Hannah Marks Releases Debut LP 'OUTSIDER, OUTLIER' Via Out Of Your Head Records

New York City based bassist, composer and educator Hannah Marks has released her empowering full-length debut album Outsider, Outlier out everywhere now via Out Of Your Head Records. Alongside the full project, Marks shares Midwest-inspired, folky track and video "I'll Ask Anyway" out now. Celebrate the album with Marks live at the official LP release show at The Jazz Gallery in NYC on November 3. Tickets are on sale now here.

Outsider, Outlier, Hannah Marks' unapologetic debut album out now, masterfully blends jazz and rock over ten dynamic tracks that thoughtfully explore the human condition. A well known rising bassist and jazz musician in New York City, the project allows Marks to present a new side of her versatile, dynamic artistry. Outsider, Outlier documents Marks' search for belonging, love, and empowerment through examining key relationships in her life. Musically, radical tempo and stylistic changes represent the tumultuous nature of unhealthy relationships and ensuing bouts of anxiety. Marks uses elements of campy musical cliches and musical theater-like melodies to poke fun at her emotions, treat them with playful energy, and create a safe yet cathartic space to process her feelings. Using both the electric and double bass, the album documents her struggle to trust in herself and others — ultimately ending on a hopeful note with the lyric, “What scares you first will help you grow.” 

All music and lyrics were written by Hannah Marks and alongside her, collaborators on the album include Sarah Rossy (lead vocals), Lee Meadvin (guitar), Lex Korten (piano), Nathan Reising (alto saxophone), and Connor Parks (drums). The recording is a testament to her resilience during a tumultuous time, during which she took a deep creative dive into her artistic mission and purpose. The album was recorded at Bunker Studios in Brooklyn, NY with Caroline Davis as the in-studio producer and Meadvin heading up all post-production. It was engineered by Todd Carder and mixed and mastered by Meadvin.

The intimate collection allows Marks to reflect on the difficult moments and relationships in her life and proudly celebrate how far she's come, and how they've made her who she is today. "Composed in my early twenties, 'Outsider, Outlier' is a manifesto on how to empower yourself by breaking free from harmful relationships," Marks shares. "The girl that experienced these events was innocent, lonely, and heartbroken, only to emerge a secure, loved, and whole woman." Blending her deep-rooted jazz education and her love of rock music and her influences, the project carries a sound all its own alongside acclaimed musicians. Marks continues, "Throughout the process of writing this album, I embraced the grunge and experimental rock music I grew up loving but had always set aside in favor of my “serious” jazz pursuits. I chose not to abandon my jazz background, instead gathering a group of accomplished improvisors to bring a free, daring spirit to the music."

 

"I'll Ask Anyway," out today, reflects the tumultuous time period in which it was written–April 2020 as Marks was in the midst of lockdown in her childhood bedroom in Iowa. When writing it, Marks explains, "I dreamt of my new love and battled uncertainties about the future. The folky, ethereal quality of this song reflects the wide open plains and lush greenery of the Heartland." Despite some melancholic undertones, there is a newfound sense of hope for the future and a healthy relationship ahead that shines through Marks' vocals. Marks adds, "'I'll Ask Anyway' closes a chapter on heartbreak and rejection, hoping that a wholesome, secure love could be waiting for me around the corner."

 

The track's accompanying video takes viewers throughout New York City between Brooklyn and Manhattan, on transit and throughout the streets. It follows the protagonist, played by actress Julia Dangelo, throughout a series of missed connections. Directed by Cyrus Stowe and shot on film, it's stylized similarly to the 2009 indie film Daddy Longlegs and features up-and-coming jewelry designer Hiro Lamarsh, as well as Santiago Mallan, Melissa Mejia, and William Way.

Watch the music video here:

 

Tender and personal, the music video for “I'll Ask Anyway” encapsulates the awkward and confusing moments on the road to finding love. Reflecting on the video and its apt setting, Marks says, "I love that we shot the video in New York, because the chaos of the city always plays a hand in the difficult task of trying to “make it” and find a relationship at the same time. But that's the beautiful thing about New York - you never know what could be waiting for you, just around the corner."

The dreamy, atmospheric, and tender, “Jessie's Lullaby” released earlier this month quietly closes out an otherwise tumultuous album. Initially, the track was written for Jessie, a gentle but anxious dog Marks was watching one summer, but overtime, its meaning has shifted. Marks shares, "I now realize that this song was foreshadowing the immense struggle and change that was about to come in my life: moving to a new city and leaving an abusive relationship." After significant personal growth, Marks is able to look back on the experiences that brought her to this song, instead of living in their midst. Marks continues, "Having now healed from the difficult experiences that led me to write this album, I can truly agree with my lyric, 'what scares you first will help you grow.'"

Last month, Marks released the gritty, angst-filled "(I Wanna Be Ur) 90s Dream Girl," capturing the essence of being a teenage girl, desperate to be seen and desired by her peers. When writing the song, Marks took a deep dive into her personal archive from high school–text messages, Facebook posts, diaries and concert photos to channel this phase of her life and get appropriately into character. Watch the Bruce Bales directed music video here.

The track's inspiration is pulled partly from the bustling 2000s DIY rock scene of Des Moines, IA–Marks' hometown. Marks says, "I was always on the fringe of that scene, attending shows at the grungy yet legendary dive bar Vaudeville Mews, never able to work my way into playing with the young (mostly) men that made up the scene." Making this track finally allowed her to lean into her early influences and let go of any internal or external judgement. Marks continues, "It is transformative as it was truly the first time I allowed myself to embrace the rock influences that I set aside for years in order to further a career in jazz."

The previously shared playful title track emerged while Marks was taking a classical composition class at Indiana University. It was in that class that Marks first heard composer Kate Soper's Voices From the Killing Jar, from which she ultimately drew inspiration, pointing specifically to movement V. Diving into the song's subject matter, Marks shares, "The lyrics are haughty and disdainful, channeling my frustration with a friend group that was icing me out at the time. My status as an outsider and outlier work in conjunction, giving me fuel to distinguish myself from my peers that I no longer fit in with." Here, in her sincere search for belonging, she finds power in the very things that make her different from those around her. with its Alice In Wonderland-inspired self-directed music video,

Bass Magazine, who debuted the single and video, hint that this title track is just a glimpse into the vastness and magic that is coming on the full record, saying "Marks is gearing up to bring listeners into her layered, expansive sonic universe with a deeply personal debut album that is a culmination of her talent, lived experiences, and wide breadth of musical knowledge."

Hannah Marks was born and raised in Des Moines, IA where she first played guitar until she discovered the cello in fourth grade. By the end of high school, she found the double bass and never put it down. At Indiana University, she immersed herself in the Jacobs School of Music and by 2019, she had moved to New York City and attended the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead program in Washington D.C. where she met trumpeter Marcus Printup, vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater, and pianist Jason Moran. Early in 2020, Marks performed in Printup's WBGO concert series, and with the other two members of the group–keyboardist Miles Lennox and drummer TJ Reddick–DownBeat's Phillip Lutz who covered the concert, wrote that the young musicians, “demonstrated great maturity as they dispatched a set of guileless originals filled with simple but artful melodies and subtle but swinging propulsion.”

Marks has played a slew of festivals such as Detroit Jazz Festival, Hyde Park Jazz Festival, 80-35 Music Festival, Iowa City Jazz Festival and Indy Jazz Festival and also leads a jazz group, Hannah Marks Quartet. In addition to her own music, Marks is passionate about education and has led masterclasses on music and entrepreneurship at colleges across the country, including Brown University, Indiana University, and University of Denver.

Now, with her debut project out in the world, Marks brings listeners into her layered, expansive sonic universe with a deeply personal debut album that is a culmination of her talent, lived experiences, and wide breadth of musical knowledge. Marks will celebrate the release of the album with a live show in NYC on November 3 at The Jazz Gallery. There will be two sets, with one at 7:30pm and one at 9:30pm and tickets are on sale now here.

Outsider, Outlier, Marks' fiery debut album, is out everywhere now via Out Of Your Head Records. Celebrate the LP with Marks live at the official album release show at The Jazz Gallery in NYC on November 3 with tickets on sale now here. Connect with Hannah Marks on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube and stay tuned for more from the rising musician.

Outsider, Outlier (LP) Tracklisting:

 

01. (I Wanna B Ur) 90s Dreamgirl

02. Graduation

03. Outsider, Outlier

04. Shadow Woman

 

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