Marzanna by Marianne Nowottny
Meet Marzanna, the longtime alter ego of singer-songwriter Marianne Nowottny. This is her covers album, featuring versions of well-known songs by Kate Bush, David Bowie, Joni Mitchell, Siouxsie and the Banshees, among others. While Nowottny has interpreted covers throughout her career—releasing material by Yazoo, Anne Murray, the Beatles, and including songs by Nico, the Platters, Johnny Cash and Astrud Gilberto in her live sets—this is the first time she’s devoted herself to the art form in depth. With her inimitable voice and exceptional phrasing, she sets a distinctive atmosphere, injecting new vitality into the familiar and making it her own.
According to the artist, “This album was almost never made!” It unfolded over an exasperating five-year period of starts, stops and revisions. Hard drives crashed, sending tracks into digital oblivion and creating a technological landscape that seemed impossible to navigate. But Marzanna persevered, finally bringing her eponymous record to life. “I found solace pouring myself into these songs and reaching out to musicians and personal friends around the world to collaborate.”
Marzanna would like to thank everyone who contributed to this extraordinary effort: the marvelous musicians for lending their skills; Kathleen Arndt, Gita Asri and Paul Cecchetti for their thoughtful and carefully constructed orchestral arrangements; Mark Dagley, Milos Mitrovski and Gordon Raphael for their painstaking engineering, mixing and post-production work; Jeff Lipton and Costanza Tinti at Peerless Mastering for living up to their name; Lauri Bortz at Abaton Book Company for making this release possible.
Tracklist
| 1. | Wuthering Heights | 4:20 |
| 2. | I'm Deranged | 4:38 |
| 3. | Winter Moon | 4:01 |
| 4. | The Cold Song | 3:44 |
| 5. | You're My Thrill | 3:53 |
| 6. | Michelle | 2:29 |
| 7. | Stella Maris | 2:45 |
| 8. | Both Sides Now | 3:19 |
| 9. | The Last Beat of My Heart | 3:56 |
Credits
1. Wuthering Heights (Kate Bush) 4:18
Beechwood Music Corp.
Vocals: Marianne Nowottny
Persian Santoor: Nuno Silva
Guitar: Maurizio Brambila
Orchestration and Arrangement: Paul Cecchetti
Mixing Engineer: Milos Mitrovski
2. I’m Deranged (David Bowie) 4:35
Tintoretto Music and the Royalty Network Inc.
Vocals and Keyboard Synthesizer: Marianne Nowottny
Bass: Gentry Novak
Drums: Ben Amstutz
Piano: Petra Von Brandt
Mixing Engineer: Gordon Raphael
3. Winter Moon (Marianne Nowottny) 3:56
Nowottny BMI and Sterling Songs
Vocals and Keyboard Synthesizer: Marianne Nowottny
Instrumentation: Sonisk Blodbad
Guitar: Rhea Thompson
Mixing Engineer: Mark Dagley
4. The Cold Song (Henry Purcell) 3:44
Public Domain
Vocals: Marianne Nowottny
Orchestration and Arrangement: Paul Cecchetti
Mixing Engineer: Mark Dagley
5. You’re My Thrill (Sidney Clare, Jay Gorney) 3:53
Bourne Co. and Next Decade Entertainment o/b/o Gorney Music
Vocals and Keyboard Synthesizer: Marianne Nowottny
Concert Harp: Obadia Sharp
Xylophone: Gianluca Manfredonia
Drums: Ben Amstutz
Mixing Engineer: Gordon Raphael
6. Michelle (Lennon-McCartney) 2:28
Mpl Communications and Sony Music Publishing
Vocals and Keyboard Synthesizer: Marianne Nowottny
Harpsichord: Eli Mine
Violin: Jess Townsend
Cello: Tom McCloskey
Mixing Engineer: Mark Dagley
7. Stella Maris (Bargeld, Becker, Chudy, Hacke) 2:43
Roynet Music o/b/o Freibank
Vocals: Marianne Nowottny and Christian Correa
Cello: Gregory Bortnichak
Orchestration and Arrangement: Kathleen Arndt
Mixing Engineer: Mark Dagley
8. Both Sides Now (Joni Mitchell) 3:17
Reservoir Media Music o/b/o Crazy Crow Music
Vocals: Marianne Nowottny
Concert Harp: Katie Lo
Mixing Engineer: Mark Dagley
9. The Last Beat of My Heart (Ballion, Clarke, Severin) 3:56
BMG Monarch and Domino Publishing Company USA
Vocals: Marianne Nowottny
Orchestration and Arrangement: Gita Asri
Mixing Engineer: Gita Asri
Post-production: Milos Mitrovski/Studio Billy, Belgrade, Serbia
Mastered by Jeff Lipton at Peerless Mastering, Boston, MA
Assistant Mastering Engineer: Costanza Tinti
Cover Design: Abaton Book Company
Photo: Marianne Nowottny
Produced by Lauri Bortz
2025
License
All rights reserved.Tags
Marianne Nowottny has released numerous CDs over the past sixteen years, most notably Afraid of Me in 1999, Manmade Girl in 2001 and What is She Doing in 2007. Her recordings have been reviewed in numerous publications, including the New York Times, WIRE, Billboard, Record Collector and Plan B.