In the fantastical realm of indie music, where authenticity reigns supreme, California-based artist Marinelli, also known as David Marinelli, stands as a testament to the power of raw talent and unwavering determination. As we dive into the world of his unique soundscape, we unravel the journey of a young artist who emerged from humble beginnings and carved his path in the industry as both a stellar producer and solo performer.
“I started because my mom was a musician, so I spent a lot of time in the studio as a kid. But I’m not an industry plant or anything like that, because she couldn’t really help me with my career,”, Marinelli recounts, thinking back to the early days of his career and the youthful naivety that pushed him and his friends forward. “And then back in high school, I was in a band, and somehow, I decided to stake my entire life on the success of that band in college, but really, all we did was like play in this crappy rock band. We were absolutely dumbfounded as to how we weren’t a massive global success.”
Despite the rollercoaster ride-like start, and amidst the highs and lows, Marinelli uncovered a deep-seated passion for songwriting and production, which ultimately led him on his creative trajectory and birthed his solo career in early 2020. “I initially started writing songs really just for myself to feel better about things I was going through. I started finding some real joy in it and felt that it helped me a lot as a producer, the understanding of why somebody writes a song and what it feels like to write a song about your experience,”, Marinelli reflects, also explaining how he later found his way into music production and the love for collaborating with other artists. Ever since then, he has been jumping between making other people’s stories come to (musical) life, and sharing his own personal experiences and painting emotional landscapes for his listeners to explore. For once, the creative process often takes on a different flavour when he collaborates with other artists, as he shares: “I mostly think other people are better singers than me. If anything, sometimes there are songs of mine that I wish I had given to someone else. I don’t think I’ve ever genuinely felt the other way around because I write different songs with people than I do by myself. They can get a little bit more light-hearted when I’m with others; it’s easier to tap into that.”
Marinelli’s honesty about his craft is refreshing. He’s happy to embrace his limitations and leverages them as tools for artistic expression, creating music that feels genuine and relatable. His latest EP, ‘Sarah’s Birthday on the Beach’, a wholehearted narrative journey about past relationships, unrequited love and personal adventures, illustrates this beautifully. “I wanted the EP to feel like kind of a story but embellished. I didn’t want it to talk about very serious emotions or feelings, but to tell what happened in kind of a zoomed-out way where you know that it’s not really the thing that matters most in the world. It’s just part of life,”, he explains, offering a glimpse into the moments that led him to create the collection of stellar indie goodness.
For the Cali artist, music has always extended far beyond the confines of personal expression; for him, it’s a medium to connect with others and share his life with them, in whichever way that might be. This can also be felt when he talks about some of his favourite memories – amongst others, the tour with his childhood and best friend Finneas, for which he acted as the support: “Being on tour was really fun, because I don’t really go on the road very much because I’m just producing so much. It’s hard to get out there, and it was a really beautiful moment to be out there with my best friend. It was something we always wanted to do together since we were kids,”, he recalls, also chuckling at the memory of his past travels to the UK and Europe. “Going to London with Wallice was really fun too because we spent a month working at the 38East Studios which was really special. Also playing that one TV performance in Paris was really funny because it was all in French, and I don’t speak French, obviously.”
It’s that array of one-of-a-kind experiences that ultimately fuel Marinelli’s artistry and music – and above all, the people he meets and works with and the ability to capture the essence of (their) humanity. “I just really like people’s idiosyncrasies, the things you learn about them by spending time with them. For me, my greatest sources of inspiration, for my own stuff, it’s autobiographical, but it’s always something that happens to me. That’s the thing that’s inspiring to me, my real life, that’s a no-brainer,”, the talented artist notes. “I try to take that into account when I’m working with other people too. I try to really get to know them so I can understand what it is that they’re trying to express. But yeah, I’d say that my greatest source of inspiration is just people’s real lives and the way they express themselves.”
As we wander further along Marinelli’s path, we can discover the deep connection he draws between music and memory: “There’s a saying that art is how we decorate space and music is how we decorate time. I think that when I’m listening to music, and I feel like something about the music resonates with me, then I associate time with the music that I listened to during that and they become really inseparable. It’s easy to remember what happened but you can’t always tap into the way things felt super vividly. I think through music, you can really remember where your heart was in those moments in your life.”
In a world filled with often fleeting moments, Marinelli strives to create art that will serve as a timeless anchor and preserve emotions and experiences in its melodies and lyrics, whether for himself or the people who get to listen to his songs. Through his introspective writing and distinctive melodies, Marinelli’s journey tells a tale speckled with embracing one’s unique voice and using it to connect with others . And with many more musical gems to uncover, we know this is only just the beginning.
Written by Laura Weingrill // photography by Wesley Goodrich
GEM Magazine 