Listen to Laura Marling's newest single London Town

When 17-year-old singer Laura Marling gingerly stepped onto the stage at a recent gig, the crowd barely noticed. Her country bumpkin-esque band followed suit with similar impact. And then, without any introduction, she opened her mouth.

Suddenly the mob surged forward, clamouring to hear the wisdom of this beautiful chanteuse. She belted out the first song, transporting her fans to a tequila bar in Mexico where all anyone needs is their guitar and a lover. She then moved quickly on to the second song – another soulful tapestry which tackles the disappointments of life.

Laura Marling is the new princess of the emergent alt folk scene. But what exactly constitutes alternative folk music? Laura describes it as “a mix of old folk where there is a story to be told and some modern sounds thrown in.”

The Reading teenager’s short life is her inspiration. “All the stuff I write is basically what’s happened to me so far. The message is pretty universal. It’s for anyone who can relate.” And in her few years this girl seems to have tried it all. From Christianity to Buddhism, infatuation to betrayal, shattered dreams to fulfilment. She seems to have a message for everyone. Irrespective of the song’s content, the sweet lullaby melodies have a universal appeal, even if they are laced with hard-hitting messages.

When the spotlight’s off the budding star, it’s back to the books for some A-level fun. “My studying is not going that great,” she says smiling with a glint in her eye. But with English Literature and Music as two of her options, Marling can count on at least a few good grades. “I enjoy literature so much,” she says. “Tap at my Window”, one of her reflective pieces, takes its inspiration from the poetry of Phillip Larkin.

Marling has been playing the guitar since the age of three and was brought up on a melodious diet of “the greats” as she calls the likes of Bob Dylan and Ryan Adams. These expressive artists have undoubtedly influenced her style of writing. “I only write when in an extreme mood, when I feel the passion take over me you know?” she explains.

That passion seems to be infections - when Laura's first single, ‘London Town’, was released as a limited edition EP, the 900 copies flew off the shelves and Radio 1 took an immediate shine to her. “It was nuts. I was just in my sister’s car and ‘Failure’ [another of Marling’s tracks] came on the Zane Lowe show.” Now she is one of the hotly-tipped acts at this week’s Camden Crawl. Nonetheless, she remains level-headed: “I know the road to success won’t be smooth – so all I can do is concentrate on developing my writing and voice and what will be will be,” she says earnestly.

In terms of her hopes for her future, the young starlet dreams of nothing more than “being in a flat somewhere - with no TV and no internet – just a pile of old records and literary greats.” One suspects that life for Laura Marling in good old London Town may be a little noisier than that.

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