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Taken aback by the sound of Green Day’s “American Idiot” at 11, Rebecca Mardal picked up the guitar and started to explore its ins and outs. Her early teenage years were not only spent as the founding member of a locally renowned punk band, but also as guitarist for an otherwise all-male metal band.
“More often than not, I walked home crying from those metal rehearsals”, Rebecca recalls. Despite inviting her in to play, Rebecca’s growing presence in the band seemed to annoy the boys, who always found ways to bring her down. Despite taking a toll on her mental health, the experience ignited something in her. From that moment on Rebecca decided to go all-in on the guitar, in a way where no one would be able to dismiss her skills or mansplain the instrument to her. This is how Rebecca sums up this turning point: “I decided to become STFU-good”.
Aged 19, Rebecca went to study at London’s Tech Music School and took on the role of an in-house session and live guitarist for an independent UK Hip-Hop label. However, she pulled the plug on her studies after two years and moved to Liverpool. Unfortunately, things went south for her, as she lost all her savings to the record label. Getting through this messy situation, she took on a gig as a cold caller, getting people to sign up for charity donations: “I just needed to save money to start studying again”.
A few years later, Rebecca earned herself a Bachelor’s degree in Music at Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, handed to her in person by Sir Paul McCartney himself. This was a time when Rebecca’s social media presence started to take shape and her reputation as a guitarist created ripple effects.
After going through said rough patches, Rebecca felt the need to recover from growing alcohol problems. She thus decided to move back home to Sweden (where alcohol is government-regulated and more expensive). In order to cope with high housing costs in Stockholm, Rebecca came up with an unorthodox solution: “Instead of renting an apartment, I rented a recording studio part-time and hid a blanket and a pillow in there. I secretly slept on a tiny couch for a year. My clothes and belongings stayed in my car, which I used to sleep in when the studio was booked by others.”
Surrounded by high-end recording gear on a daily basis (and at most nights), Rebecca rapidly grew an interest in Lo-Fi and music production.
With millions of streams to her name to date, we find Rebecca Mardal’s immaculate artistry and spotless performance enveloped in a multitude of solo productions and collaborative releases, on top of featured cuts by artists like Moonica Mac, Rey Reel, and Yei Gonzalez. While continuing on her lifelong quest to become STFU-good, she reflects: “Society really has come a long way since the release of Green Day’s monumental album “American Idiot."
