that I realized that not everyone walks around with a head full of random musical fragments. I never consciously decided that I wanted to write; I just got to a point where every emotion I needed to process would come out of me in music, even when I was very young. So I just kept doing it!
When did you know you could sing?
That is a very good question. I think fourth grade? I joined choir and got my very first solo. I think at that moment my little nine year old brain felt very important indeed, and I thought they couldn’t possibly have picked me if I couldn’t at least carry a tune in a pretty way.
How would you define Marta Palombo, the artist?
My official bio says a “21st century hippie crossover between Joni Mitchell and Florence + The Machine,” and I believe that’s as accurate a description as I can give when it comes to my sound!
Who was the first person to ever believe in you?
My mom and dad! Always!
"Sketches" is your latest single - what's the story/inspiration behind this single?
I turned 22 in February of 2020, and played Taylor Swift’s “22” all night long. I released an EP that year, I played a great release show, and I thought 22 was going to be everything I had ever hoped for. A week later, my university shut down, all of my shows were canceled, and I moved back home with my parents. We called my family in Italy every day to make sure they were ok. I wasn’t nearly as grown up and put together as I thought I would be at 22. The racial injustice that still plagues the US was reaching a peak, and the world wasn’t the “better place” I had always envisioned. On top of it all we were in the middle of a global pandemic. I gave myself time to really think and be vulnerable when writing it, because there was a lot of disappointment and disillusionment I had to come to terms with.
When did you start working on this single? Could you describe the songwriting/production process? Who helped you create this song?
I wrote the journal entry that would later become the basis for “Sketches” in April of 2020. The words were bursting to come out, but it took me a long time to dig into the fears and the disappointments I had. I liked the idea of sketches from the beginning, because they could symbolize so much. I had the chorus alone for a while, and then the first verse came to me late one night after sending a long voice memo rant to my best friend. The words “hello friend, it’s been a while…” are actually a direct quote from our conversation. A month later the second verse came. The guitar part had been in my head since the beginning, so I brought it to my guitarist Robert Blakely to flesh it out. After that I got to work in the studio with my producer Foster Ferrell, and the final piece was for me to write the string quartet at the end (which was then recorded beautifully by Gideon and Gabriel Klein).
What did you feel when writing this song?
I was dealing with the shattering of a lot of expectations — not only was I not nearly as put-together and grown up as I thought I would be at 22, but I was now facing a global pandemic that had taken every important person, event, and aspect of my life and put it on hold. It put me in a very raw, open position, and it felt very much like I was a sketch. I had spent months sketching myself out, and just as I was about to paint in the detail, the life, and the color, I had to stop. At the time, I had no idea when I was going to be able to pick back up again. So Sketches is a reflection on what my 22 felt like; uncertain, disillusioned, and raw.
What is your goal for this song?
My goal for this song, and "The Quarantine Tapes" as a larger project, is to document a moment in time and help people process it. I couldn’t release other music without fully admitting and acknowledging how much this past year had affected me first, and I’m hoping that other people feel the same. We need to take the time to connect with one another and understand that it’s ok to not be ok. We need to allow ourselves to feel the weight of this past year without brushing it off, sweeping it under the rug, or simply trying to “move on.” I hope my songs can start people on the path to closure.
What are your thoughts on today's music industry? If you could change one thing, what would it be?
I wrote a very long open letter on thread. last year on the Highs and Lows of the Music Industry, and my feelings remain much the same. I wish there was less focus on selling ourselves, on creating a product to be consumed, and more focus on art, happiness, and human connection. Numbers, over-saturated markets, and an ever-growing emphasis on shorter songs are making it very hard, but I hope that happiness and the exploration of creativity can remain at the core of why artists do what they do. Competition and comparison are still the worst demons of the music industry, and frankly I believe that our commercial expectations of success are bullshit. We need to do what makes us feel happy and fulfilled, not what gets us the most streams.
What's your favorite thing about making music?
Connection. Whether it’s connection to my own heart and soul, connection to an audience, or connection to the world around me, it always comes back to that.
Do you remember a specific moment in your life where music made a huge impact?
Music has changed my life more times than I can count. But there have been a few moments where my music specifically has rocked me to my core. The first was when I realized I needed to stop chasing success, because the traditional idea of success was making me miserable. The second was when I found a girl who had recorded an a cappella cover of one of the very first songs I had released. I reached out to tell her it was beautiful, and she told me the song had seen her through a bad period in her life. To this day, that song has less than 100 streams on Spotify, but it still had the power to change someone’s life. And that is what makes music important. Not numbers.
Besides music, what are you passionate about?
A lot of things, and a lot of ideas! Broadly speaking, I’m passionate about authenticity, originality, and following your own path whether those around you understand it or not. On a lighter note, I’m obsessed with Harry Potter, ice cream, tea, cats, and to-do lists.
What biggest life lessons have you learned so far?
Be. Happy. Everything you do, every decision you make, let it lead you closer to happiness. Success will come when you feel fulfilled by what you do and who you have around you. Also, call your mom more often than you think you need to.
In your opinion, what would make the world a better place?
Less focus on “the grind” and chasing money, more focus on seeing the beauty in the people and things around you.
What message do you want to deliver to the world?
A message of stillness. I think we’ve gotten very quick and impatient about feeling our emotions nowadays. We constantly move from one feeling to the next, one love to the next, one task to the next. For me, music is a way of slowing down and processing — it means living in the gray area and really feeling. Being true to what your mind and your heart tell you when you take a moment to breathe and just be. I hope my songs can be those moments for people. I want to write songs that are six minutes long because that’s how much time it takes to say what needs to be said. I want to write about complicated feelings that aren’t really fully resolved, that are the product of years and years of stories, because that’s what life is. Small moments, big moments, they all need to be felt with patience and acceptance.
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