Kissing and fucking
MARIKA HACKMAN TALKS THE L WORD, BDE AND SONGS ABOUT SEX
WORDS ROXY BOURDILLON
PHOTO JOOST VANDEBRUG
Marika Hackman has Big Dick Energy. She won’t mind me saying so. She sings about it on her new album and when I bring it up at a cafe in east London, she responds with a cheeky laugh, “I always feel I have BDE, with or without the guitar”. She does findeed exude a uniquely understated confidence and effortless swagger, which makes her charismatic in everyday life and can’t-take-your-eyesoff- her captivating onstage.
The singer-songwriter discovered her passion for music aged four, around the same time she found out she was attracted to women. Her first instrument? The piano. Her first crush? A teaching assistant at her nursery. After a creative upbringing in the countryside and a year at art school, Marika decided to forgo uni and pursue music professionally instead. Within six months, she was signed. Her impressfive, introspectfive debut, We Slept At Last, racked up rave reviews and her sophomore effort, I’m Not Your Man, was an instant queer classic.