Marella Explains The Different Music Scenes In California And Process Behind Single ‘Salem’

An artist on the rise!

California-based music artist Marella needs to be added to your favorite Spotify playlist, especially after releasing his newest bop ‘Salem’.

We had the amazing honor of speaking with Marella about performing live, his upcoming project, and more!

When did you first realize that you wanted to pursue a career in music?

M: “I always knew at a very young age that music would be a very instrumental part of my life. It wasn’t until my senior year of college (2 years ago) where I really wanted to dive deep into a music career. I always had this sense that the music scene especially in Los Angeles, where I’m currently located, was somewhat unbreakable and sort of an exclusive club. The reality is that while it may be somewhat of a mysterious club, it’s way more welcoming in my experience than I had originally thought.”

Tell us more about your amazing new single ‘Salem’.

M: “I am not much of a guitar player. I probably play 80-90% of the guitar on all my songs, but don’t get it twisted – I’ve never had formal lessons, nor really have had anyone teach me. 

Salem was born out of this moment in the studio while tracking a different song where I accidentally played this A Major 7th Sustained 2nd chord on a guitar. It was a shape I had never played before. On this particular guitar, a beaten-up Weltron with a rubber saddle, it sounded like pizzicato strings mixed with a muted hammered dulcimer. From there, I created the picking pattern that you hear in ‘Salem’. It adds a nice percussive texture to a pretty bare song. 

My debut record that was recorded and written when I was in college is full of energetic, raw music. This batch of songs I wanted to make a little more deliberate, and more focused. I think ‘Salem’ is a great representation of that idea. It’s production is a little pulled back, the instrumentation is sparse but dense in its own parts and playing, and has some of my favorite lyrics that I’ve ever written. I can’t thank my producer and best friend Max Bienert enough – he helped me direct and channel this small idea I had into what it is now.”

If you had to choose, what is your favorite song you’ve released and why?

M: “Aside from ‘Salem’, it’s probably ‘Rock and Roll Phase’ from my first record called Posterboy. I wrote ‘Rock and Roll Phase’ or ‘RnR’ in one day, and it was probably the most natural song I’ve ever written. I think the combination of the rawer production, Smashing Pumpkins-esque guitar lead, and simple lyrics all sort of embody what I was trying to do during this time. It’s also probably my favorite song to play live.”

Quick: What is the last song that you listened to and what did you think about it?

M: “The last song I listened to was ‘Gimme Shelter’ by the Rolling Stones. Interesting because I’m not much of a Stones guy – not because I don’t think they’re good, but they’re not in my normal rotation nowadays. 

I think this song is haunting. I think the combination of Merry Clayton’s vocals on top of Mick Jagger’s creates this chilling but beautiful combination of voices to go over Charlie Watts’ pulsing drums and percussion. I also think that it’s super well written with how the countermelodies of the guitars compliment the melody, but they’re not over playing to clash with the melody.”

What do you love the most about performing live?

M: “I love the idea of getting a group of people together, to share moments that can never be replicated ever again. We’ll never play the same song the exact same way. We’ll never play in front of the exact same crowd from show to show. Each show, each song, each moment is so special and I always feel so lucky and blessed that people are spending their nights with us! It’s very humbling.”

How would you personally describe the music scene in California?

M: “Each pocket of each town is very different. I’ve lived in San Jose (although my involvement in the music scene was limited to mostly school-related groups), Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles. 

In Santa Barbara, there are two main parts of the city. Isla Vista, the famous college town, and Downtown Santa Barbara, where the small beach town that’s relatively densely populated simultaneously holds upscale restaurants and families that can barely afford living in the area. 

Isla Vista is full of raw energy. You’ll find mostly Alternative rocky/punky/indie-ish bands in the area. That’s where this group was born. If you drive 15 minutes south, you’ll get to downtown Santa Barbara where you see a lot of diverse music. Anything from classical performances at the Granada Theatre, jazz combos at small restaurants, those aspiring college musicians trying to play a more ‘serious’ gig downtown, or even world-renowned artists playing the Santa Barbara Bowl. 

Los Angeles is similar in the sense that each little city within Los Angeles has a totally different music scene. I’ve found a lot of the pop gigs / DJ sets are found on the West Side closer to Santa Monica and Venice. If you travel maybe 10 miles east (20 minutes at 2 AM or 90 minutes at 3 PM) towards the Moroccan Lounge in the Arts District of Downtown LA you’ll find a scene with a little more of a rock/metal edge. If you head maybe 10 minutes north of the Moroccan Lounge you can find yourself in Silver Lake, Echo Park, or Highland Park where you can find Alternative-pop acts headlining well-respected venues such as the Echoplex, the historic Silver Lake Lounge (although the sound system is pretty dated), and the Lodge Room. There are many more pockets within Los Angeles, and this is just from my experience as I’ve played drums for other groups in all these areas at most of these venues. There’s a scene for everyone. Just gotta find it.”

Can you tease what your fans can expect from you this year?

M: “EP this fall 🙂 that’s all I’ll say!”

Where can we follow your amazing journey?

M: “I’m most active on Instagram @danmarel Spotify also 🙂 Stream Marella !!! Thanks all!!!”

You heard him! Made sure to stream ‘Salem’, available now on all music platforms!