We sat down with Will Brown from Derby band MARSEILLE. The young five-piece recently released their new single ‘This Dream of Mine’ along with three b-sides, and with a headline UK tour coming up, we wanted to hear everything about it.

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How has the reception been on ‘This Dream of Mine’?

Will: It’s been really good, I think with the Stone Roses influences it is something people sort of miss as you don’t really hear it in today’s music. It has done really well and it isn’t too on the nose, but it still has elements.

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Along with the release of the single, you have added three b-sides to the release, what was the reason behind that?

Will: We have so many songs, I feel like it was a good opportunity to get more of those out there and also collectively it’s one piece of music in a way. 

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What was the writing process like for those tracks?

Will: It was actually smooth sailing, we decided to write something shorter than what we are used to, so ‘This Dream of Mine’ came really quickly. The rest of it was written a month before recording and we made sure the tracks kept to the same length as the single. 

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Compared to your previous single ‘Thinker’ which is over five minutes long, how did you adjust your writing to this new single?

Will: I don’t think it was difficult, if you strip back most of our songs to its bare bones they are only around two and a half minutes max, but with guitar solos and a little sections it makes those songs longer. 

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You filmed a music video for ‘This Dream of Mine’ which is set on a beach, what is the message behind that?

Will: I have always to do a music video on the beach. It is something I have always wanted to do and with the song quite a summery single, I thought now is the time. We didn’t pick the most local beach, we drove to North Wales but it was a good choice and a nice scenic area.

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Your UK tour is coming up fast, how excited are you for that?

Will: I can’t wait. The last tour was really good, so more of that it is going to be a cracker. This time it’s for a good cause with the charity being involved so I am really looking forward to it.

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The charity you have chosen is Oddballs, which is a charity to raise awareness on testicular cancer, what was the reason on getting them involved?

Will: Initially, it was because loads of people were asking us to play the cities that are on the tour, and we worked out it spelled ‘balls’ and we found that quite funny. The tour is around November time so we thought we could make this work perfectly. 

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Your second single ‘Brightest Star’ has a music video too, which features a famous spot on there. How important is it for you as a band to touch on those influences in that way?

Will: It wasn’t intentional for the music video, because we were in the area and it is only a twenty minute drive. We thought it would be cool to have it as a little nod to that song. I wanted to have the music video with the arcade stuff really but it worked out well in the end. I do think it is important to pay homage to your influences, you have to wear those on your sleeves as they are the people who have inspired you to what you do.

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Have you managed to do that in other cities whilst on tour?

Will: We played The Cavern in Liverpool not long ago, our guitarist is called Lennon and he is a massive Beatles fan. I want to do something in Wigan as I am a big The Verve fan, so that would be cool. We never intentionally look into that stuff but always come across those places.

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How will you spend your free time whilst on tour?

Will: London will be good, we went there the other day for the Weekend Offender shop launch, that was cool. Lennon hasn’t been around London much so it would be cool for him to visit some places. It will just be a case of walking and looking around really, it is all new to us still.

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Do you have any tour rituals?

Will: I don’t think we do, I don’t drink before I go on, but I will take one on with me. That’s it really. 

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This weekend you have done two shows in one day, Sheffield and Scunthorpe, how was that for you having to play two sets so close together?

Will: It wasn’t bad at all. The Sheffield show was packed and we were already buzzing from that, we were ready to go and smash it in Scunthorpe. The reception there was good too. It was only an hour apart and then an hour home so it wasn’t bad. If it was a city further away like Newcastle it would have been different.

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Did you manage to catch any other bands on those shows with them being all day events?

Will: Sheffield we had to turn up, play and drive to Scunthorpe just because of the time we were scheduled to play. We watched Dirty Blonde, they were really good and they watched us too. We always appreciate it when other bands stick around and watch us. 

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Do you have any funny rider requests for tour?

Will: We have never really been asked for a rider really. We usually just have beers and water. The day we do get I might ask for something that is really inconvinent for them to get.

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What is the next step for Marseille going forward?

Will: It has to be an album really, I think next year we will do another EP because we are recording again in October. But it will be an album.

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You are still a young band, what advantages does that give you?

Will: I think people also assume there is room to grow, but some people think that we aren’t fully there yet. You get people who manipulate you into something because you are so young. I do think it is good to gain attention from labels and other people in the industry as we essentially are a blank canvas to them, but for now we want to establish ourselves before we get too involved in that side of it. 

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What is the next step for your shows going forward?

Will: We will probably do slightly bigger venues and a longer tour, but keeping the same cities that have sold well like Sheffield and Newcastle. Depending on how this tour goes, it gives us the opportunity to add those places too. 

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What is van life for the band?

Will: Our van is quite small, so we have to take another car with us so we all can get there. Felix usually sleeps the whole way so we don’t get a word out of him, but we have a playlist that we make for the tour and that always keeps us on our tours and just have a right old laugh really.

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How do you interact with your fans during shows?

Will: We always stick around at every gig. If people want to come chat to us we always make time to say hello. We tend to be around our merch table so someone is always there in case they want to buy anything and that is massively appreciated. They are the people that make our dreams come true.

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Are there any plans to play some festivals next summer?

Will: I think next year is going to be a big festival season for us, we didn’t get to play many this year so hopefully will be a lot busier next year. 

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Any final words?

Will: Keep streaming ‘This Dream of Mine’, it is doing really well so more of that please!

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A huge thank you to Will for taking time out of his day to chat to us, and we look forward to seeing more of MARSEILLE in the future.

MARSEILLE’s autumn UK tour in collaboration with Oddballs will see 20% of all profits donated to the charity to help raise awareness and support those suffering from testicular cancer.

You can find all of the bands dates below:

13th October – York, Victoria Vaults
21st October – Birmingham, Dead Wax
28th October – Aberdeen, The Tunnels
3rd November – London, The Water Rats
10th November – Leeds, Santiago Bar
12th November – Swansea, The Bunkhouse
18th November – Liverpool, The Jacaranda
24th November – Derby, The Hairy Dog
16th December – London, Two Palms Hackney Empire
6th April 2024 – Digbeth Indie Rock Festival