Billie Marten - The Ontsofa Sessions (2011-2014)

I first became aware of Billie Marten when I discovered a couple of Youtube videos of songs that she'd recorded in 2011 for Ontsofa, a local studio that specialised in acoustic sessions. I'd been drawn to them after hearing that there was a 12-year old singer performing covers and original material online, and I wanted to hear if she could possibly be as good as everyone was saying. The short answer is that yes, she was - in fact she was even better then I expected. In the four years since I first discovered her, Marten has released a couple of well-received EPs, and her first album of original material came out in 2016. I honestly believe that she could be as big as Laura Marling, given a push in the right direction, and I'm eagerly awaiting her next album to see if she develops a maturity in her songwriting which will propel her into the big-time. This collection is the beginning of what I hope will be a long and successful career for her, with the first six songs from the Ontsofa sessions, the next two from Soundcloud, 'Heathens' is from Radio One's Piano Sessions, and the last two are from her first EP, released when she was just 15 years old.

Track Listing

01 Book Of Love (Magnetic Girls)
02 Paper Thin (Billie Marten)
03 Middle Of The Bed (Lucy Rose)
04 Headlights (Billie Marten)
05 You Make My Dreams (Hall & Oates)
06 Too Close (Alex Clare)
07 Winter Song (Sara Bareilles/Ingrid Michaelson)
08 In For The Kill (La Roux)
09 Heathens (Twenty One Pilots)
10 Unaware (Billie Marten)
11 Ribbons (Billie Marten)