After shedding her skin as her previous identity POESY, Serra Marinheiro continues to move forwards, reborn with a new-found confidence and flair for captivating self-expression as she shares her brand new single ‘spells in my living room’. Listen HERE.
Emerging on Halloween weekend, ‘spells in my living room’ is symbolic of Serra Marinheiro’s two dominant styles: the confessional, piano-based singer-songwriting led by her booming, siren call of her voice, with her gothic-tinged take on dark pop that casts an alluring and magnetic spell. The song’s imagery is rich with witch-like spells and sorcery, but ultimately those lyrics are a metaphor for those specific habits – or rituals – that help us get through the day-to-day struggle.
Serra says, “However heavy, painful, or difficult life gets, I’ve learned how important it is to give those moments their spotlight in their own way. Songwriting is my way of taking all that weight and making something interesting out of it – and if I’m really lucky, turning it into something that feels cathartic when it’s finally spoken out loud, instead of kept as a secret.
I wrote ‘spells in my living room’ on a day when I was feeling stuck, powerless, and watching everyone around me get on with their lives. Growing up in a religious community taught me to always look for answers outside myself, and as I got older, that spiritual search evolved into magic and doing little daily rituals just to feel in control. When life becomes overwhelming, some people become practical, but for me, my first port of call to protect myself has always been through imagination.”
As with the recent transitional single ‘cataracts’, Serra Marinheiro wrote ‘spells in my living room’ with her regular collaborator and producer Matt Ingram (Florence + The Machine, Laura Marling) at his Urchin Studios in Hackney, London.
Moving on from POESY attracted a wave of coverage for Serra Marinheiro’s brand new start, led by attention from DORK. Huge, life-defining topics such as queer identity, self-empowerment and creative independence are the driving forces behind her restart with theCanadian-born, Portuguese heritage and London-based artist providing a voice to champion others working their way through similar experiences.
Inspired by London Grammar, Florence + The Machine and Tori Amos, this new journey started with a narrative of learning to stand up for who you really are with ‘the way a woman sounds’ before charting a melding of all-consuming love and lust with ‘DO WHAT YOU DO TO ME’. She played her first public performance under her new name this summer at SE London Pride – an intimate debut in a community where she first felt at home within herself. Now she is letting her spells enchant other like-minded souls.