Marsh provides a snapshot of his life’s experience and proves that music can heal the weary heart with his debut album on Anjunadeep, Lailonie.
Every once in a while we fall upon a body of work that moves the soul in ways that can be considered a full-on spiritual awakening. This past week beloved artist Marsh hit that exact emotion with his twelve-track debut LP Lailonie. Released on Anjunadeep, it’s truly a masterpiece, featuring breathtaking solo offerings, organic collaborations, and mood-lifting vocal expressions. And as a whole, this one comes with a personal story.
Lailonie has been in the works for over three years, inspired by life experience and the breathtaking places that Marsh has had the pleasure of visiting. It’s a love story, paying homage to the healing power of music when all seems to be falling apart around you. In fact, the loss of a loved one has inspired so much of the music that pours out from this album and you can feel the raw emotion translated directly from his heart.
Lailonie’, pronounced ‘Lay-lah-knee’, has been a safe place for me to express a multitude of feelings, moments, and memories I’ve experienced over the last three years. The album is a series of snapshots taken at different points as I’ve processed moving to a new country, getting married, traveling to different places. I’ve also experienced the pain of loss. We unexpectedly and suddenly had to say goodbye to Maddy’s Mom Carme at the end of 2018. I’ve had to rapidly learn how to love and stand by Maddy as we process this pain. We live in a world with so much going on. I think it’s important to have a safe place where you can go to catch your breath, process life, and grow. Lailonie has been that place for me. I hope it can be that place for you.
Marsh
Continue for my take and join me as we experience each emotional tone of Lailonie. Don’t forget to add the album to your collection by purchasing or streaming on your favorite music platform.
Stream Marsh – Lailonie on Spotify:
As the birds chirp in the sky above, we begin a journey that will unleash the spirit of Marsh.
I find myself captured by the invigorating quality of the opening track “Florence.” The chatter of the birds makes the track come to life as the cool melodic breeze makes me feel nothing less than at peace. The festive pounding of the drums acts as the pulse of this track while the soft clinking of what I imagine to be a wind chime lightens the mood. This is going to be good. All of my senses are on full alert.
As we move into the title track the energy begins to swell like a storm far off in the distance. At the same time, I feel an interesting calm balance out the intensity. When the lyrics kick in, a sense of nostalgia overrides any other feeling I may have been having. “Lailonie” glistens with ethereal wonder and when I hear the words, “when I think of you,“ memories of loved ones I have lost along the way begin to flood my mind. I am touched knowing where Marsh’s head was at during the development of this album. I feel so connected to his raw emotion. It brings a tear to my eye.
Now that I am knee-deep in the feels Marsh is joined by organic house music producer Wassu. “Amor” translates to love, so I am expecting to be whisked away where I will come to rest on cloud nine. The first thing to catch my ear is the birds who have decided to bust out an encore. I love how this simple detail can link the journey. On the far off horizon, I can hear the rush of running water and it sparks my imagination to take me deep into a lush rainforest of my own design. I am close to reaching sweet nirvana.
As I close my eyes and fall into a trance I feel a beat that brings me back to reality.
“My Stripes” inspires me to get up and groove immediately. It comes with such a punchy beat and I find it to be deliciously danceable while staying in tune with the general vibe of the album. Leo Wood offers up her brilliant vocal chops on this piece and I am drawn to the unwavering confidence in her voice, hitting a tone that shifts gear halfway through the track. Throw in some low octave brass accents and we have one hell of a moody atmosphere.
“Healer” travels along the same path when it comes to matching the energy of the previous tune. I really enjoy the echoing top-end melodics that seems to fall from heaven. Suddenly, heaven’s gate closes and the cosmos take over, inviting me to dance among the stars in the night sky. This track is very whimsical when it comes to synth detail and the vocal clip. It’s the kind of song that lifts my spirit with its fun and flirty character.
After a quick uplift, Marsh wants to bring me back down to earth and he calls on the birds to mark this shift. Their sweet chirps have had a lasting effect on my experience and so I was delighted to hear them once again on “Wasn’t Enough.” While this track has a somber spirit when compared to the last two tracks, it still comes with a drive that makes me want to grab a friend and sway to the rhythm. I feel so refreshed at the halfway point of Lailonie.
It is time to dive into the latter half of the album and Marsh kicks it off with emboldened attitude.
“Don’t Wait” sees UK producer Phenoir and Cincinnati based vocalist Mariel Beausejour join forces with Marsh to deliver a spectacle of sound that allows layers of brooding overtones to take front and center. This track has such a warm flow to it. It is the type of track that would fit in perfectly at a posh lounge or poolside at an island escape. There is nothing but positive feelings oozing out of this one.
Moving right along I become wonderfully overwhelmed with the dark styling of “There For Me.” The lyrics are what I am initially drawn to. They instill a deep feeling of longing and disappointment, a loss that pierces the soul. The weighted undertone brings me further into shadow soaked depths while the strum of a guitar evens out the mood and brings a sultry flavor into the mix. I can groove to this track all day and all night.
As we dig further in, Leo Wood joins in for another round. The track is called “Over and Over” and after one listen you are going to want to listen to this one over and over. No pun intended. Her voice puts a spell on me as she pulls me straight out of the emotional trench that “There For Me” had placed me in. This track is the definition of cool with hallow drum beats and a spritely rhythm to get my pulse pumping. It remains consistently gleeful and classy while delivering a brilliant character shift that hits at just the right time.
Hands down the most gorgeous tracks of the lot, I look to the visual translation of “Foss” for a euphoric release.
‘Foss’ takes inspiration from the incredible waterfalls Maddy and I saw on holiday in Iceland, October 2019. ‘Foss’ means waterfall in Icelandic. Mimi expanded on this whispering ‘Himinn er foss sem kyssir jörðina’ which translates to ‘Heaven is a waterfall kissing the earth’. The music takes inspiration from my love of late 90s and early 2000s trance music. I’ve applied my take on this style, bringing what I love about today’s deep and progressive sounds and melding the two together
Marsh
“Heaven is a waterfall kissing the earth”. Excuse me while I pick my jaw up off the floor. Those words in tandem with the music video unveil the music genius that resides within the heart, mind, and soul, of Marsh. With Mimi Page’s siren song hitting my senses like a soft breeze and the visual art stimulating my spirit to embrace its divine connection with the world around me, for once, I am at a loss for words. But I will do my best.
This is the kind of music that reminds me that I am alive. The kind of music that pushes me to connect with a higher power. It delivers a rush that takes over every inch of my body. The melody is simply magnetic and I want to live in this moment for eternity. I imagine standing in the middle of the dance floor as the track builds and swells. I look around to see a sea of people with hands raised to the sky, feeling each and every auditory vibration. Feeling connected to something bigger than themselves. When progressive house meets trance, magic becomes a reality.
After that insane experience, Marsh serves up something light and bubbly to bring us home.
Marsh’s friend and amazing progressive house producer Forerunners has swooped in to help develop the soundscape that is, “Carme.” A piece that’s been a long time coming, it was unleashed on the masses as an ID in 2019 during Marsh’s Anjunadeep Open Air Prague set. The fans went nuts for it and ultimately it would find its way onto Lailonie. My favorite trait about this tune is the descending sound loop that repeats often throughout, adding a bit of edge to an otherwise festive atmosphere. And guess what… the birds are back! In all seriousness, this track is crisp and lovely, refreshing, and colorful.
With “Beech Street” I bid Lailonie adieu. This track fuels my heart with a soft uplift while the laser synth stabs lead me straight outside to take in the fresh air and lose myself in a one-woman dance break as the real-life birds watch me from their perch in the tree. “Beech Street” seems to pull in each mood from every single track on the LP, culminating in five minutes of introspection and sweet release. Just like the lyrics confess, I am totally addicted.
Lailonie is an album I will continue to listen to for as long as I have the ability to use my ears. Marsh’s deep progressive sound links the human spirit to the ever-expanding universe and for one magical hour, I felt completely free and at peace. Like my world was back in balance. This is the power of music. The power of shared experience. The power of love. I am forever grateful to Marsh for the creativity and honesty that he poured into this brilliant body of work.
Marsh – Lailonie – Tracklist:
- Florence
- Lailonie
- Amor w/ Wassu
- My Stripes feat. Leo Wood
- Healer
- Wasn’t Enough
- Don’t Wait w/ Phenoir and Mariel Beausejour
- There For Me
- Over & Over feat. Leo Wood
- Foss feat. Mimi Page
- Carme w/ Forerunners
- Beech Street
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The album is a masterpiece indeed! Loved your take it. Thank you for sharing your thoughts :)
I’m a hiphop head / old skool Junglist at heart but Marsh has absolutely blown me away with this album. I’ve copped it on vinyl – 5 mic classic ;).