"I've never — or very very rarely —walked into the studio and not been the only woman," says Laura Marling in the inaugural edition of her new podcast.
This inequity is the spark that begun the L.A.-based, U.K.-born singer/songwriter's current project, Reversal Of The Muse, which will investigate the lack of women working in recording studios while also leading an exploration of "feminine creativity" over a series of podcasts, photo diaries, and studio recordings.
"I'm wondering," she continues on the show, "if we're missing an aspect of creativity if we're missing something about female creativity, and if a safe space — as much as that's an overly familiar phrase — would affect us."
The first two episodes, released Monday, feature Haim and sound engineer Vanessa Parr, who's worked with Elton John, Coldplay, B.B. King, and John Mayer, among others. Parr discusses the challenges of making a career in an industry that's overwhelmingly male-dominated, while Haim talk about navigating urinal-only backstages and Guitar Center culture.
"Reversal Of The Muse began as conversations between friends about female creativity," Marling writes in a mission statement on the website. "In reversing the muse it became an experiment. As a small part of the global conversation about women in the arts, it became an obsession."
"It occurred to me that in 10 years of making records, I had only come across two female engineers working in studios. Starting from my experience of being a woman I began to ask myself what difference it might have made had I had more women around, if any. I wanted to know why progress has been so slow in this area and what effect it would have on music."
New Laura Marling project investigates the lack of women working in recording studios by chris hampton | Chart Attack.
