MARSICANS
Marsicans are a four piece band from Leeds that describe their sound as “upbeat indie meets dirty pop.” With a number of sold out shows and glowing reviews under their belt, the indie-pop quartet have definitely made themselves known in the British music scene. Having had their songs in multiple spotify playlists and their Absence EP reaching over 1 million streams, the band are on course for great success. The boys’ colourful, harmony driven sound and quirky lyrics leave listeners infected by the feel good, care free vibe every song emits. I got the chance to ask them a few questions, check out what Matthew 'Cale' McHale answered!
Firstly, where did the name of the band come from?
Mr Google. He's our best mate. Band names are difficult to settle on. I had to be drunkenly persuaded by James to go with it.
How did you guys meet? And what made you first decide to start making music together?
Three of us went to school together, doing various bits and bobs, then played a gig with Rob's old band, then decided to join forces with each other after James and Rob moved in together.
Do you like any music currently in the charts, if so what?
Our band like almost every genre between us, so there are the likes of Taylor Swift, Kanye, Ed Sheeran, Harry styles on our Spotify accounts.
Have you guys thought about doing any collaborations with other artists? Who would you ideally like to collaborate with if you could?
James would love a Paul McCartney collaboration, but that's a stretch. We all chat about having a female vocal on our songs just because it'd sound great and it's something different to our four northern boy vocals. We just played a festival with an artist named Lily Moore and her voice was wonderful.
What do you guys do outside of music?
It's difficult to tell when that is! At the moment, if it's not festivals, it's writing new songs almost all the time. We'll sneak in an alcoholic half after rehearsal and chat some photography jazz. Oli is often buying a new camera from undisclosed locations around the world.
What was the first song you performed as a band?
It could be 'Gone in a Second' which we still occasionally play to this day, or a hidden gem named 'Something English' which hasn't been played in over a year at least.
When I think of Marsicans I instantly think bold, bright and colourful; what would you say new fans first notice about the band?
I would agree with you! And maybe our devilish good looks? Musically, perhaps our four-part harmonies are the attention-grabbers.
When you’re creating a new track, how does the process usually work? And can you give us some details about the lyrical process as well?
All four of us write together in a room. A song can come from a single riff or someone has written a full song on piano with accompanying lyrics. It varies. Lyrically, real life happenings influence us, usually with James or Rob writing a full set of lyrics with a basic piece of instrumentation and we work from there.
In regards to when you perform, do you discuss outfits and which guitar you’ll use beforehand or is it just up to each of you on the night?
If we were rich enough I can imagine the guys discussing which coloured guitar to use, but we only discuss shirts in our group chat. We can't be having two people in the same colour!
From all the venues you’ve played so far, where was your favourite? And why?
We supported Hippo Campus at Koko in Camden, London, which is such a big, beautiful venue. But our hometown headline show was in Church, Leeds, and that's what it says on the box, a big ol' church. It's special in many ways; the setting is seriously cool, plus it was our largest headline show to date.
If you had to choose a fifth member, who would it be? And why?
The guitarist from Limp Bizkit [Wez Borland]. He's got some heavy riffs and his outfits are another level.
I find it pretty cool that all four of you sing; is it something you were always confident doing?
With having James and Rob both as lead singers, and I used to be in Leeds cathedral choir - oh yeah! - that made it easier. Also, when we first started and realised we weren't terrible, it gave us the confidence to keep at it.
What cartoon character is each band member most like?
I'd be the Tasmanian Devil [Looney Tunes]
Rob would be Sideshow Bob [The Simpsons]
James would be Dexter [Dexter’s Laboratory]
Oli would be the Wile E. Coyote [Looney Tunes]
What are the band’s – collectively – and your own personal musical influences?
Guitar bands like Blur, Interpol, Mystery Jets, right through electronic indie like LCD Sound System, with metal bands like Lamb of God, and the more ear-friendly Bon Iver. We listen to everything so it all gets chucked into our indie genre pot.
What do you have coming up that you’d like to let our readers know about?
Perhaps a little music video for our latest release Pop-Ups [Sunny at the Weekend] might be on the cards. And then check us out at our big hometown fest - Leeds Festival on the BBC Radio 1 stage [or Reading, if you're attending that one].
