Marta Pacek

“All it is booking a flight and making the decision to go – that’s as simple as it is. I think it was exciting because I was running away from, I don’t even know what I was running away from really, I guess running away from comfort,” Marta says.
What started with the move from the outer suburbs of Canberra to the bustle of Melbourne, Marta soon escalated things with relocating to Toronto, Canada and New York for three years respectively.
Though there was an initial push from Mark Seymour’s management for the young songstress to originally move to Canada – a very minor push mind you.
“I never ever dreamed I’d get the opportunity to leave Australia actually. I got that opportunity to move to Canada from Mark because his management in Canada liked my music. So it’s really Mark’s fault that I went to Canada in the first place,” she adds with a laugh.
“But I just got there and I loved being in a foreign country and being special because I had an accent – it was just so exciting being different. I dunno, I kind of fell in love with that and got addicted to that special treatment.”
Almost seven years since her first distancing from home and Marta couldn’t be happier to be back in Melbourne, a place where her creative talents flourished early in her career.
However, like every good traveller Marta has brought something back from her time overseas in the form of friendship with fellow musician Jessica Stuart. The friendship was a bit slow to start but now the musicians couldn’t be closer, in fact, Jessica will be sleeping in Marta’s bed when she heads to Melbourne to start their tour together.
“We met through the folk scene in Canada and we just knew the same people but we’d never actually hung out until she toured here. When she toured here it was a really nice surprise as we got along so well. We both had this intellectual love affair and we were both like, I can’t believe we turned out to be friends because we had been in the same scene in Canada for so long but never hung out,” Marta says.
With such a strong connection the tour was a no-brainer for the two, and factoring in Jessica’s unusual signature instrument of the 13 string Japanese floor harp, something that Marta admires from afar.
“I wouldn’t dare touch it! I’d be too terrified to touch it as that instrument is just a work of art. It looks beautiful, it sounds beautiful and it’s one of the most unique sounds in the world,” she says.
“And when she plays it in a contemporary context it’s just like wow. She’s unique as there are not many artists I know that play a centuries old instrument in a contemporary context. Of course she also has a strong connection with the instrument having spent a long time in Japan as a child and her mum passing on that instrument that’s like a real family heirloom.”
Aside from a strong friendship with a like-minded musician, Marta also gained some insight into the industry and what it really takes to stick around.
“You just have to work hard at what you do and believe in yourself. You’ll find your people and your music will find it’s home. If you’re writing from a place of truth it’ll have integrity and people will relate to it,” Marta says.
Marta Pacek and The Jessica Stuart Few play Beav’s Bar tonight, with things kicking off around 8pm.
When&Where: Beav’s Bar, Geelong – March 19, The Retreat Hotel, Brunswick – March 23, The Music Man, Bendigo – March 25 & The Bridge Hotel, Castlemaine – March 26
Written by Amanda Sherring