theaussieword.com catches up with Swiss group MAREY.
How and where did it all begin for you? What drew your interest to the music industry?
This was at our first meeting with our manager Stefan, in January 2016. This was the moment we realised what it means, to enter the music business. A lot of work and not just music at all.
What motivates or influences you in your quest to make great music?
Over the past few years, we’ve seen some really great and touching shows. Some moments of intense magic, where everything fits together. We try, at our level, to recreate these feelings on the stage. It’s so rewarding to hear people saying that you’re helping them through your music.
What are your biggest goals you hope to accomplish as an artist?
Inspire people and always be able to say what we want. To feel free in doing whatever matters to us. To make a living with music.
What can we expect from you in the coming months? Any plans to tour?
Right now, we are in the creative process. We spend our days in the studio and produce new songs for our next album (2020). We’ll play some exclusive gigs (the next one will be in Paris) during the next few months and plan a tour for 2020.
Tell us a bit about your latest release and how would you best describe your music?
When surreality seems true and absurdity takes on its full meaning. Our new single depicts what we all experience, more or less, when we let our brains wander in a deep sleep. An artificial and synthetic world. “Synthetic” is reminiscent of the alternative rock of the 2000s, while retaining an omnipresent contemporary spirit. The song takes you from the very first notes and brings you on a completely unexpected journey. We’re constantly reinventing ourselves but with this new single, a brand new development is audible and will certainly surprise the listeners.
“We’re all trapped in someone’s mind. We all are but illusions. We all are but reflections”
Give us an insight into your creative process. What gets you writing songs?
We don’t really follow a typical plan but these last days we often start with beats. Most of the time the vocals are added at the very end of this process. Because we have our own studio, we don’t have any stress during the creation phase and we can spend a lot of time experimenting things.
Is there a hidden meaning in any of your music?
We love to play with our listeners by using metaphors in the lyrics. But it’s still the role of the listener to interpret the meaning of each song. That’s the reason for hiding things, right?
Success, what is the secret to it?
We’d love to know!
What has been your biggest career highlight so far?
Our last concerts with our brand new setup is something highly exciting. We played in great venues in Roma, Ljubljana and Zurich.
Which stars of the music industry do you find inspiring?
Trent Reznor, Radiohead, Portishead, Marilyn Manson, Melody Gardot, Meshuggah, Tricky and Tom Waits.
Are there any new projects in the pipeline?
We’ll release single after single every 4-6 weeks until our album comes out in Autumn 2020. We’ll try to play as much as possible until then.
The music industry is huge, where do you see yourself a few years from now?
In a few years from now… Of course we hope to have convinced a lot of people around the world to listen to our songs, to book us, to come to our shows. We hope we will find the right people to work with. But as you said: the industry is huge. You need to be at the right place at the right time.
What is your favourite and least favourite part about this line of work and why?
Our favorite part about the music industry is that we got to know people who love music and give their passion into everything they do, not money obsessed business men who only care about numbers on Spotify or elsewhere.
Least favourite: with the music we’re playing, it is quite complicated to find a spot under the sun. The market is really saturated by the big industry names.
Name a few of your favourite Australian artists.
Definitely Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. But also The Vines, Jet and The Avalanches.
The shape of the music industry has changed significantly over the years, including the use of social media, how do you feel about the industry as a whole and what does it mean to you in getting your records out into the public eye?
It became a big pressure on most small band shoulders. You have less time to make music and to be creative. You have to be active everyday on several platforms. Know the rules of the algorithms or you’ll be losing the game… Because it’s not our favorite thing to do, we’re trying to find some fun and to be creative while doing it so it’s not a drudgery.
How do you plan on cracking the international market?
With the music naturally.
Do you collaborate with others? Who is on your wish-list?
Except for visuals, not really. Well we wouldn’t say no to a collaboration with Thom Yorke 🙂
What advice do you give for someone wanting to follow in your footsteps?
Don’t get blinded so fast. And always go with your gut feeling.
A message for your fans. How do you best interact and respond with your fans?
After our shows. We are always happy and open for a chat. Of course we answer any messages online as well. Just say hello!
Any last words?
Thank you “The Aussie Word”. You had some quite interesting questions! And don’t forget to listen to our new single!
Website: www.mareymusic.ch
Facebook: facebook.com/mareymusic
Instagram: instagram.com/mareymusic/
Twitter: twitter.com/mareyband
Apple Music: MAREY
Spotify: MAREY