FEATURE: Inside the Pages of MARINAZINE: Reviving the Fanzine

FEATURE:

 

Inside the Pages of MARINAZINE

Reviving the Fanzine

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I discussed this a while back…

when I covered the Kate Bush fanzine, HomeGround, that ran for years and stopped when she released 50 Words for Snow in 2011. I wonder whether there are fanzines anymore because, when I was growing up, they were very much a thing. It was a way for fans to bond with artists and, at the end of it, we got this eclectic and interesting magazine-cum-newspaper that was made with a lot of love! There are articles that discuss the history of fanzines (or just zines) - and there is one artist who is releasing her own fanzine. MARINA (formerly Marina and the Diamonds), as this NME article explains, is putting out MARINAZINE.

 “The singer, whose last album ‘Love + Fear’ was released in two parts last year, is expected to return in the coming months with her fifth album (her second since she shed the ‘And The Diamonds’ part of her moniker).

Marina released her new single ‘Man’s World’ earlier this month, and now she’s announced a physical, limited edition zine entitled MARINAZINE.

MARAZINE will include essays, artwork, photography, poetry and more, according to Marina, who tweeted news of the zine on Saturday (November 21). She added that she wants fans to submit their work to feature in the first issue.

In August, the musician posted a series of photographs and videos from an idyllic writing session, writing: “GOOD ENERGY! Bursting with sun beams to tell you that I’m close to finishing writing my 5th album in a little corner of paradise.”

There is currently no album title nor release date publicised for Marina’s new record”.

I wonder whether other artists will follow suit. There have been some great fanzines through the years, and I do think that there is too much reliance on the digital nowadays. One can connect with artists through social media, but it would be nice to bring back the physical in a way. We do not really have fan clubs anymore. There was the day when you could be part of a fan club and, when a band or artist went on tour, you could get discounted tickets and exclusive stuff. Maybe there is a bit of it still, but it has definitely diminished over the past couple of decades. I don’t think that artists nodding to the past is gimmicky or insincere. In fact, I think more and more artists are trying to involve their fans more with music and have a sort of physical connection. By producing fanzines that have artwork, letters and all sorts of other bits is not only a way for fans to join together but I think they act as interesting objects to own. I always prefer a physical record to digital and a real book to something online. Similarly, music journalism is always more rewarding in a physical form - and I guess the fanzine died out because of the Internet and the fact that we can now digitally interact. It will be interesting following MARINAZINE and, hopefully, we can see more fanzines come from various artists going forward! Beyond gigs, it can be hard having a relationship with fans beyond the tweets and digital updates. I will be interested to see if other artists…

 PHOTO CREDIT: @craftedbygc/Unsplash

COME out with their own fanzines.

Sam Liddicott