“Chantmagick is about how awesome our planet is and how we can experience joy and connection instead of hatred and rage.”
Marilyn McNeal writes and records alt indie folk music under the name Chantmagick. She began Chantmagick in March 2017 as a way to bring together weekly hikes in nature, optimism about the power of human connection, and love of American roots music. Described as The Carter Family meets Kate Bush, Marilyn’s approach to music making is simple, raw and immediate. She uses what’s at hand and tries to record tracks in as few takes as possible offering rich vocal ditties sung over acoustic guitar riffs repeated throughout the song. From time to time, Marilyn adds keyboards or an electronica layer. Marilyn plays guitar, piano, fiddle, spoons and homemade instruments. An East Coast native, Marilyn spent her early years on a small non-working farm in Pennsylvania. It was here that she began to absorb the sights and sounds of the natural world. When her sisters each got a violin, Marilyn demanded on too, eventually wandering around the farm playing to blades of grass and trees.
“Thank you for creating a breathing space for people, a moment in time where they can rest and come back to center.”
Now a California resident, Marilyn spends most weekends hiking around the Bay Area, getting inspiration for music and dancing to unwind and reground herself. Her latest album is “A Dance for Trees,” recorded in Fall 2018 and mixed and mastered by Rupert Clervaux.
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“Thank you for the space you create Marilyn. It is wonderful to be a part of this!”
“This is just beautiful in so many ways. Thank you! It slows down my fast mind in a good reflective way.”
“You sound like the earth. mysterious, vast, magical and wild. Thank you for sharing this!“
“You have a way of drawing us closer to nature and having the feeling of being one with it.”