EPK
“A vocalist with genuine star power
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“When I first heard Marin’s music, I was immediately struck by how pure her voice was. It made me think of Cowboy Junkies, Aimee Mann or Lucinda Williams...in other words, classic.”
She will make you chuckle and blush, then she’ll hit you where it hurts. Marin Patenaude’s music is deeply honest, inspired by the wildness and free-spirit of nature, the messiness of human connection, and the overwhelming moments of existence. She’s from a very small town called Horsefly in Northern British Columbia, Canada - A place wrought with song fodder.
The daughter of musical parents, she was raised on folk, country, and classic rock and is very much at home with a piano, a guitar, and all the possible harmonies. Her compositions have classic country undertones with a modern indie twist, supported by the refinement of Classical and Jazz training. Her vocals are compelling and mighty, her guitar distinct, and her content meaningful.
In the before times, Marin joined Dallas Green's Toronto based label Still Records in support of her second album. Sight Unseen shows a louder, grittier side of Marin’s Indie Folk sensibility than her more understated Marin Patenaude & The Follow Through. Citing the influence of artists like Joni Mitchell, Lucinda Williams, Tori Amos, and Neil Young, there’s an underlying darkness beneath the clear, free spirited melodies. It's big and it's not always light.
For Sight Unseen she took the reins on production at Afterlife Studios in Vancouver, BC with engineer John Raham and her shit-hot band. With open hearts and strange ways of thinking, magical studio moments lend to a refined album with a fresh and riveting approach to sound.
In 2023 Marin released Sex & Dying on Dine Alone Records. As the title track suggests it’s a journey through navigating two very prominent and impactful pieces of humanity that perhaps the general public find difficult to discuss. Marin has no issues sharing sensitivities. Following the dreadful wave of the poisonous drug epidemic, this album enshrines her many friends taken too soon and her advocacy for safe supply and the destigmatization of drug use.
Marin has extensively toured BC’s festival circuit as a solo, duo, and full band act. She has opened for Sarah McLachlan, toured with City and Colour, across Canada and through Germany and Switzerland, and has had many adventures in strange towns and down unknown roads. In studio and on stage she’s worked alongside City and Colour, Hiss Golden Messenger, Jill Barber, Ora Cogan, Dan Moxon, Khari Wendell McClelland, Sam Tudor, Real Ponchos, CR Avery, The Crackling, and many more.