Billie Marten was ready for something new. Since she was 17, the London-based singer-songwriter born Isabella Sophie Tweddle had been pouring her heart out into the sorts of gorgeous folk-pop songs that can take your breath away. With Dog Eared, out this Friday, Marten, now in her mid-twenties, sought to transform her creative process, to situate herself amidst a vibrant creative community and let inspiration strike. She wasn’t necessarily de-centering herself within her own music — these are still her songs, and that’s still her voice singing them — but she was leaving lots of room for her cast of collaborators to color around the edges and in some cases radically reshape her compositions.
