Olivia Marrins

Former Deputy Editor-in-Chief at The Glasgow Guardian. 

Graduate in English Literature (MA) at The University of Glasgow.

The Glasgow Guardian •

Last night a DJ saved my life - The Glasgow Guardian

Inner Smile by Texas: A personal reflection on a song which has impacted my everyday
Music has a very unique and personal manner of making us feel a certain way. Almost every major moment in my life I can relate back to a genre, period, or specific song that was playing. It could be argued that it’s just me – I spend most of my time consumed by what’s playing on my headphones. Nevertheless, music remains not just a musical interlude to daily routines, its tantalising qualities and cultural signi...
The Glasgow Guardian •

Murder on the dancefloor - The Glasgow Guardian

How to navigate a night out
The group in which you surround yourself with on a night out can be the difference between a great night and a night where you find yourself home from the club hours earlier than expected. There are many details to take into consideration as a student when going out: have I got enough money to stretch my mixer to a 2-litre bottle of lemonade or will it be diluting juice again; which flatmate’s wardrobe will I raid for the perfect going-out-top; or which oven meal can...
The Glasgow Guardian •

Review: Inhaler at the Barrowlands - The Glasgow Guardian

A night of fluorescent reminiscence.
As the support act finishes, fans rush to grab one final pint of Tennent’s or linger in the painfully long line for the ladies’ bathroom; the crowd anxiously form under the square studded ceiling, singing along to the La’s “There She Goes”. Under red lights, Inhaler take to the stage, Elijah Hewson taking centre stage dressed in a leather shirt and white tank. Guitarist Josh Jenkinson, drummer Ryan McMahon and bassist Robert Keating followed as the Dublin ind...
The Glasgow Guardian •

Are you over being whelmed?

Countless Turnitin deadlines to hit on the same day, union socials you promised you would ‘show face at’, investing in quality time with your flatmates – it is no wonder why everyone is facing extreme burnout so early on in the academic year. The feeling of being overwhelmed can be brought on by a variety of things, whether that be taking on too many responsibilities or something unexpected cropping up. It is easy to feel suffocated by the voice in your head telling you must do everything.

Whil
The Glasgow Guardian •

The forgotten women of Glasgow’s Art Nouveau

Margaret and Frances Macdonald’s artistic legacy has been overlooked by the art world for decades

Charles Rennie Mackintosh, James Herbert MacNair, Margaret Macdonald, and Francis Macdonald: the group known as the “Glasgow Four” was comprised of these four Glasgow School of Art graduates who met in the mid-1890s. Each became pioneering figures of the Art Nouveau movement at this time and into the 20th century. The establishment of their creative and innovative designs and graphics shaped what i
The Glasgow Guardian •

Glasgow: a musical history

A city with a culture deeply rooted in independent music tradition, Glasgow’s musical history reveals a place like no other.

Glasgow’s unique and compelling musical history is at one with the vibrancy of the city. This has always been a place so intimately involved with art and culture, and though its complexities and marvellousness can never be fully appreciated, I am sharing my small, personal connections to the artists and venues which are amongst Glasgow’s moments of great significance.

As
The Times •

Podcast of the week: Full Disclosure with James O’Brien

Alan Cumming says his role in Stanley Kubrik’s Eyes Wide Shut was a turning point in his film career – but it all started with Taggart and Take the High Road. “I loved the fame,” he says. “I loved opening fêtes and being pinned up against a Scout hut wall by old ladies.”

Cumming talks about his early career in Full Disclosure with James O’Brien, a podcast series the notoriously feisty LBC presenter has designed, he says, “to let me spend more time than is available on my radio show with fascina
The Times •

Table scraps: what to eat and drink in Scotland this week

It’s been a busy time for the chefs Sam Yorke and Tomás Gormley. Last month we brought news of Skua, their new opening in Stockbridge, and now Heron, the restaurant they opened two years ago in Leith, has scooped a Michelin star.

Aged 25 and 28 respectively, Yorke and Gormley are now the youngest Scottish chefs to win a Michelin star — and Leith now has the UK’s highest concentration of Michelin gongs outside London.

Commended by the judges for its “fresh, understated and uncluttered” cuisine
The Glasgow Guardian •

Review: Joesef’s pinnacle gig of his career @ Barrowlands - The Glasgow Guardian

The East-end Glaswegian singer sells out two nights.
Lights up, pints downed and Beyonce’s Break my Soul: the beginning of the Barrowlands gig for the East End singer was always going to be a standout. In a venue of such momentous Scottish music moments, the Barrowlands’ stairs welcomed a new crowd for such a personable, touching gig in Joesef’s old stomping ground. Spirits were high to say the least as sounds of 70s soul and pop classics primed the crowd; couples, groups of friends and singles...
The Glasgow Guardian •

The history of house: Chicagoan lofts to Boiler Room sets - The Glasgow Guardian

How has house music shaped the metropolitan dance scene?
Born in the chipped wooden floors of Chicago lofts, the history of house music is eclectic in its cultural influences, and its progression through the genres of the music industry. Its addictive sounds and beats were soon enough danced by those in New York and London, becoming a style fixed to the metropolitan appeal of the big capitals. 
The Chicago house scene is arguably eponymous for each dance decade which followed. Many would associa...