Hailing from Berkshire, England, Laura Marling (born 1 February 1990) is one of the most acclaimed singer-songwriters of her generation. An accomplished live performer since the age of 16 (who was once made to leave her own gig because she was too young to be allowed in the venue, and instead played on the street), Marling has released seven full length albums as of 2020, going from strength to strength each time. Before establishing herself as a successful independent artist, she played in Noah and the Whale and dated frontman Charlie Fink (breaking up shortly after the release of their first album in 2008) as well as Marcus Mumford of Mumford and Sons until they broke up in 2010.

Marling released her first album, Alas, I Cannot Swim, in 2008—three days after her eighteenth birthday. It was nominated for the Mercury Prize, and its highlights include “Ghosts” (her most played song on Spotify with 36 million plays as of early 2018) and the titular “Alas I Cannot Swim”, which features as a hidden track right at the album’s end.

Just seven years later, having recently turned 25, she released Short Movie—her 5th full album. Notwithstanding her prolific output, each album has a distinct feel; but, while her lyrics, delivery, and music style have undergone several modulations (most starkly, she went electric for Short Movie), she has nevertheless been constant in the depth of her poetry and the compelling power of her voice. In addition to her studio albums, there are countless live recordings to be discovered online. So many of these are not just of exceptional quality, but they give us distinct, highly variable versions of the same song. Her headlining set at the BBC 6Music Festival, hosted in 2016 by the city of Bristol, is just one example of many:

2018 saw the esteemed musician partner with Mike Lindsay of the band Tunng under the moniker LUMP releasing an eponymous album mid-year to unsurprisingly positive reviews.

She lived for some time in Los Angeles, but moved back to London in 2014.