Musicians who don’t fit neatly into one genre or label often experience resistance. Based on appearance, a previous single, or even background, listeners create expectations for the artist’s future work; more times than not, they are disappointed when the artist doesn’t meet their expectations. Amber Mark — a singer/songwriter who has had multiple evolutions in her six-year career— has experienced this on a musical and personal level.
So, in an act of introspection (and rebellion), Mark crafted her most personal and ambitious project yet. Three Dimensions Deep offers an intimate view of Mark's life through introspective lyrics and sonically diverse production. The album is full of boom-bap, Afrobeats, dance, '80s pop and trap influences and yet, somehow, is still unapologetically Amber Mark. "This album has so many sounds, cultures, and textures because it represents me and my life. I’m not what you expect me to be; I’m me."
Her late mother, Mia Mark (who gave birth to her on a "spiritual midwifery farm" in Chattanooga, Tenn.), was responsible for Amber’s fearless mindset. The two lived a nomadic lifestyle during Marks' childhood; their bond growing unshakeable as they globetrotted from Munich to Berlin, to Nepal, and NYC.
But with alternative lifestyles comes unwanted opinions. Mia’s unconventional parenting, including homeschooling as the family traveled, was often the subject of scrutiny from prying outside forces. "I grew up with this free-spirited woman that not a lot of people agreed with," Mark recalls. "A lot of people told her, ‘you can’t do that to your child.’ [Laughs]. But I’m thankful that she did. It made me who I am today."
After Mia passed away in 2013 at the age of 60, Mark channeled her grief into her music. "S P A C E," a single about one of the stages of grief from Mark's 2016 debut project, 3:33am, soon gained traction on SoundCloud. One thing was becoming clear: Amber Mark had arrived.
Six years later, Three Dimensions Deep reconciles the end of their relationship with Mark’s spiritual awakening. The 17-track LP is a journey through the inner workings of who Amber Mark is as a Black Woman, navigating an unjust world with the ever-evolving pedagogy of her womanhood, first delicately planted by her mother.
The hip-hop-inspired "One" kicks off the album with Marks asking her mother for guidance in both her musical and personal life. Taking on the perspective and stance of her mother on "Out of This World," Mark desires to grant herself the kind of reassurance that Mia would. The sparkling keys, otherworldly synths and fearless songwriting on Three Dimensions Deep is as much the result of personal growth as it is an homage to the beautiful essence of her matriarchal figure and their shared love of being different.
In celebration of Women’s History Month and the release of Three Dimensions Deep, Mark spoke with GRAMMY.com about how the power of Black womanhood informed her creative decisions in the album’s creation.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Before we jump into your fantastic album, I wanted to take some time to understand the bond you had, and continue to have, with your mother.
Our mothers, or mother figures in our lives, are always the biggest influence on children. For many reasons, my mom was kind of out there and in her own la-la land most of the time. She was a German free-spirit woman who loved to travel a lot. She fell in love with the movement in the '60s, really got into Buddhism then, and even as a young kid, she was really into that stuff.
When she got older and moved to America, it further flourished, so I grew up around this woman who not a lot of people agreed with due to taking me out of school. People would often say, "you know, you can’t do that to your child." [Laughs]. But I’m thankful that she did because it brought out so many cultures and sounds that I put into my music. I don’t think that I would necessarily be attracted to those specific sounds if I hadn’t been surrounded by those cultures as a kid, so I feel she had a significant influence on me at that point.
Just her free-spiritedness impacted me as well. And the things that I find annoying about her too, that may have definitely influenced me unwillingly. As we get older, we realize more and more that we are our parents.
Not only did you craft a fire body of work with Three Dimensions Deep, but it’s glued together with a cohesive theme that then branches into smaller themes. But the essence of your mother and the unshakeable love you have for her can be felt throughout the whole album. How important was it to show the growth of your artistry and your very existence as a woman in constructing Three Dimensions Deep?
It wasn’t something that I thought about too much; I was writing whatever I was feeling, and the spirit of my mom, the memory of her, is still very prominent in my life — which probably will be for the rest of my life. I always knew I wanted to incorporate her energy throughout the music.
You mentioned "One," and the chorus on that song where I say "up above," and people think I mean God and which, yes, it can be totally looked at in that way, but it’s really me talking "I want to make you proud of me, up above" in referring to my mom. I still do look to her for answers, but more in a spiritual way. Because this album has so much to do with taking this journey through the universe within…it made sense, almost inevitable, that she would be incorporated in the music. It really became this fruition of gaining this feminine energy and power.
I had certain insecurities with who I was as a person and throughout my career, and I was going through what we all go through in relationships: questioning your capabilities. Like many artists, I used music as a form of therapy; it’s how I process what it is I’m going through, so I started writing about those feelings.
You said creating this album became a long spiritual journey. How long did the creation process take?
This album has been four years in the making, so we needed to touch up every song. Last year we touched all of the songs on the album and "Out Of This World," which the beat was made in 2017; I didn’t touch anything vocally or lyrically until last year. There is growth within the music and the album itself, for sure. Just to look back at some of the demos I had been making in 2017 compared to the demos that I make now, it’s crazy to see the growth that I’ve had in my own production, writing lyrics and making melodies.
My fiancé and I have been listening to you for some time, so we can hear the growth vocally and totally. Even the production you chose to perform on. As a fan, it was interesting to listen to you work out life’s obstacles almost in real time as you show us your insecurities, vulnerabilities and flaws in the process. And even though you don’t have all the answers, it was the brave and courageous attempt to go head up with these grand, ambitious ideals that life plagues our minds with. So, how did it feel on a psychological level to go from the caterpillar to butterfly over the course of four years?
Oh, God, there’s been so many moments — it’s really been a roller coaster — because there have been moments where I go, "damn, I can’t believe that I wrote this song, this is insane!" I really feel that I’ve gotten to a point where I feel this confidence…
Aye, not to cut you off, Amber, but that is exactly how I felt when I heard "Darkside" [Both laugh]. I was like, "sis is taking us to a level we have not seen from her before. Wow!" That song is crazy! I’m sorry, keep going, please!
I had been listening to a lot of '80s vibes during that time of writing [the album], and I hadn’t written anything yet, but I knew I wanted to go in that direction. And I knew I was going to get a little weird with it. But I felt like people…would be like, "what, R&B? Okay, I see you, she’s dabbling in Hip-Hop, okay," and then all of a sudden there’s this blaring 80s vibe! But people seem to be responding to it really well, so I’m happy.
The thing though that I was most eager to do with this album, in terms of growth and the feeling of metamorphosis or transitioning into a beautiful butterfly, was really just me trying to experiment with as many sounds that I have always dreamt of dabbling in and genres that I dreamt of dabbling in. I think "Darkside" is a perfect example of that.
I am so lucky to have Julian Bunetta, who co-executive produced the album. I would come to him with demos like "Darkside" and "Out of This World" — I didn’t even realize that the 808 I put in was not in the right key for half the time because I was making the beat on my headphones while I was on tour way back when. But [Julian] was so accepting and excited to try and experiment with all these different types of sounds; he also confirmed all these questions I had with my music-making abilities when it came to production. He was very much like a music sensei or a Jedi Master.
I don’t know if I’ve gotten to the butterfly stage yet; I don’t know, maybe I have. It’s like Pokemon: you evolve, but there are more evolutions. There’s always more to learn from and grow from, so hopefully, I can continue expanding.
I definitely think you got to the Butterfree stage; I don’t want to use a weak Pokemon...
I love Butterfree!
Same! I think one of the most intriguing aspects of your album is the way you dive into grand and ambitious questions: Where do you stand in the face of the universe? How can you mesh the powers of spirituality and the scientific into one creative process? Why is the world so full of hatred and suffering? What happened to this relationship? Which are all the makings of a classic existential crisis. Why did you choose to use your womanhood grown from the relationship with your mother as a basis of power to face these tough questions throughout Three Dimensions Deep?
I always want there to be some kind of motivational feeling behind my music because I love music that does that.
I didn’t set out with the intention to write about a specific story. I never have those kinds of intentions going into any of my projects; even with 3:33amand Conexão, I was just writing what I was going through or what I was feeling at the time. Sometimes it would be significantly later, and I wanted to go back to a feeling that I had gone through and wanted to release through song. It wasn’t till, I would say, 2020…when [Three Dimensions Deep] became a spiritual, scientific concept.
I’m so grateful for the extra time that I had because we got to postpone the album in 2020 because it allowed me to look at the music and the tracks… that were already written and ask the songs "what is the story that I’m trying to tell here? Where is the direction? What is the journey that I’m trying to go on here?" And when you look at the music, it’s like putting all the puzzle pieces together and seeing this storyline.
I went in with that intention while I was rummaging through old beats, and it was crazy because "What It Is" was the first song that I had ever worked on with Julian the first day we met, and I never touched it after that; I completely forgot about it. So it was exciting finding that song and doing full circle; I immediately felt inspired and decided to lay down vocals that honed in on the concept.
There were certain songs that came in later, like "Worth It" [and] "Event Horizon" … [that] were written once I had the concept for the album…. [which was] self-discovery, tapping back into my spirituality that I felt I had become quite disassociated with.
For so long Black people, especially Black women, have been pigeonholed into this "urban" category. As a Black woman thriving off of her diverse palette and complex musical range, you're doubling down on the fact that Black musicians are not just R&B and rap — we are so much more. What do you hope young women and men, who are looking at you as their icon, take from your journey?
As a Black artist, you really do get pigeonholed, and it’s kinda coming at you from all different angles, and people will always associate you with the one artist who is doing something "kind of weird" if you’re doing something "kind of weird." What you said about me expressing this variety of sound and genres, tapping into a multitude of influences and proving otherwise, that’s the biggest compliment I could ever receive, so thank you for saying that.
But to be able to do that for the youth, regardless of gender, is so exciting; to be able to send that message to them and for our people, that’s what is driving me to continue doing this. That’s what’s motivating me and inspiring me; it’s symbiotic; I’m putting out stuff, and I’m receiving it, they’re putting out stuff, and I’m receiving it.
It’s all about doing what makes you happy and what you’re proud of, and sharing that with the world. Everyone is going to have their opinion, but what matters is really are you, yourself, excited to share these things with the world? That’s what’s going to make you feel the most accomplished and excited. Listen to your intuition and what feels good within yourself. Use that as motivation and freely express yourself. We can do anything.