Photo Credit: Joupin Ghamsari (@joupin)
By Alissa Arunarsirakul // February 17, 2020
Comprised of producer Jeremy Lloyd and vocalist Samanha Gongol, Marian Hill has had their fair share of success. From achieving viral status on Vine to performing at GRAMMYs parties, Marian Hill is a force that truly can’t be stopped. Even after seven years, the New York City duo still manages to impress us with otherworldly tunes–including “was it not.”
On “was it not,” Marian Hill shared,
“‘was it not’ is a song we’ve wanted to make for a long time. It pulls deeply from the jazz influences we started from; it sounds like a dark, smokey club and the vocal slices through that texture like butter.”
Marian Hill has a reputation of putting out alternative-electronic tracks, but this time they’re switching it up with “was it not.” Lloyd’s haunting production and Gongol’s soft spoken vocals are the very reason why this sensual single is so refreshingly different from their previous releases. Beyond the music itself, “was it not” brings us into Marian Hill’s lockbox of past relationships and lingering memories.
“It’s about considering a relationship from long ago. Remembering how we were so in love, and that person was everything to us, only now when we think about that one time… was that moment them? Or are we mixing it up with another fragment from our past?”
The “was it not” visual is equally compelling. It begins with Gongol on what seems to be a date at an Asian restaurant, but she’s confused as to who exactly she’s meant to be sharing a meal with. She finds her way to a technicolor hallway that leads her to a room where Lloyd is watching a minimalistic dance performance. By the end of the eerie music video, Lloyd finds himself at the same Asian eatery and Gongol is left with the now frozen dancers.
It’s about feeling a yearning for what once was, but only for a second, because you remember why you left it in the past, and who you are now. It lives in a strange emotional in-between and we love it. A lot.”
The Hidden Hits 