Written by Zahra Hanif
Pop enchantress Amber Mark is quickly carving out her place in the contemporary music landscape. Following the buzz of her debut EPs, Mark’s sophomore album, ‘Pretty Idea’, has been met with widespread critical acclaim, showcasing her signature blend of soul, R&B, and global pop influences. Known for her ethereal vocals, genre-blending production, and deeply personal lyricism, Mark continues to captivate audiences both in the studio and on stage. Currently, she’s also hitting the road as the opening act for Sabrina Carpenter, giving fans a live taste of her magnetic performance style.
Ahead of the release of her second full-length album, Mark took some time to sit down with Karma! and answer questions about her new album ‘Pretty Idea’.
What inspired the concept behind Pretty Idea, and what does the title mean to you personally?
So in reality, the album’s about boys, I’ll be honest, but it also takes a deeper dive into a lot of feelings that I’ve had of late. I think the overarching subject is probably this relationship that I was in for the past four years, and how I had imagined the rest of my life with this person, and dreamed up this fantasy world of us being together, and how reality came into play and brought me back down to Earth. There’s the highs and lows of realizing and coming to terms with that, and then the process of distancing myself from that relationship, the struggles of being so in love with someone, and then the contrast of that, which is just now having to treat them as a stranger and not someone that you would speak to every day and your best friend and all of that. So that’s the main concept around it, but then it’s also just about putting myself back out there, and the roller coaster of emotions that comes with that. Being interested in someone and then not being interested in you, or vice versa. I just thought it was quite an interesting little subject, and just the reality of what my life had been. And, you know, as artists, we love to talk about love – tale as old as time, heartbreak, all of that. So here we are.
Speaking of your catalog, you’ve shown a remarkable ability to write both up-tempo, dance friendly tracks, but then sometimes you’re really putting your heart on these tracks. How do you decide which direction to take a song in? And do you find yourself drawn more to one style over the other?
Yeah, I definitely try to explore as many genres as I can. I just find myself into so many different types of sounds, so I think that’ll never change. But I’ve noticed that I tend to love the juxtaposition of having very emotional lyrics, but then sonically going into more of an up-tempo place. I just love the idea or that emotion of, like bittersweet or like melancholy, that kind of like something you would want to, like cry-dance to. I love when songs do that, so it just kind of happens for me, where I’ll do a song that has quite a slow build, but then kind of ends with this big, almost anthemic, like up-tempo feeling sonically.
I think with this next album, there’s going to be many examples of that. I tend to go very emotional, or, like, almost even sad, but then, you know, I always bring it back to something that you can move to. So there’s a little bit of, you know, maybe one side or the other, but then I think my bag is really in those types of, like slope builds, that kind of goes into an up- tempo type period. I don’t like to box myself in.
Do you see your music more as a capsule of your experiences or vehicle for self exploration?
Oh, I would say, honestly both. I feel like when I’m writing it, it definitely is like a vehicle, a way for me to understand myself, and the feelings that I’m going through. I have – ever since I was a young kid – had a hard time articulating my feelings and expressing them and kind of getting them really honestly. I think there’s been some times I would get very emotional. I didn’t really know why or how. But so I think when I turned to writing music, it was a way, as it is, for many artists and in any form of art, you know, a form of therapy and a way for me to process and understand. So I think it can definitely be a vehicle. But then also, you know, looking back at it, and looking back at songs that I’ve written years ago, like they’ll mean something completely different to me then to they do now. And so it’s also a way for me to look back at the feelings I had then or feelings I have now, and how I connect with them. So I would say it’s probably both.
How do you balance vulnerability and strength in your music?
Honestly, for some reason, especially when I’m talking about love, I’m not a very public person. I tend to kind of keep that in, so musically, I was a little nervous about expressing that side of me. I’ve talked a lot about grief in the past with my music and self exploration all the time, but then kind of tapping into the love of it all was a little scary for me to be that vulnerable and to kind of talk about the unrequited love at all of it all as well, it was a little intimidating for me, but it’s just kind of the approach I take – at least, what I tell myself is – you know, I’ve just been writing about my genuine feelings and what I’ve been going through, and just kind of always approaching it from an honest place and and these are the real feelings that I’ve gone through. And I think reminding myself of that, I think it just allows me to, kind of, like rid myself of that, of that anxiety, because it really is just me. You know, I’m just a girl.
You’ve had quite an adventurous childhood, moving from city to city and even spending time in a monastery. You mentioned before on Instagram how one of your newer songs, ‘Cherry Reds’, is inspired by the childhood that you spent in Goa, India when you were 11 years old. Are there any other memories or experiences you have reflected on in your music, whether that be in lyrics, melodies or rhythms?
Oh, my God. Through everything I write about, I think my childhood – even on a subconscious level – is expressed through the music, through the sounds, especially in the beginning. When I wrote my first record or my first EP, I was really tapping into these memories I had with my mother when I was a kid and growing up with her. I really tried to express that in the lyrics and in the instrumentation itself. And you know, like you said, we grew up in India. I grew up in India for quite some time when I was younger with her, and that’s such a pivotal part of my childhood. It was such a pivotal part of my childhood, because I was getting into my teenage years then, and so I think it really stuck with me and I, and I’ve always tried to utilize the sounds and just memories and things come from my childhood in my music, and I think it will continue to do so for the rest of my life. But, yeah, definitely. I mean, India, Germany, New York – I think I carry it all into my music without even knowing it at times.
I feel like we’ve all kind of experienced how loud and how much presence this album is going to have. So in order to match that, do you have a particular ambience or location that you would want your audiences to listen to your album to to get the full experience?
Oh my God. I mean, I feel like there’s so many places I’ve been listening to this record non-stop, just like walking through the city, either I’m leaving my house, getting ready or about to meet up with my friends. And so it’s hyping me up for that, or just like walking, you know, to get a matcha or something, or just through the streets running errands and stuff like that. For me, those moments have been very strong moments for me internally, to listen to it. So I’d say that. But some of it, you know, sometimes when you’re getting ready to go out with your girls and friends, whatever, I think that could also be a good vibe. But I love the idea of, just like taking a walk, getting some good headphones on and listening to it that way. But then also just in the car.
Amber Mark’s latest album ‘Pretty Idea’ is out now and available to listen to on streaming services. Follow her on Instagram and TikTok to keep up to date with her, and grab a ticket to one of the dates on The Pretty Idea Tour to see her live!
4/21 – O2 Ritz, Manchester, United Kingdom
2/25 – BrooklynBowl, Nashville, Tennessee
2/27 – CenterStage, Atlanta, Georgia
3/1 – The Fillmore Silver Spring, Silver Spring, Maryland
3/4 – Brooklyn Steel, Brooklyn, New York
3/5 – Brooklyn Steel, Brooklyn, New York – 2ND SHOW ADDED
3/7 – TLA, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
3/8 – Royale, Boston, Massachusetts
3/11 – Danforth Music Hall, Toronto, Canada
3/12 – House of Blues Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
3/13 – Varsity Theater, Minneapolis, Minnesota
3/15 – Ogden Theatre, Denver, Colorado
3/18 – TBD VENUE, San Francisco, California
3/20 – The Fonda Theatre, Los Angeles, California
3/21 – The Fonda Theatre, Los Angeles, California – 2ND SHOW ADDED
3/29 – TREEFORT Music Fest, Boise, Idaho
4/18 – O2 Forum Kentish Town, London, United Kingdom
4/19 – Electric, Bristol, United Kingdom
4/21 – O2 Ritz, Manchester, United Kingdom
4/23 – SWG3 Galvanizers, Glasgow, United Kingdom
4/24 – The Academy, Dublin, Ireland
4/26 – La Machine du Moulin Rouge, Paris, France
4/28 – TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht, Netherlands
4/29 – Club Bahnhof Ehrenfeld, Cologne, Germany
5/1 – Nalen, Stockholm, Sweden
5/2 – Amager Bio, Copenhagen, Denmark
5/4 – Hole44, Berlin, Germany
5/5 – Niebo, Warsaw, Poland
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