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Marsha Swanson: Finding Your Own Path In Music · TRi THIS Music: The Podcast

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  Speaker 1: This is Try This Music, the podcast. Subscribe and listen
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  Speaker 1: for free wherever you get your podcasts. Each week, we
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  Speaker 1: bring you conversations with groundbreaking new talent and the best-selling artists.
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  Speaker 1: Try This Music, a new music experience.
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  Speaker 2: So yeah, my first question for you, Marsha, is why
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  Speaker 2: now in 2024? I mean, you know, you've been in
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  Speaker 2: the industry for so long and you've been doing so
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  Speaker 2: well and you've achieved so much.
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  Speaker 3: But this feels like such.
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  Speaker 2: A definitive release.
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  Speaker 3: Like it's such a strong album.
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  Speaker 2: When I first heard it, I was listening to it
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  Speaker 2: and I was like so happy because I'm like, this
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  Speaker 2: is so good.
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  Speaker 3: You know, when you just listen to it and you're like...
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  Speaker 3: You're so relieved. You're like, oh, my God, this is so,
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  Speaker 3: so good. That was my reaction. So, yeah, I just
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  Speaker 3: wanted to, you know, what made you want to do
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  Speaker 3: this now in 2024?
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  Speaker 4: That's really interesting.
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  Speaker 5: I mean, I think you're right in that after sort
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  Speaker 5: of coming out of the industry to have a child,
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  Speaker 5: I didn't necessarily know if I would return or not.
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  Speaker 5: I was so pleased that creativity was... You know, the
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  Speaker 5: ultimate creativity in having a child, I thought, oh, wow,
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  Speaker 5: this is satisfying all my creative needs, I suppose. But
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  Speaker 5: then as my daughter got older and I started to
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  Speaker 5: because I was writing children's music for a long time
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  Speaker 5: when she was younger. But then as she got older again,
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  Speaker 5: the things I was processing became more adult again. And
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  Speaker 5: by the time. I got to the point where I'd
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  Speaker 5: written a lot of songs that were feeling like, no,
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  Speaker 5: this is an album now.
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  Speaker 4: This is an album. So I.
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  Speaker 5: Think it was a life-changing point where I thought, no,
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  Speaker 5: I have got something more to say at this point.
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  Speaker 2: I mean but yeah it's it's just such a it's
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  Speaker 2: such it's so well worth a release if that's the
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  Speaker 2: way of putting it because like I say it's so
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  Speaker 2: definitive for you and it is so Marsha it is
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  Speaker 2: so so Marsha you know what I mean so you've
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  Speaker 2: definitely achieved that um and you know the reaction like
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  Speaker 2: I say on social media the reaction in just you
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  Speaker 2: know a couple of weeks or so has just been
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  Speaker 2: so huge and so big to just see that growth
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  Speaker 2: and just see it kind of snowball and really take off.
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  Speaker 3: I mean, that must feel so, so good for you.
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  Speaker 4: It is shocking because the whole.
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  Speaker 5: It's so different this time round as well to when
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  Speaker 5: I released my last albums and social media didn't exist
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  Speaker 5: then and I had no idea what would happen this
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  Speaker 5: time round. I've had to sort of really learn the
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  Speaker 5: ropes in a new world again. And did not know
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  Speaker 5: if anyone was going to respond.
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  Speaker 4: So it has been a really nice surprise, yeah.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, and you've done it so well.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, you just mentioned briefly about the social media,
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  Speaker 2: and it can be so difficult to really navigate it
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  Speaker 2: and understand it. And it's so tough, that side. But
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  Speaker 2: you've navigated it so well so far. Honestly, you've been
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  Speaker 2: doing so, so well. Like I say, you've been all
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  Speaker 2: over my feed. I've been absolutely loving it.
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  Speaker 3: But yeah, yeah. And it's not really just.
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  Speaker 2: The music side, all the social media side of you, Marsha,
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  Speaker 2: is literally, you've got so much art going on, so
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  Speaker 2: much beautiful art, and you really seem to be in
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  Speaker 2: tune with that, and it seems to really guide you.
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  Speaker 2: What are the inspirations you're getting on an art kind
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  Speaker 2: of side?
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  Speaker 5: That's very interesting, because I thought, I suppose the big
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  Speaker 5: game changer for me was working with Storm Studios on
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  Speaker 5: my previous album, And it's very hard to go backwards
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  Speaker 5: after that. And I was really stuck because I thought, well,
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  Speaker 5: this album felt like it had progressed for me musically.
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  Speaker 4: I had more.
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  Speaker 5: Orchestration in it than I had in previous albums. And
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  Speaker 5: so I felt, well, I can't let it down on
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  Speaker 5: the art side now. And once you've got a standard,
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  Speaker 5: it's a bit like if you're decorating your bathroom and
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  Speaker 5: then you stop there, but then your bedroom looks a
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  Speaker 5: bit shabby. You can't really stop. So they were the
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  Speaker 5: only people I thought I've got to go.
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  Speaker 4: Back to them.
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  Speaker 5: And luckily enough, I was able to continue that legacy.
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  Speaker 4: So very, very lucky for me.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, it's some really beautiful stuff, not just
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  Speaker 2: the album art and the covers, but, you know, the
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  Speaker 2: PR stuff as well, the photos that you've taken, the
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  Speaker 2: photos of you, they're so good. Honestly, you've got such
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  Speaker 2: a sense of style and it's so good to see because,
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  Speaker 2: you know, it matches when everything, all the right ingredients
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  Speaker 2: are in there, you know, on every side. It just,
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  Speaker 2: it's so easy to enjoy it and so easy to
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  Speaker 2: like it. It's just so, you've done so, so well
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  Speaker 2: with that side as well.
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  Speaker 4: Lovely to hear. Thank you for this feedback.
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  Speaker 2: It's really amazing to hear.
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  Speaker 3: Honestly, and I'll tell you, Marsha, I'll tell you. But honestly,
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  Speaker 3: I love it. It's so good. And I don't say
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  Speaker 3: that about a lot of people. Honestly, I don't.
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  Speaker 2: But it really did strike a chord with me, all
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  Speaker 2: this kind of stuff.
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  Speaker 3: It's really great stuff. You are such a creative person.
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  Speaker 3: It's so clear to see because of everything that we've
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  Speaker 3: just spoke about.
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  Speaker 2: You know, you have to be such a creative person.
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  Speaker 2: You have to be in that mindset to achieve what
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  Speaker 2: you've done. How do you stay so creative and how
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  Speaker 2: do you avoid the kind of burnout of being so creative?
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  Speaker 3: Because it can be a lot sometimes. How do you
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  Speaker 3: stay in that space?
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  Speaker 4: That is interesting. Again, these are good questions. I don't.
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  Speaker 5: Maybe it's because I haven't been under pressure to be creative,
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  Speaker 5: but it's come totally from its own drive. So I
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  Speaker 5: was never told that, you know, I had to do
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  Speaker 5: it or that I had to then release another album
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  Speaker 5: next week. I mean, if I was told that, interestingly,
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  Speaker 5: I don't think it would be a problem either. And
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  Speaker 5: maybe that's because I used to work for.
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  Speaker 4: An amazing charity called Kids Company. It's been in the
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  Speaker 4: news a lot actually lately.
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  Speaker 5: And because of Camilla sadly passing and I used to
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  Speaker 5: write on commission so I was used to writing to
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  Speaker 5: order and I think that maybe gave me a different
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  Speaker 5: grounding to the artists that are writing only for their albums.
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  Speaker 5: I was writing a song for a purpose and that
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  Speaker 5: was a very different mindset. So I suppose I had
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  Speaker 5: two different brains going on there and maybe that's what's helped.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah. Yeah.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, yeah, it can be very difficult.
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  Speaker 2: It can be very difficult, especially when you're making such
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  Speaker 2: beautiful art and such beautiful albums and album covers and
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  Speaker 2: single art and all that kind of side. And then,
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  Speaker 2: like I say, this side, navigating that, it's so hard
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  Speaker 2: when you've got to bundle it all in, in such
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  Speaker 2: a short period of time as well, because you've got
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  Speaker 2: to strike when the iron's hot.
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  Speaker 4: Right.
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  Speaker 3: It's quite hard.
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  Speaker 4: I see what you.
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  Speaker 5: Mean, yeah, about losing... new inspiration and when you're doing
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  Speaker 5: things in a row yeah I guess I'm just so
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  Speaker 5: happy for the opportunity and.
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  Speaker 4: There is so.
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  Speaker 5: Much to think about and talk about and and visualize
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  Speaker 5: and sort of so and and I guess maybe as
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  Speaker 5: with the title of the album we do have this
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  Speaker 5: one life to sort of do what we can to
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  Speaker 5: get have the the best of our thinking go into
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  Speaker 5: something worthwhile and so yeah maybe I've always.
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  Speaker 4: Have felt that yeah yeah that must.
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  Speaker 5: Be fueling me even at a unconscious level it's there fueling.
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  Speaker 2: Me yeah um but it's just yeah it's all just
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  Speaker 2: it's it's all so good it's all so good and Yeah,
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  Speaker 2: you've done so much.
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  Speaker 3: So, so much.
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  Speaker 2: Not just with this album, but with previous albums as well.
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  Speaker 2: You have so much experience.
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  Speaker 3: Do you have any.
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  Speaker 2: Advice for maybe younger women starting in the industry? You know,
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  Speaker 2: women just starting out, because it can be quite difficult
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  Speaker 2: to navigate.
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  Speaker 3: And I say women, because.
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  Speaker 2: A lot of the interviews that I've done, especially with
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  Speaker 2: the girls, they've told me that, you know, they've struggled,
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  Speaker 2: they've found it tough. Especially nowadays, there's still a lot
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  Speaker 2: of problems in the industry. So whenever I get an
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  Speaker 2: opportunity to talk to someone who's so seasoned and so experienced,
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  Speaker 2: I just got to ask.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah. Have you got any advice?
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  Speaker 4: Yeah.
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  Speaker 5: I would say sticking to having confidence in what you're in,
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  Speaker 5: what's driving you to do what you're doing. and separating
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  Speaker 5: it from an end sort of idea of success. Because
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  Speaker 5: success is so, what is success? You know, it's, I
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  Speaker 5: think if you've got a clear intention about what you're
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  Speaker 5: doing and what you want to express, and you focus
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  Speaker 5: purely on that, then you're more likely to draw towards
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  Speaker 5: you people that are interested in that same thing, get
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  Speaker 5: a better match of musicians. Because quite often I would
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  Speaker 5: say in my early days, I would be so grateful
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  Speaker 5: for anyone who was willing to play with me because
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  Speaker 5: I'd want to. I may not, you know, it took
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  Speaker 5: me many years to think, well, actually, you need to
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  Speaker 5: be playing with people that like the kind of music
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  Speaker 5: you're doing, not just doing it as a favour. And
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  Speaker 5: then when you find people who are suited, in that
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  Speaker 5: way then it's so much easier to develop and then
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  Speaker 5: if you are trying to show what you do which
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  Speaker 5: because it can be very intimidating going to record companies
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  Speaker 5: and management I remember always being told well this is
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  Speaker 5: really good but it's really hard to break artists like you.
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  Speaker 4: And I'd be like, well, yes. So let's get creative
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  Speaker 4: about it. Is that the end? Is that okay? Well,
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  Speaker 4: it's hard to break artists like you, so what?
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  Speaker 5: And I did find it, that could be quite intimidating
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  Speaker 5: because you're thinking that that's not your job. If they
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  Speaker 5: like the music, then... that's their job to kind of
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  Speaker 5: find out ways of how to, but it is intimidating when.
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  Speaker 4: You're, you're younger and you're going in there.
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  Speaker 5: And I think, so my only advice would be to
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  Speaker 5: not let it, to realize their job, what they're doing
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  Speaker 5: and why, what they're looking for separately from your artistic mindset,
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  Speaker 5: and then see how, what their aims are and what
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  Speaker 5: your aims are could come together. But to keep going,
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  Speaker 5: I mean, that's, keep going if the pros are outweighing
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  Speaker 5: the cons. I'm not saying keep going at any cost because,
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  Speaker 5: you know, this sort of keep going, keep going and
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  Speaker 5: you'll get success. I don't think that's fair either. I
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  Speaker 5: found it quite upsetting when people said to me, if
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  Speaker 5: you work hard enough, it will happen. Because I thought,
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  Speaker 5: but I am working hard enough. And I felt that
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  Speaker 5: was almost setting myself up for a failure to be told,
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  Speaker 5: if you keep going, A plus B, you will get C.
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  Speaker 5: I think I'd rather have been told, if you keep going,
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  Speaker 5: you are more likely to find some places where you
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  Speaker 5: will hit and you will find your own path. But
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  Speaker 5: not that that will mean, not like it's.
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  Speaker 4: A straight path.
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  Speaker 5: I would prefer to have been told, keep going, keep
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  Speaker 5: working on what you do and you're likely to find
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  Speaker 5: your place. Something like that. Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: You know, Marsha, I'm so glad I asked that. I'm so,
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  Speaker 2: so glad I asked that. Because I ask a lot
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  Speaker 2: of people that, and that is probably the best advice
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  Speaker 2: that I've heard. And again, I'm not just saying it.
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  Speaker 2: You know, I do this a hell of a lot
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  Speaker 2: of the time. But I'm so glad I've asked you
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  Speaker 2: that because you're such a great example, honestly, of exactly
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  Speaker 2: what you just said. I find it absolutely crazy that
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  Speaker 2: that's what they told you. Don't worry about your age.
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  Speaker 4: Do not worry about your age either.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, exactly. Yes. I love that as well.
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  Speaker 5: Art has no, if you're doing good music, where does
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  Speaker 5: that come into it? You're, I remember being 25 and thinking,
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  Speaker 5: seeing everyone lying about their age. And I thought, what
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  Speaker 5: is this insanity? You know, it's, it's only relevant if
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  Speaker 5: it's stopping you doing what you're doing.
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  Speaker 4: If it's not stopping you what you're doing, then yeah.
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  Speaker 5: So all of that kind of thing, um, I, I, Yeah,
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  Speaker 5: do not worry about that. Just worry about getting good
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  Speaker 5: at what you're doing and that's it.
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  Speaker 2: Oh, Marsha, honestly, honestly, you're speaking. What you're speaking now
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  Speaker 2: is gold. Honestly, I absolutely, I love that. I'm a
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  Speaker 2: massive Madonna fan.
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  Speaker 3: Oh, me too. So I have to sit there and
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  Speaker 3: watch you.
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  Speaker 2: You know, everyone kind of berate her about her age
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  Speaker 2: and tell her she can't do it. And I see art.
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  Speaker 2: I see what she's doing as art. And everyone just
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  Speaker 2: smashes her up left, right and centre. They don't even
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  Speaker 2: look at it because of an age, because of a number.
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  Speaker 2: So I'm so glad you've just said that as well. Because, yeah,
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  Speaker 2: as long as it's art, who cares? As long as it's,
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  Speaker 2: you know, not stopping you, who cares? You know, so
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  Speaker 2: it's just, yeah.
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  Speaker 4: Oh, she's incredible. She's absolutely incredible.
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  Speaker 3: But everything you've just said there is absolute gold. I
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  Speaker 3: love it.
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  Speaker 2: It's the best advice for anyone starting out and anyone continuing,
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  Speaker 2: anyone struggling. So I'm so glad you just said that.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you so much for that, Marsha. And just quickly,
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  Speaker 2: because I know that time is of the essence and
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  Speaker 2: I don't want to make you late for anything else
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  Speaker 2: that you've got today.
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  Speaker 3: I just wanted to.
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  Speaker 2: Ask you about your proudest moment so far. This could
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  Speaker 2: be either in the industry or just in life, anything
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  Speaker 2: at all. What would you say is your proudest moment
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  Speaker 2: so far, Marsha?
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  Speaker 4: Oh, that's really difficult.
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  Speaker 5: I think it would probably be where I've honoured a
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  Speaker 5: person's life through music in a way that's doing justice
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  Speaker 5: to what they've been through.
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  Speaker 4: And I can reflect that back to them.
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  Speaker 5: And that's a combination of children at Kids' Company where
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  Speaker 5: I've written songs to represent some of their struggles that.
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  Speaker 4: They've been through.
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  Speaker 5: It's family where I've been able to honour members of
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  Speaker 5: the family who have now passed via giving them a
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  Speaker 5: song in.
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  Speaker 4: Time to thank them for how they've impacted me on
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  Speaker 4: my life.
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  Speaker 5: So anything where I feel like I've been able to
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  Speaker 5: honour something through song and music, I think that's felt
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  Speaker 5: the best.