Dallas-based musician and visual artist, Nicole Marxen, also of the avant-garde pop act, Midnight Opera, prepares for the release of her debut solo EP, and introduces it with the opening number and title track, Tether.
A showcase of sincerity and human emotion in connection to grief, Tether finds Marxen going through distress and sorrow following the passing of her mother, and it pours forth a kind of dark dynamism which feels both vulnerable and undeterred.
"I used to think that my life wasn’t worth writing about," Marxen admits. "I hid behind the characters I created, the haven of the stage, the armor of costume. My art was elaborate escapism."
The coming four song EP was recorded at John Congleton’s studio, Elmwood, with Alex Bhore, formerly of This Will Destroy You, and it releases on February 26th, 2021.
"Tether is about navigating the vast landscape of loss," Nicole says of the new song. "In many ways, it was a crucial first step in my own grieving process and self-discovery as a songwriter. Being so rooted in showmanship, I hadn’t explored such vulnerability in my work before. When I began to shift my efforts inward, I found that my truth very much needed to be expressed. The song serves as a reminder to hold space for myself."
Photos by Judd Myers