Despite the recent release of the new Robyn Marie EP “Alien” (which is an appropriately more intricate and mature follow up to her debut EP “Hide”) there’s a distinct lack of live performances. That is to say… they don’t happen, which might lead you to think 2 things:
1) ‘Hide’ and ‘Alien’ are not the cryptic album titles we may have thought.
2) What kind of pop star doesn’t want to be a pop star?
The short answer to question number two is, the kind of pop star that is exclusively in the music for the love of music. The desire to make you dance with this collection of songs is completely overshadowed by her desire to have you tune in to the intricately textured details of each composition and arrangement. This new EP is very intentionally produced with that in mind, and as my own ears heard this collection of songs for the first time I would find it difficult to do anything but get lost in those sonic textures, and I can only imagine what a live show would be like.
As much as performing these songs live is an ultimate goal, the type of preparation involved, and the emotional toll that a live performance would take has made the progression to the stage a long one, as the heavily emotional nature of the lyrics tangle themselves up into the intricacies of the production make for a performance akin to walking a tight-rope.
That is to say… it’ll happen, and it’ll be worth the inevitable wait.
Musical integrity in all of its manifestations will always be interesting, and artists refusing to play the game will always be marketable in the midst of its lack of marketability. We are in the golden age of the internet, when music is more accessible than it ever has been without the major label budget that would have been required 30 years ago. These things are there if you’re willing to look for them, and i this golden age it’s possible for fans of independent pop music to access Robyn Marie’s music.
If it’s truly important for an artist to be of their time, and Robyn Marie is certainly of her time.