Artist Spotlight: Marian Hill

Marian Hill is a duo from Philadelphia consisting of singer Samantha Gongol and producer Jeremy Lloyd. They have been taking the music world by storm as of late, bringing their entirely unique blend of music to listeners, and mark my words, they’ll be a household name soon enough.

Samantha and Jeremy bring a wholly distinctive sound to the table, combining sparse, yet effective, electronic beats relayed over seductive vocals from the effortlessly talented Samantha Gongol. But their music goes much deeper than this. You can hear the subtle influences from various genres of music throughout their songs, with undertones of hip-hop, smooth jazz, and sultry R&B weaved throughout.

The duo joined the music scene with the release of their debut single, Whisky in 2013, gaining them considerable attention from a number of music blogs known to pick up on the latest and greatest in the sea of artists waiting to be discovered. This buzz they generated was parlayed into their first EP, Play. Just a year later, they signed to Photo Finish/Republic Records and released Sway, a seven-track EP in 2015.

In their hit single, One Time, Samantha croons over the instrumentals, singing, “Boy if you wanna go I would not mind, but I’m not the drum you play one time.” Her playful yet sensual voice layered over the simple yet stylized production makes it practically impossible for you to not get into the groove.

Following their successful EP, Marian Hill released their debut full-length album, Act One, featuring the single Down which made it to the number 21 single on the Billboard Hot 100. It also gained widespread exposure when Apple featured the tune it in an AirPods commercial. The album went on to reached number 42 on the Billboard 200.

2018 has also been a busy year for Marian Hill. The duo made an appearance at Coachella, and proved that their talent is just as easily translated into live performances. In May of this year, their sophomore album, Unusual, premiered, placing them at the top of album chart records in both France and the United States. It easy to tell their sound is evolving and exploring new ranges, and it’s exciting to see artists put out work that is constantly challenging the current state of music.