We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Marielle Divino. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Marielle below.

Hi Marielle, thanks for joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I feel like I’m always trying to find my footing when it comes to songwriting, producing, and being comfortable with performing live. I’d say learning all of it started subconsciously from home. My parents would play 90s and early 2000s R&B, ballads, pop songs, and OPM (Original Pilipino Music) around the house when I was really young. My mom also sang really well. She sang a lot too. We would sing together on our karaoke machine back in our hometown in Florida since I was like 4. When I was about 13, I started learning chords and songs I liked on guitar through YouTube. YouTube’s also where I started posting covers of songs that really influenced me at the time. Another platform that’s also helped me was Twitch. Not only did I meet so many amazing musicians, but I learned how to be comfortable singing live for people, and learning what to say on the spot for an audience. So being comfortable singing and playing guitar for people was essential to the path I took to now, writing my own music. My writing, to this day, comes from life experiences, friends, love, movies, and other artists that inspire me. I’m constantly learning new things about my thought process when it comes to songwriting and how I’d want to feel when listening to my music – “Does the production compliment the lyrics well? How can I make the live version of this sound different? Do I want this song to feel nostalgic or go towards a progressive approach? How similar do I want to make this from my last release so it flows on a setlist? Will I feel better once these thoughts are out into the world for people to hear?”. An artistic crisis here and there sometimes feels like this huge burden in the moment, but it’s also a crucial step to the creative process for me. Actually, I think that’s when I feel the bravest and most honest. I don’t think there’s anything I’d want to speed up in the process because the music I keep making constantly develops with the person I’m growing into.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m an independent artist based in Toronto! I started singing at a really young age and I’m mostly self-taught in guitar and producing. Songwriting started when I wanted to write originals after joining my first high school band, Dutet, in 2017. We’d all go together after school to my basement and just jam. It was definitely some of my most memorable experiences from high school. I always found comfort when it came to writing – whether it was journaling, or writing extensive birthday letters to friends, or writing stories for school projects – so I think it just made sense for me to become a songwriter in many ways. We would play these originals for talent shows and local festivals for our friends and families to come watch. I’m really thankful I had the opportunities to perform and release music for people that were down to listen. I released my first song under my name called “Tired”, released on New Years Day of 2021. It was made as a final project during my time in an independent music production program I took in 2020. The story after that simply continues into making the music I love and being open to performing for more gigs. My hope is that my music exudes the reflection of who I am and how I see things as honest as possible. Over the past year and a half, I’ve had the chance to play as a session bassist and backup vocalist in really cool venues of downtown Toronto – lots of love to Denice aka ‘Ruru’ and Shoshana Glory. I’m a product of the people I surround myself with so I’m really lucky to be able to work and play with the ones I love and admire so much and I try not to take that for granted. I’m excited for what’s to come this year with the new songs I’ve had on the shelf for a while now. For sure, a project soon.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

So I was actually a nursing student from 2018 to 2019. I just became unhappy with it, stopped, and switched into an independent music production program for a year. After I graduated from that program, I wanted to learn more about the industry in a business mindset and meet more people. So then, I took a two-year music business program. I definitely learned a lot and met wonderful people. Fortunately, my parents were supportive on the transfer even if it took a few talks and trust afterwards about my future. I’m over the moon that I’m making the art I love with the complete creative control over it. Without this pivot, I wouldn’t have met the musicians I’m closest to now, have the friends I made from the few part-time jobs I took after leaving nursing, have the opportunities to perform in downtown venues, meet astounding musicians from gigs I had the chance to play in, and maybe I wouldn’t have the time to make and release the songs I wanted to at the time. Overall, I’m glad I took the jump so I never had to think “what if…?”.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I think there’s something so beautiful building your own world that listeners feel some sort of familiarity to – especially since they’re in my words and state of mind. Songwriting has been a way for my deepest thoughts to pile up and leave my journal or notes app. It’s been a source of expressing release in many aspects. It feels good knowing they weren’t for nothing. Someone taking the time to listen to these songs I’ve worked on with so much heart and choosing to connect it to their life in someway means the world to me. It’s kind of nice knowing I don’t feel a lot of the things I’ve put out into the world anymore. I feel a lot of growth from how I felt writing these songs when I perform them now, but they’re feelings that are never forgotten. These songs are where I keep my heartache, insecurities, and every human feeling I experience. These songs are how I want to share my thoughts with others for as long as I can. For the love and bravery of vulnerability, I think that every experience and feeling is worth telling.

Contact Info:

• Website: marielledivino.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/marielledivino
• Youtube: youtube.com/marielledivino
• Other: soundcloud.com/user-297544883

Image Credits
Outdoor/indoor photoshoots, B&W photos – Tony Bajao
Live photo with band – Daniel Dorta