Photo Credit: Anya Maya

We sat down with Marseille’s frontman Will Brown to chat about the bands biggest UK tour, scheduled for September 2024, their upcoming EP, the success of the physical release of ‘This Dream of Mine’ and what they have planned going forward into 2025.

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What has the reception been like on ‘Monkey in the Middle’?

Will: It has been a lot bigger than the other songs. The reaction on this one has been taken more seriously, it is becoming more apparent we have a cult following and people are beginning to get behind the Marseille train now.

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You sold out of the vinyl pressing for ‘This Dream of Mine’, how does that feel after selling 200 copies?

Will: We struggled at first, but now I am getting messages from people asking if we are getting more in stock. We had some left over when Record Store Day came around so it worked out in the end and we sold out. We are looking at getting some pressed for the tour.

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The band has a new bassist in the form of Will Sabey, how did that decision come about?

Will: I have always said from the start I wanted to be a frontman with no guitar, so when we went to a four piece I just couldn’t do it. I wanted to move around and interact and you’re limited in that aspect when playing a guitar. So Will joined to fill in, and we managed to twist his arm in to joining. He’s cool, calm and collected and it was exactly what we needed. eHhE

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With the EP ‘Godiva’ coming up, what can fans expect from it?

Will: It’s going to be more ground breaking. We have always played it safe commercially, but this is a whole new body of work. We have started playing around with shoegaze, and dreamy parts. Musically I’d compare it to ‘The Bends’ by Radiohead. It is set to come out when we start the tour.

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Will there be a physical release for ‘Godiva’?

Will: We are definitely going to be doing vinyl. We are going to be having more than what we had for ‘The Dream of Mine’ due to the demand that release had.

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This is the band’s first full UK tour, compared to your last tour which was weekends only, what has changed in order to achieve that?

Will: None of us are in education anymore. That is the only reason that stopped us in the past.

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What is the vibe like when you are altogether?

Will: To be fair, we just have a laugh really. All the funniest moments in the band are when we are on tour. We all get each other, but when we are actually at the gigs, we start chatting to fans and I like to hear what they have to say.

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You will be playing your biggest headline show to date at Rescue Rooms in Nottingham. How excited are you for that show?

Will: We needed to play a big venue near out hometown. People from Derby are used to travelling to Nottingham for gigs, we are confident of packing it out.

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How does it feel to be playing the second stage at this year’s Y Not Festival?

Will: We wanted it last year to be fair, but I think we have the backing now to warrant being on that stage. Now we deserve to be where we are on a local level.

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When you play festivals, how do you spend your time when you aren’t performing?

Will: Playing at a festival is a perfect opportunity to chat to other bands and artists. We abused our access during the Isle of Wight Festival; we tried to speak with Jarvis Cocker but didn’t manage to get that far into the artist area. I am really excited about seeing The Coral, Jake Bugg and Dylan John Thomas as well.

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What plans do you have for the remainder of 2024?

Will: Probably a bit of downtime to be honest, but we are trying to get on a tour as a support act. The aim for next year is trying to get on a full tour with another band, so trying to sort that out will be a priority.

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How does Marseille envision 2025?

Will: We hopefully have a collaboration coming up with a guitarist who was in a big band in the late 80’s and early 90’s. We will start recording our album next year and looking at a shorter headliner tour but in bigger venues.

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What items would you like to include on your rider?

Will: We have a box of broken biscuits from the discount shops. Maybe a melon and a sledgehammer, just so the venues fear that I am going to smash it in the dressing room. At the minute we are quite minimal. I don’t like drinking before I go on so water is essential, but lagers and Guinness for afterwards are always nice. I always have honey and lemon or a shot of whiskey to look after my voice.

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MARSEILLE‘s brand new single ‘She Can Fly‘ is available across digital streaming platforms HERE.

The band will be heading out on their biggest UK tour this Autumn. Tickets are on sale now.