Marika Hackman

Born in Hampshire and based in London, Marika Hackman since the early 2010s has developed a writing that moves between dark folk, indie rock, alternative pop and more electronic textures. First noticed with the EPs Free Covers (2012), That Iron Taste (2013), Sugar Blind (2013) and Deaf Heat (2014), Hackman creates a precise universe, carried by a hushed voice, often pared-down guitars and lyrics where the intimate takes a central place. Her first album, We Slept at Last (2015), extends this vein with a minimalist and atmospheric sound, before a more frontal move toward alternative rock on I’m Not Your Man (2017), recorded with the participation of The Big Moon. She continues this evolution on Any Human Friend (2019), a record more direct in its pop form and its synthetic arrangements, then releases Covers in 2020, a covers album conceived during the lockdown period. Alongside her own records, Hackman has collaborated with alt-J, notably on Warm Foothills, and has toured on British, European, North American and Australian stages, first as an opening act for Laura Marling and then as a headliner. With Big Sigh (2024), Hackman returns to a taut and introspective formula where clear melodies, tightened production and lucid observation of relationships, the body and anxiety intersect.