“They say love is blind,” Kara Marni laughs when we talk about one of her early singles. “In some situations it’s difficult to see what’s really happening to you, difficult to have perspective, to know if you’re being treated well. Especially if you’re not in a great place.”

Marni isn’t talking about herself, but a friend. An early single, ‘Opposite’, was her take on a close friend’s struggling love life, a series moments that removed her to the role of helpless onlooker, committed to song. In it, Marni takes a stab at all the boyfriend’s mistreatments, the behaviours she saw slowly dragging her friend down. “I think you’re better on your own, but you’re too scared to find out,” she sings, a less than delicate reality check.

“I could see what the situation was, being removed from it,” she explains. “The song basically came from being frustrated she wouldn’t listen to me. I ended up playing her the song, and she got it, so I guess it worked!”

Marni’s music is a lively fusion of soul and R&B, set to beats, but its unquestionably the vocal and the clever messages it contains that stand out. Her compact but varied voice soars over the choruses, breaking into forceful peaks and exploring the reaches of a broad vocal spectrum. It’s colourful, potent stuff.

“It’s been a whirlwind,” Marni says of her breakthrough. “It’s been such a whirlwind, in fact, that I can’t remember everything. But I feel I’ve been growing, and everything’s really picked up for me. I’ve had so much support for something that started in my shed with the help of my parents. They built it so I could have everything there in the house, which is just another way they were really supportive.”