Today we’d like to introduce you to Marie Jenkins.
Hi Marie, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
It’s taken many years for me to release the music I make, as it all started writing poems and putting them to melody here and there, purely for my sanity. I never thought anyone would give them a second thought. I couldn’t bring myself to pursue my own creative endeavors, however, I yearned to live a life of music and creativity, so I decided to learn audio engineering and music production. This gave me a behind-the-scenes look at the artist’s process. As I worked with other indie artists, I began to see that my fears and insecurities were holding me back from so much joy. And yet even that didn’t ignite the spark to share my art. It wasn’t until my grandma, with whom I was very close with, passed away during a pandemic that I was struck with the realization that life is far too short live a half-life of fear and doubt. I immediately wrote, performed, and produced my first single, “Lost” from my bedroom, dedicated to my grandma, “Nanny”, and put it out without second thought. Four released tracks, a few song placements in TV and film, and many more songs in the queue later, and I haven’t looked back.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The journey has been far from smooth sailing, but I wouldn’t change a thing. Unfortunately, I have battled chronic illness/ pain since I was diagnosed at 15, however in 2021, my health journey reached its climax. All available medication officially failed and I spent ten months mostly housebound and declining fast. I ended up needing life-saving surgery in February of 2022, and I still have a few follow-up surgeries to schedule in the next year, luckily not an emergency like my first. This plus a handful of other complications and obstacles have set me back from achieving some of the things I would have liked to, like touring for example, however the things I’ve learned about myself and about the way I want to live my life going forward are invaluable. Despite how difficult things have gotten, I am grateful to know what I know now.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I have always been drawn to the soundscapes that meet at the intersections of organic and electronic, classical and experimental, cinematic and folk, and to the lyrics that leave you wondering why the heck you didn’t think of that metaphor first. I am constantly on a journey these days to create a musical landscape that I can get lost in, even though I will have created the map for it. To achieve that goal is to be done learning, and so I hope to never feel accomplished in that! I would much rather chase the possibility for the rest of my life, as I’m fully content just playing and seeing what sticks.
If my health journey has taught me anything, it is to play. I think I lost the concept of play for a while as I put pressure on my art to make money and as I grew older in general. I found my way back to play, and now, who knows what’s next for me musically! Though I can say, my upcoming body of work will be sitting at the intersections I mentioned previously, somewhere between the folk-tronic and cinematic. That’s where I’m experimenting these days and I’ve been enjoying it greatly.
Alongside music, I also narrate audiobooks for various publishers, with 20+ titles completed and more in the queue. With my background in audio engineering, I’m about to record, edit, and master my audio from home, making both audiobook production and music production something I can do from my home studio. I’m very grateful to be able to work in such rewarding fields!
What was your favorite childhood memory?
My favorite childhood memories are of running around the plot of land behind my childhood home, chasing rabbits into our chicken coop and immediately being punished by mother nature for scaring the rabbits by having me run directly into a massive spider web with the unhappy resident crawling all over my back. True story, it was a huge white spider and I screamed and ripped off my clothes, flailing, trying to shake it off. I was such a menace.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kynsmusic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kynsmusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kynsmusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQYsV8Be_Eepe08sDKgGgeg
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/kynsmusic
- Other: https://kynsmusic.com/hello
Image Credits
Portrait by Fanny Chu – IG @fannychuphotography Glitch self-portrait “I can never be” cover art by me “The Driver” single artwork – painted by RAQUEL IG @adrianaraquelart www.adrianaraquelart.com
