Interview: Billie Marten blows the cobwebs away
British singer-songwriter Billie Marten’s much-anticipated fifth album, Dog Eared, set for release on July 18th. Our editor Bobby Townsend caught up with her to find out more:
Hello again! Last time we spoke you were just about to head Down Under for the first time. How was it?
Hello there! Well in short, it was very very good.
Did anything about Australia and/or New Zealand surprise you?
The ease at which people float through life out there, there was a severe lack of anxiety/stress/negativity, which I guess is all down to that sweet sweet sun. Also the temperature of the sea! Freezing!
Did you fall in love with any Aussie/Kiwi foods? It was Tim Tams for me.
The breakfasts out there are nuts – on our first supremely jet-lagged morning we dragged ourselves out for some sustenance and everything we ate or drank from that day on was just perfect. The quality of the food; eggs, bread, avocado, tomatoes, fruit and veg, meat. All of it. Proper food
Since we last spoke, you’ve announced your new album, Dog Eared. That’s exciting! What can you tell us about it?
Yes, it is! I can tell you lots or a little, and I’ll go with the latter. It’s a fun, fluid, collaborative record with lots of bends and twists and turns, like a water slide.
When we talked a few years ago ahead of the release of Flora Fauna, you told me that that album represented ‘an active shift’ in your sound. Where does Dog Eared sit, sonically and tonally, in the Billie Marten collection? Another shift? A natural continuation from Drop Cherries?
Every record presents a shift in some way, naturally I guess. But this time I’d say everything’s a touch more technicolour, the contrast is turned up, the mood is lighter. It’s a ‘blow the cobwebs away’ sort of album.
You’re spending a decent chunk of the remainder of 2025 on the road. How are you on tour? Are you an explorer of each location? An after-gig partier? Or do you like to go straight to the venue and be back in the hotel asap afterwards for a decent night’s sleep?
All of the above applies. No two days or no two shows are the same, so there’s inevitable variety within the mundane/repetitiveness. Some days I’m desperate to get out and about and explore, others I feel super introverted and quiet and need to just sleep or read the day away. Sometimes if the show has been particularly electric or there’s friends in a city to meet, we’ll find the finest drinking well the place has to offer. It’s important not to be too harsh on yourself on the road, and to try and live as close to your normal reality as possible.
Talking of touring, do you have any plans to head back over to Australia/NZ?
I would love to yes please. The people there are so lovely, so warm, so sensitive. It would be great to play again.
I was lucky enough to be at your beautiful Barbican show with Her Ensemble. Do you have any other such ambitious plans in the pipeline?
Oh yes, so glad you could make it! All I can focus on right now is getting through something like 80 shows this year, so when I get home (December) I’m sure my mind will be full to the brim with ideas and inspirations from travel.
You’re always great at recommending good stuff for our readers. What have you been watching/reading/listening to so far in 2025?
Thank you that is so kind, I love stuff.
Reading – Saint Maybe by Anne Tyler
I tend to be pulled towards suburban American character study novels, this is one of them. About a young boy who inherits 2 children from his sister’s death, and then finds Jesus. It’s set in Baltimore where Tyler sets most of her works
Listening – Jake Xerxes Fussell – Good And Green Again
Beautiful album, beautiful soul.
Watching – Agatha Christie films (weirdly), in particular Evil Under The Sun – the campest, brightly coloured, and most ridiculous film. That era of Christie (the Studio Canal productions) is especially gripping. Great performance from the late great Maggie Smith in this one also.
Interview by Bobby Townsend. Dog Eared is released on July 18th. Billie Marten plays at Glastonbury Festival this week.
