Marika Hackman at Gorilla

At the start of 2020, Marika hurtled into lockdown; stifled and isolated, her musical brain nullified. She had been in a constant cycle of write/record/press/tour for nine years, since the age of nineteen, and the eerie silence of stopping was agonising. Being with friends, swimming, collaborating and touring, everything Marika normally used to distract her mind from spiralling thoughts and feelings had disappeared. She stopped writing songs. As the months progressed, she accrued scraps of melodies but never felt that spectral hit of a fully formed song arriving in her brain. However, Marika’s never-ending pursuit of untangling her internal universe via music would eventually allow her to find her way back to the golden orb of creativity, trapped within a massive block of ice that had built up over the months of her writer’s block.

And so, four years after Marika’s last studio album, Any Human Friend – a celebration of sexy fun and visceral, rank hotness. The album was a huge critical success, drawing a perfect score from The Guardian as well as four-star reviews from across the music press and hit single ‘I’m Not Where You Are’ bringing Hackman to the attention of listeners across the world.

In 2024, the enigmatic singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer unveils her fourth studio album Big Sigh, the “hardest record” Marika has ever made – is, as its title suggests, a release of sorts. It is an edifying blend of sadness, stress and lust, but mostly – and crucially – that of relief.