Interview: Martha Wainwright Reflects on 20 Years of Music, Family, & Finding Herself

Martha Wainwright revisits her self-titled debut record with Atwood Magazine twenty years later, proving that originality and vulnerability do not tarnish with time.

‘Martha Wainwright (20th Anniversary Edition)’ – Martha Wainwright

For someone born into the spotlight, Martha Wainwright is neither picture perfect nor camera ready.

The daughter of Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle, and sister to Rufus Wainwright, her family’s reputation often precedes her. But Martha Wainwright is decidedly different.

The voice of the once twenty-nine-year-old artist remains as poignant and precise as it did in 2005. Wainwright does not shy away from anything; her hypnotic voice allows her confessionals to go down like butter. But make no mistake, her lilt can still cut like a knife, as poignant as it is precise.

Martha Wainwright - Martha Wainwright — Martha Wainwright’s self-titled debut album, originally released in April 2005

Her pendulum swings between complete confidence and extreme insecurity. When Wainwright addresses her father in “Bloody Mother F*ing Asshole” she spits out, “I will not pretend / I will not put on a smile / I will not say I’m all right for you.” In another breath, she admits to needing her lover, singing, “I can get used to anything as long as it’s shit-stained.” Wainwright wears audacity like a crown. She is refreshingly honest, but never onanistic. For someone whose name carries weight, her vulnerability is nothing short of an act of defiance; she shocks those who she thinks have her figured out.

Wainwright’s voice can be powerful and brittle in one fell swoop. She pulls and pushes her words like clay, molding them to the song’s demands. The bonus tracks are bristlier to the touch. The haunting dissonance on “The Maker” is closest to what follows. Wainwright digs her heels into the mud with haunting harmonies on “The Dead” and she wails over an almost In Utero bass line on “It’s Over.” Lyrically, she is as outrageous as ever. In “The Sex Song,” she cheekily sings, “Maybe someday I’d like to have a baby/ And you’d have to come inside my door/ That’s a metaphor.” She colors outside the lines of femininity, representing the messy, flawed, complex, courageous and true.

Martha Wainwright’s debut is as strong an expression of her identity now as it was twenty years earlier. The 20th Anniversary edition boasts fourteen new songs, as well as a vinyl release and a tour. Wainwright proves that originality and vulnerability do not tarnish with time.

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A CONVERSATION WITH MARTHA WAINWRIGHT

Atwood Magazine: Why did you decide to release and tour the anniversary edition?

Martha Wainwright: The first record is what I am most known for. It took five years to make it and it embodies me as an artist. It sent me on a course for my life in many ways, whether I was happy with that decision or not. Other people in this stage of their careers do these releases and tours around their most well-known records. People were also asking about vinyl for years, so I saw the opportunity.

And fourteen bonus songs!

Wainwright: Working up to this record, there were many years of doing things and trying things out in the studio. They’re a little cringy because I sound young, but there’s some beauty there. “The Sex Song” is a little embarrassing. I would play them for a couple years and then they would fade away. Then I thought, “F* it,” let’s just put them up.

It’s practically impossible to separate sex from being perceived as a woman. What was it for you that you decided not to lead with sex?

Wainwright: I was trying to be loved. I didn’t figure out how to use my stage presence and my opportunity on stage to attract. In the songs, there’s a lot of rejection and yearning. The way it was described to me was that for some people I was more of a sex symbol than I ever realized. Granted, it was a small, quirky part of the population. (laughs) I just felt like shit about myself. Whether it was my choices in men, my self-pity, my parents. For some people, it didn’t resonate and for some people it did. Years later, you realize it gets easier. It gets easier to be more confident and feel like you are doing the right thing.

I want to say you’ve had a very eventful twenty years, but I think you’ve just led a life, and have been refreshingly honest throughout. Would twenty-eight-year-old Martha be surprised at how things turned out?

Wainwright: I would be amazed that it went as well as it did in many ways. I did just lead a life, a charmed life in many ways, but stuff happened. Surviving it is an amazing thing. I think I’ve gotten out of it even more than I’ve put in. Being surrounded by my family certainly gave me a leg up, which was good but sometimes annoying to be known by people before I was known. But it’s who I am.

How did your family’s reputation affect your barometer for success?

Wainwright: Like with any family, or most, I had a place. I stayed in that place. The first record was really important. I knew I had accomplished something when I did a small show in England and a lot of press came. Every club that I played in was full, and people knew my songs. Then I got to be on the Jools Holland show. All of a sudden it was happening. That’s probably why I’m releasing the 20th Anniversary, because it was a big “I made it” moment for me. My biggest fear was that it wouldn’t work out.

So growing up the way you did, you didn’t see your career as inevitable?

Wainwright: No, it seemed volatile. I was pretty rock n’ roll, I could have ended up in a worse situation than I did. I could have gone either way. Also, as with a lot of people whose siblings and parents do music, there is less room for them. I say this as if everyone in the world knows who my family is, but it’s not true. Rufus is pretty big, which is exciting. My envy for him has also been a motivator. At the time I wondered if I would ever be able to surpass him. I quickly realized I wasn’t able to. He works so hard and I don’t. (laughs) He’s married to himself as an artist, and I date my artist self.

When did you realize that?

Wainwright: I really wanted to have a family. My relationship with my producer, who became my husband, was a work relationship and a romantic relationship. That skewed it. We had two kids and eventually got divorced. I wanted to be present, which meant working less. I wanted to make food and go to the park. There’s not as much room for complete self-interest, which is essential when you are trying to be a celebrity.

Right. Making something involves a bit of self-obsession.

Wainwright: In my mid-20s or something, I wanted to have children. I had my first kid when I was 33. I started to think in my late 20s. I had already been playing for so long that I was excited about not thinking about myself. I was tired because my songs are so autobiographical. That can be tiresome, which might not be the best way to put it. (laughs)

Do you feel that your parents were present?

Wainwright: My mother was very present. Her and her sister, Anna, made three records. Once the kids were ready for school, they stopped and they stayed at home. They didn’t work for eight years. Rufus and I were supported because other female singers, like Linda Rondstadt or Emmylou Harris, would send their songs. My story is different, I’ve always had to work. I’m more of a road warrior, like my dad. He’s just never stopped. He is still playing. He wasn’t present but he was ever-present. (laughs)

Speaking of, your most popular song is “Bloody Mother F*ing Asshole.” My relationship with my parents changes every day, and I’m sure yours does. Performing this song twenty years later, how has your relationship changed with that song?

Wainwright: I was having an argument with my father and those four words came out. I thought it was funny and interesting, so I just went for it. Once I started playing that song and looked out and saw people mouthing the words, I realized this had nothing to do with me or my dad. It became more anthemic than my other songs. I was glad to be able to say those words and feel free.

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