Laura Marling

Born on 1st February 1990 (in case you want to send a card) in Eversley, Hampshire, England. This singer-songwriter and guitarist was still studying for her A-levels when she released her debut single at the start of 2007, and had completed her debut album by the end of the year. Raised in a musical household, Marling was playing guitar and writing songs from an early age at the prompting of her folk music loving father. Her own musical favourites included artists such as Bonnie “Prince” Billy and Nina Nastasia, and directed her early songwriting attempts away from pop towards the alternative end of the folk scene. After playing a number of local gigs, the 15-year old Marling attracted the attention of Virgin Records who secured her on a recording contract.

The single “London Town” was released in April 2007 in a limited edition run by the independent Way Out West Records, but the 900 copies quickly sold out as word-of-mouth began to spread about Marling. Her album debut Alas, I Cannot Swim, followed at the start of 2008 and confirmed the artist’s precocious talent. Marling’s simple folk pop melodies were embellished by brass and, on one occasion, a male voice choir, but it was her mature, sophisticated lyrics that helped propel her head-and-shoulders above some of her more heavily hyped contemporaries. The album was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize that year.

April 2010 saw the release of her follow up album ‘I Speak Because I Can’. This was also Mercury Music Prize nominated and will be released on vinyl by Diverse Records in February 2011.