MARLOW spent a little time answering our questions about his music and how he makes it. Let’s see what he has to say!
First off, What’s up with your name? Is there a story behind it?
MAROW is mine and my brothers second name. We’re both in the group and we thought it made sence to give it a simple one word name and decided on MARLOW as it looked good and was familiar to the people that already knew us.
Tell us about your musical past, would you tell us about your early years?
Seb (brother) and I started out much younger writing and recording songs in our teen years. We went under the name The Marlow Brothers. We were inspired by 90’s music and a lot of acts like Keane, Coldplay, Oasis, Robbie Williams. We went to Uni and dispanded the project, although I kept writing and performing at open mics two three times a week at University. After Uni I formed a smaller version of the project and kept going to open mics, sometimes two a night in different towns. I wanted to get my hours in and get as much experience as I could. The band started to grow until we had 5 members, including me, not my brother (he was still at Uni). We gigged all over Eastbourne, Brighton, Hastings, and started to look at London. The band is now made up of myself, Seb (bass), Angus (electric guitar), Liam (drums) and Archie (synth). I write music and then as a group we have a sound we try to stick to. I bring a song in knowing that there will be synth line somewhere in the song, great guitars and a good drum and bass rhythm section.
How would you describe your sound?
It’s a mix of bands like Kodaline, Mumford and Sons, Keane, SeaFret. It’s very emotional and the choruses are catchy. From I’m not leaving to Over you can hear a very specific sound and the songs flow very nicely into one another.
Which artists have the biggest influence on your sound?
I would say Kodaline and Keane. There are elements of more contemporary artists like Ed Sheeran and Dean Lewis with some of the hooks being a bit similar to ways they may write, but as a whole it’s emotionally uplifiting indie pop.
What’s the last song you listened to?
Evelyn – Bears Den
What’s your source for hearing new music?
Spotify release radar or spotify radio/finding someone I like and looking through similar artists.
Who is your dream producer?
I enjoy producing the music with the band. We work well together, I love it. We have a good system, everyone is so talented at what they do and we all like similar music. I don’t know enough producers to say.
If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be?
Taylor Swift and Kygo.
What led you to music, and what motivates you to keep making it?
Writing and recording songs mainly. I love to write. Festivals are amazing and big gigs are amazing too. We’re all doing it for the same reasons but some will enjoy curtain areas more than others.
Tell us about the songwriting process. How does it all come together?
Either I come to group with an acoustic song that written (all lyrics, structure and melody) or I write and demo that song and everyone adds their parts. It’s always a full collaberation, I never tell Liam how to play the drums or Seb what to do on the bass. We all help with ideas and nudge each other in the right direction but it’s gentle pushing rather than dictorial methods toward writing. I always have a vision for a song which helps.
How do you connect with your audience? What is the easiest way for them to connect with you?
Through socials, doing instragram and TikTok lives and posting as frequently as possible. I reach out to fans and friends and have discussions with them and try to engage with them as humanly as possible all the time. We always spend time before and after the shows with our audience, making time to talk to as many people as possible. If someone messages us on instagram then we always respond.
https://www.instagram.com/marlowband/
https://www.facebook.com/marlowbandofficial/
What’s next for you?
We have an acoustic night on May 18th at the Foundry in Eastoburne, then on May 19th a headline show in London at the Old Blue Last, then another headline in Eastbourne on June 3rd at Printers Playhouseand then festival dates that I can’t currently share as we’re not allowed until the line ups are fully released.
Anything else you’d like to add or let us know about?
We have four or five more songs to release this year and want to keep a consistent and steady pace with regards to releasing this year and next, with big support and headline shows and even bigger festivals. We want to achieve good sync placements and radio play as well.
