MUSIC FEATURE
MARCIA DUNCAN ON MUSIC, MEMORIES AND ALL THAT JAZZ THE ANTIGUAN SONGSTRESS WITH THE VOICE LIKE HONEY MADE MUSIC HER FULL-TIME CAREER AFTER BEING SIGNED TO RECORD LABEL JO & CO. HERE THE 31-YEAR-OLD TALKS TO LUXURY LOCATIONS MAGAZINE ABOUT HER JOURNEY FROM HUMBLE ROOTS TO PERFORMING ON SOME OF THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS STAGES IN THE WORLD.
How did your musical journey begin? My earliest memory, from the moment I was aware of myself, music was just there. My father sings all the time and plays guitar; he would pick it up every free moment he got. I grew up in church and music was what I woke up to as he would be playing all his albums. So I am very much into old school music - the 50s, 60s, Motown – everyone says I have an old soul. My dad would tuck us into bed at night with his guitar and sing to us. My three sisters and I naturally ended up singing along with my dad. Music was a part of us. We were one of the less fortunate families in an at-risk community; we had no TV, just an antenna radio and my dad’s music. When we did get a TV I loved ‘The Sound of Music’. We watched it religiously, every day after school. How would you describe your sound? I honestly can’t compare it to anyone else; authenticity is very important to me. The reason I write is because I want to express myself in an honest, open way. My sound is soulful, passionate, it changes from very happy and perky, uptempo and pop-like to soulful jazz which reflects the way I am very deep in thought. 38
I tried stealing a peek of Ellie on stage and I became a distraction to the audience and ended up signing autographs and running back stage.
What has been your best performance so far? I have had surreal experiences performance wise (such as Nice Fete de la Musique for over 100,000 people), but my most memorable is the NRJ concert in Lyon, France, in 2015 where I performed on the same stage as Ellie Goulding, whose dressing room was right next to mine. That’s when I realised that our band at the time was bigger than we had thought.
Who have been the most important influences on your musical life and career? I have never had a famous icon influence me; I find inspiration from many people, whether famous or not, like my eldest sister Marisa. She was always so gifted, flawless, so serious and focused on music. When she sang it demanded your attention. For a while, that’s why I never pursued music because the bar she set was too high. But I learned to appreciate we have different styles and abilities, and I have learned to appreciate my own. However, she is still a major influence and has always been supportive to me. What have been the greatest challenges of your career so far? Knowing who and what to trust, because in this field everything is about contracts with legal agreements behind it. Fighting for what’s yours takes so much time and money if you get taken advantage of. When it happens with a big label, then who do you trust?
