Mariel

Mariel entered the world in Huntington, NY, before relocating to Philadelphia. Music instruction entered her life at age six, when she demonstrated early command of both piano and flute. Interest pivoted toward guitar and synthesizers once she reached fourteen. At sixteen she entered her first ensemble as its keyboardist and simultaneously began formal vocal study. By eighteen that training allowed her to serve as lead singer for several Philadelphia-area groups.

Her first solo project, Mood Swings, was completed in 1996 and issued by Wolfe Records; the collection contained the original pop compositions “Under the Influence,” “Thou Shall Not Lie,” and “Mind Games.” Two years later she returned with the follow-up album Starry Eyes. Observers likened her vocal timbre and compositional approach to those of Jewel, Annie Lennox, and Stevie Nicks. The 1999 release The Darkest Angel broadened her audience; one of its selections, “In Between Days,” placed her on the adult-contemporary Top 40 chart. Building on that momentum, she recorded Fragments of a Dream, which Aerial Sounds Records brought out in early 2001 and which featured the tracks “Love Fades Away” and “Cruel Scorpio.”