ARTIST SPOTLIGHT ~ MARA KATRIA

I'm music magazine, mara katria, artist spotlight, modern english, 80s, annie lennox, kiss kiss, josh benash, i melt with you, modern m, midnight mind, legend, tangerine dream, loreena mckennitt, sting, ultravox, billy currie, the brushwork oblast

Artist Spotlight is a segment that we started to introduce our listeners to some deserving up and coming artists/ bands. They have made an impact on us for all of the right reasons. We think they kick ass and we hope you do too! Today, we’d like to shine the spotlight on Mara Katria!

Mara Katria uses the tools of a musician and film director in an effort to create authentic experiences that immerse audiences in the depths of history, horizons of the future, and perpetuity of genuine emotion. Her creative path began as project leader for the videogame expansion MOD “Et In Arkay Ego” for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion which was then translated into German, Russian, Japanese, and French due to global demand. She went on to direct the award-winning feature documentary Please Talk With Me which recreates the famous C2D1 Haunting that happened at New York’s Geneseo University in 1985. In 2020, Mara’s debut single “Midnight Mind” (featuring SyFy TV’s J. Jeff Ungar) was released along with the acclaimed music video she directed for it – receiving festival wins in Brooklyn, Louisville, and Moscow. Between her larger ventures, Mara also enjoys collaborations with artists like former Kiss Kiss frontman Josh Benash, whose song “The Forever Seed” (released: Jan. 2022) includes some of Ms. Katria’s signature vocal harmonies. Currently, Mara is completing her upcoming original album featuring the archetypal post punk / new wave band Modern English whose hit “I Melt With You” so embodies the 1980s. The record is codenamed Modern M, and Mara says it promises to “sweep listeners up on a sonic adventure that spans the ribbon of time.”

Most people can cite a certain instance such as listening to a classic album or seeing The Beatles on Sullivan as the moment they were bitten by the music bug. What about you?

There are so many moments that stirred my young heart into a frenzy for music. Singing out on the little lake I grew up on in New York’s Hudson Valley so I could hear the echo come back to me. Stepping onstage for elementary school talent shows to perform original songs I wrote (and interpretive dances I choreographed, haha!). But what resonated even more was recording in the attic of my childhood home. I set up some cheap boombox tape recorders, one next to the other, and hit record while singing into the first. Then I rewound, hit play, and started recording on the second boombox while singing harmonies or attempting to make interesting noises. That method recorded both layers, so I went on to make a third, fourth, and so on. Looking back, those experiments showed me I could construct rudimentary delays, choruses, and moody soundscapes. I believe that helped open me up to learning the computer skills I’d need for producing in my own home studio (as well as making films and videogames). It also primed me to take note when I first heard the score of Ridley Scott’s Film Legend, composed by Tangerine Dream, and say to myself: not only do I *want* to do that, I think I *can* do that. Significantly, it prepared me for the blissfully fun work I am now doing on my debut album with my friends and heroes Modern English. For example, the brilliant Mick Conroy (bassist for ME and mad music scientist) and I can share ideas from our studios, often oceans apart, and then build them into such amazing creations.

What type of kid were you growing up? Were you the shy introvert or the class clown, always wanting to be the center of attention?

Six of one and a half-dozen of the other. I was not what anyone would likely consider popular in the broad sense. I was off in a dream world. Sometimes I think that drew people into my fantasy land – almost accidentally winning me friends despite my oddities. And they’d tell me years later, “Mara, you were the best at make-believe!” And I wouldn’t even remember the teacher or class they were referring to – just the stories I was apparently telling. Grand adventures to other planets and dimensions. Magical excursions. But I wonder if that also made me less aware of when people preferred to keep both feet on the ground. I got to know a lot of people, learned their stories; yet I was close with very few. I felt like an alien at times, a bit lonely. Naturally, I cherished performing: gymnastics, acting, goofing off in front of class, poetry recitation, and certainly music. Creating these experiences for people seemed to get closer to the heart of communication and connection.

What’s the very first album that you bought with your own money that you saved up? Also, what’s the last album that you bought?

That’s a great two-part question because you can’t help but contemplate the journey we all take, with music, and whether it has evolved or simply deepened. And I’d expect no less of I’m Music Magazine – I genuinely appreciate and respect this publication. The first album I ever bought with my own money was probably Loreena McKennitt’s The Mask And Mirror. Her music was notably used in several movies and TV shows, and I was entranced by how cinematically evocative her work was. It humbles me deeply now to know that when I reached out for permission to release an homage to her masterpiece “The Dark Night Of The Soul” last year (featuring strings and guitars by House of Hamill’s Rose Baldino and Brian Buchanan and mastered by Sleeplore’s Clyde Rosencrance), she and her representation listened to my piece and shared how much they enjoyed it! I’ll never forget that. The most recent album I purchased is actually a tie between two, since I got them at the same time. One is Sting’s new LP The Bridge (which I reckon is a cool multilayered reference to the segment of the song he feels is rather missing in modern music… the ‘bridge’). The second is the recent solo record by Ultravox’s Billy Currie: The Brushwork Oblast, which is intricately stunning.

If you could have anybody (actor/actress, cartoon character, famous historical figure, etc.) be your inner voice, who would it be?

Again, what a fascinating question. Names like Ada Lovelace, Bérenger Saunière, and James Earl Jones come to mind for their genius, secrets, or just the sound of their voice. But, today I’d like to go with Annie Lennox – she has an exceptionally dulcet way of speaking and always evinces inspiring kindness, electricity, and insight regarding music as well as our common existence. I think that would be helpful to hear in one’s head on a daily basis. Plus, who knows what inter/intracranial collaborations could be possible?!

Who was your first celebrity crush?

I was terrible at having crushes. This sounds made up, but I would only really have talent crushes. Young and *supposedly* hot celebrities would gross me out. Girls my age seemed so charmed by the frosted-tipped Tiger Beat treat of the moment, and all I could think was: gag me! I found the boundlessly talented Sir Patrick Stewart to have a noble elegance as he commanded his starship; I could get on board with that (get it – ‘starship’ – ‘board’? Oh brother, hahaha!). And, I think I might have also had eyes for one of the Gargoyles from the cartoon by the same name.