Marisa Yeaman's first full length album 'Pure Motive' has prompted much talk about the individuality of her work, but then if you dig a little deeper it becomes easier to understand where that distinctiveness comes from in her story. Her songs often speak of journeys, whether they be the one's taken physically or emotionally, an imagery of people, places, and feelings spoken with an honesty that only comes from real experiences.

Born in the historic riverboat town of Echuca, the journey for this talented singer/songwriter began at age four, when her adventurous parents sold their house and packed life as they knew it into a somewhat large caravan to travel around Australia. At a time when most children are taught about the world from books, Marisa was visiting remote places and witnessing the diversity of other people's lives up close, helping to shape the social conscience and understanding of the human condition that Marisa often brings to her work. There was the isolation and vastness of the Australian outback, the diversity of the people, and a whole palette of experiences to soak in. The young family traversed the country over thousands of miles of unmade roads. Long hours travelling were often spent singing songs together as the miles passed.

Marisa says, "We had TV, but rarely plugged it in unless we were in a major city, so the radio was often our only contact with the world outside our own. The music of the times was a lot of acoustic stuff - Cat Stevens, Jackson Browne, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Fleetwood Mac and the like, and my dad also listened to acoustic instrumental music like Charlie Byrd, so I guess that's where my love affair with the guitar began". Marisa and her sister, were schooled by correspondence, taught by their mother around the dinner table. With lessons being posted ahead to the nearest large town for collection when the family came through. Marisa was nine before she went into a formal classroom when the family settled in Gippsland.

The spark to write came as a natural outlet upon the tragic loss of her father at thirteen. First she wrote poetry, and then songs, teaching herself to play the guitar, after some earlier classical guitar lessons at age seven. From that time on songwriting has remained a constant passion, no matter what other paths her life has taken.

Soon she was back on the road again as Marisa traveled across Australia and to Argentina as a member of the Australian Team to compete in the World Speed Skating Championships, in a volatile time, as the "Dirty War" was coming to an end and just weeks before the country made the awkward transition to democracy after years of human rights abuses. Experiences from that journey, and in later ones through Central America, also come through in her songs from time to time.

Finding her way to performing her music live was an inevitable progression, although Marisa made the transition later than most. By the time she surfaced on the live music scene, the results of her self-imposed writing apprenticeship were starting to show. In her third ever live performance, one of her songs was a finalist in the 'Roots Music Song of the Year', and she was awarded runner up 'Australian Female Roots Vocalist Of The Year'. Drawn to earthy/roots-based music, her vocal style soars and soothes, and there is a literary undertone to her work, part poet, part musician, Marisa provides a potent mix.

After the release of several EP's, and a few years working with her own band, Marisa found herself drifting away from the music which had moved her to write in the first place. She returned to being a solo performer, and withdrew to follow her heart to make her debut album the way she felt it should sound, organic, passionate and real.

'Pure Motive' is a serendipitous record made with the right people coming together at the right time, and the creative sparks that flew, were beautifully and timelessly captured. It harks back to a time when artists made records as a body of work, as a series of tracks that provide a collective experience. There is no weak link in this chain... European Roots Publication Mazz Musikas gave it the rare accolade of "All Hits - No Misses".

Devoid of hype and studio trickery, the listener is made to feel more like a silent witness to each performance. The understated production allows the songs to breathe and resonate in the corners of the mind and heart. Some are just simply treated with guitar or piano and vocal, and some tracks are framed beautifully with the instrumentation of a full band. It abounds with rich roots-based sounds, with elegant touches of many traditional instruments including Pedal Steel, Dobro and Harmonica.

The album has created a groundswell of interest in Marisa's work abroad, especially amongst European audiences. What began as a simple little independent record made in Melbourne, has gone on to receive airplay in over 19 countries and excellent reviews from across the world. It charted on the critic-based Euro Americana Charts in Europe, and was named in the Recommended albums of 2005, and also in the Top 100 Albums for 2005 by Belgian Americana Specialists www.americanmusic.be.

In 2006 Marisa toured in The Netherlands where her appearances included 'The Music In My Head Festival' in the Hague appearing along side artists including John Cale, Ron Sexsmith, The Editors, Ed Harcourt and Dutch Faves, Johan.

A seasoned performer, over the years Marisa has appeared at many of Australia's leading venues and festivals including appearances at Port Fairy Folk Festival, Mt Beauty Music Muster and The Continental Cafe. See any live show by Marisa, and you are likely to hear a broad range of work, with a solid back catalogue and set list that is constantly expanding to include new chapters and fresh characters in the road trip of life. With an unpretentious ease she often has the audience hanging upon her every word as the narratives unfold. She can make listeners laugh, cry, dream, and feel, as her honesty touches the humility in us all. Whether it is the storytelling of songs like 'No Fences', 'Solid Ground', 'Another Day' or the intimate confessions of songs like 'Little Girl Lost' or 'Lonely Puppet', Marisa's work provides great social and personal commentary. She somehow 'flies under the radar' creating integrity through the substance and fervor she puts into all her work. Marisa's sound is mature and honest, the sound of an artist who has found her own voice against the tide of fashion and fads, with a purity bred of deep individuality that only a journey like hers can claim.

NOTE: The beautiful illustrations which appear within the liner notes on Marisa's album 'Pure Motive' and also in the panels at the top of the pages on this website are painted by Marisa's sister Melinda.