Six years after “The Greatest”, and after getting over with alcoholism, Chan Marshall is back with “Sun”, the ninth album of her discography. Much has been commented on her comeback, quite different to her previous work and product of a lot of labour.
In declarations to Exclaim! Marshall has explained the circumstances surrounded the album which, according to her, is what she wanted to do since 2001. She started working on this album after moving to Los Angeles four years ago to live with her then boyfriend Giovanni Ribisi.
After showing the first songs to a friend seh felt desaolate when she got her feedback. In 2009 she decided to get back to the studio and don't show what she was doing to anybody. “No escribí nada durante ocho meses”. Pero en 2009 volvió al estudió y dió forma al esqueleto de "Sun". “This same person, this time I didn't play nothin', didn't even tell him I was recording!" she recalls. "I said, 'I don't want a record advance, don't give me any money, I'm gonna do this myself.' All the while repeating in my head what this person said, 'What band you gonna get? What band you gonna get? You need a producer, you need a producer, you need a producer, you need a producer. You need a manager, you need a manager, you need a producer."
Instead of giving up, Marshall took money off her savings, and reunited her old band, Marshall optó por sacar dinero de su fondo de pensiones, alquilar una casa en Malibu y reunir a su antigua banda, "because I was afraid that I couldn't do it by myself, that I was a failure". Marshall recorded the skeleton of the song and headed to a studio in Miami, where she tried to put together the stuff recorded by the band and her previous work, but it didn't work out. Finally, she went to Paris to work with Philippe Zdar to improve the sound. “I did everything my fuckin' own self without any goddamned producer or manager!".
But the last weeks were tough again. The 20th of March she received a phone call from Ribisi to end up the relationship. “My best friend flew down because I wouldn't get off the couch. I wasn't eating and stuff, and she made me go swimming and when we got home that night I cut my hair off and she put me on the plane [to Paris]. I had to go finish three weeks of work. It was difficult to be finishing under this feeling of no home; this feeling of, 'Oh, I don't live in California anymore'; this feeling of -- you know, it was very difficult, those last few weeks”.
Marshalll admits those challenges could've turned into more problems, but it wasn't that way. "Definitely the past month was really hard. Harder than three months ago. But I'm actually better given the newer circumstances. I feel much more confident than I did a few months ago. Which is strange. I just didn't think I would feel so good and so ready to do what I want to do in my life. I didn't think I'd be so strong or capable."
“Sun” will hit the stores the 4th of September via Matador Records. Here you are an advance of the album, “Ruin” .
