Mara Carlyle

Mara Carlyle
English singer-songwriter Mara Carlyle at the Union Chapel in London, February 2012
Background information
Born	1974/1975 (age 42–43)
Origin	Shropshire, UK
Genres	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, musical saw, ukulele
Years active	1997–present
Labels	Ancient & Modern, Accidental
Associated acts	Plaid
Website	www.maracarlyle.com

Mara Carlyle (born 1974 or 1975) is an English singer-songwriter and arranger who also plays the musical saw and the ukulele. She was raised in Shropshire, England and now lives in London.

Carlyle's first recorded appearance was on the Plaid album Not For Threes (Warp Records, 1997). She subsequently sang on Plaid's next two albums, Rest Proof Clockwork (1999) and Double Figure (2001). Having sung on Matthew Herbert's big band album Goodbye Swingtime (2003), Carlyle signed to Herbert's label, Accidental Records. Her debut album The Lovely was released in July 2004. It consisted mostly of original compositions, as well as a few reworkings of pieces of classical music, recorded at Carlyle's home.I Blame You Not is an English-language version of Schumann's Ich grolle nicht. Another track, Pianni, was featured in the IKEA "Happy Inside" television commercial in which 100 cats are let loose in the retailer's Wembley store.

In May 2005 Carlyle released an EP, I Blame Dido, containing I Blame You Not and a version of Henry Purcell's Dido's Lament.

After receiving critical acclaim for The Lovely, Carlyle signed to EMI in 2007. She recorded her second album in London with producer Dan Carey (who has worked with The Kills and with Kylie Minogue). The album was scheduled for release in June 2008, but was shelved during the restructuring that affected EMI after the label was bought by private equity firm, Terra Firma. Carlyle described this as a period of limbo, in which the album "continues to languish pointlessly, like a pirated ship off the coast of Somalia".