EP Premiere: Kyla Marlena - Self-Titled

Written By Jeff MacCallum

We are pleased to premiere the new self-titled EP from Toronto based songwriter and cellist Kyla Marlena. The 5 song EP has a hushed, emotional tone, the result of the mostly solitary writing and recording process undertaken by Marlena. The EP comes out on all streaming services on September 15th.

The EP begins with “Water’s Daughter”, a self-portrait that serves as a touchstone for what follows– a series of melancholic and contemplative songs. They feature a haunting tremolo’d guitar tone, with plenty of reverb to boot; this is accompanied by Marlena’s harmonized vocals and cello arrangements. It ends on a decidedly brighter note, with “Mending”. It’s the only track on the album that features a drum kit and bass guitar, and it adds a bit of propulsion that emphasizes the more optimistic nature of the song. The star of the show across the whole EP is Marlena’s voice; she trembles with emotion, frequently occupying a lower, darker, range of her voice.

The EP comes out everywhere on September 15th, and can be pre-ordered on Bandcamp here.

Jeff MacCallum

Jeff MacCallum is our founder. He created Cups N Cakes simply because he had a love of local music. Soon the platform grew beyond the confines of his scene in Edmonton to include all of Canada.

"I did it all very DIY. Everything you see was me learning on the fly. I'm a carpenter not a musician, or a journalist, or a publicist... I'm a carpenter and a weird crazy music fan that thought he could do something fun that might benefit something I care about"

Over the years, MacCallum's commitment to elevating Canadian music earned him a spot as a Polaris Prize Juror, a WCMA Juror, a consultant for music festival curation, and a dear friend to independent music in Canada.

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